I have been collecting brunensia (books and similar things having something to do with Brno) since 2005. I consider some of the books I have bought to be usable as very cool souvenirs or gifts – they are cheap, easy to be found, and really beautiful.
Brno
From all the photobooks about Brno I have ever seen (and I have seen probably all the photobooks about Brno), this one offers the most beautiful photos. Black and white, shot with old fashioned medium or large format cameras, poetic and funny.
And, hey, instead of boring descriptions, this book offers poems by Jan Skácel – you can see this guy’s verses at the modern fountain on Náměstí svobody sq. I know that this is not a big win for someone who doesn’t speak Czech, but the pictures do make it even alone and you can give this book as a gift to someone who will understand the poems well.
I bought the book for CZK 200 (€7.20) in an antiquarian bookshop at Pekařská st. (I don’t remember where exactly.)
Details
Hard cover: 218 pages
Publisher: Krajské nakladatelství v Brně (1964)
Language: Czech
Photographers: Miloš Budík, K. O. Hrubý, Vilém Reichmann
Brno: Významné centrum čs. průmyslu
The communist government printed this book to attract investors and to improve the business relations of Moravian factories and science institutions with foreign industries. The big benefit of this fact is that the book is partly written in English. The publication is filled with photographs of factories (some of which are currently been rebuilt into flats, shopping malls etc.) and plans of new factories (most of these have actually stayed on paper).
Details
Hard cover: 368 pages
Publisher: Útvar hlavního architekta města Brna, Městský svaz architektů Brno, Český fond výtvarných umění – DÍLO v Brně
Language: Czech, German, Russian, English
I recommend this book to everyone who wants to do any kind of business in Brno – the publication helps to understand the industrial history of the town and offers some demographic data that are interesting to compare with the current demography.
I got my copy at Veselá st., in Alfa antique. CZK 300 (€11.50) was a reasonable price. Sort of.
Eduard Milén: Brno
Eduard Milén (1891-1976) was a Czech painter known for cooperation with Leoš Janáček, but mostly for his paintings of Brno. I bought Milén’s monograph two years ago in an antiquarian bookshop at Kounicova st. for a very reasonable price of CZK 300 (€11.50).
Details
Hard cover: 160 pages
Publisher: Krajské nakladatelství v Brně (1960)
Language: Czech
P.S.: If you are into brunensia too, check out this great gallery of vintage maps of Brno.
