EIGHT HUNGARIAN MINIATURE BOOKS REGARDING JANKA GYULA
Janka Gyula (1942-2016 was a prominent Hungarian miniature book collector and publisher. His definitive work, "A Nemzetközi Minikönyv-gyűjtés Helyzete és Lehetőségei" (The Status and Possibilites of International Miniature Book Collecting) was published in 1972 and still serves as a significant resource for collectors of miniature books.
Dates Published: 1972-1987
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Könyvek Bibliográfiája (Bibliography of Miniature Books) (1945-1970). 1972.
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Könyvek Bibliográfiája (Bibliography of Miniature Books) (1971-1972) 1973.
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Nyomtatványok (Miniature Prints). 1978.
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Könyvekről Gyűjtőknek (About Miniature Books for Collectors). 1973.
• Gyula, Janka. Amit Még a Miniatűr Könyvekről Tudni Kell (What We Should Know About Miniature Books). 1974.
• Gyula, Janka. A Nemzetközi Minikönyvgyűjtés Helyzete és Lehetőségei (The Status and Possibilities of International Miniatue Book Collecting). 1972.
• Gyula, Janka. Holbein – Der Totentanz (Holbein – Dance of Death). 1974. Numbered 515 on the colophon.
• Gyula, Janka. Divatképek a régmúltból (Fashion Pictures from Bygone Times). 1987.
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SEVEN HUNGARIAN MINIATURE BOOKS BY OR ABOUT ANDRUSKO KAROLY
Karoly Andrusko 'Andrusko Karoly': One of Hungary's finest graphic artists, Karoly Andrusko has engraved over 400 ex-libris designs during his career.
Ex-Libris etchings, engravings and woodcuts date all the way back to the mid fifteenth century. Their function was initially quite utilitarian as miniature prints used to signify the ownership of books. As private libraries and their owners gained more wealth and prestige, however, so did their ex-libris bookplates. Pictorial imagery became as important as the wording and titles and the finished work of art came to stand as the owner's claim to posterity. Before long, famous artists were commissioned by prominent collectors to make their ex-libris art and during the centuries such masters as Durer, Holbein, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Rockwell Kent all contributed significantly to this great form of art.
The golden age for the ex-libris print, however, occurred during the twentieth century. Collecting ex-libris etchings and wood engravings reached such a peak during this time that many artists in Europe and America devoted themselves almost exclusively to this area. Such countries as Holland, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary formed strong and vibrant ex-libris societies and associations. In Hungary such fine artists as Antal Fery and Karoly Andrusko dedicated much of their oeuvre to the art of the ex-libris woodcut.
Dates Published: 1973-1980
7 volumes, all with unknown limitations. Comprising:
• Bruxelles. 1979. Brown leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations, text in French, Serbian, and Hungarian, published in connection with a UNESCO conference in Brussels, Belgium.
• Beograd. 1980. Brown leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations, text in French, Serbian, and Hungarian, published in connection with a UNESCO conference in Belgrade, Serbia.
• Potisje Ada. 1980. Black leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations depict views of an industrial factory and it's workers.
• Szeged. 1973. Black leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations depict views of Szeged, Hungary.
• Pápa. 1979. Black leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations depict views of Pápa, Hungary.
Also includes:
• Károly, Andruskó and Bencz, Mihály. Lebontják a régi Iskolát. 1974. Orange cloth over boards with gilt-stamping on front cover and spine, woodcut illustrations by Andruskó Károly and poetry by Mihály Bencz. Published by the Association of Collectors of Yugoslavia, Novi Sad.
• Charles, Andruskó. Gimnazija Moša Pijade Gimnázium. 1975. Red gilt-stamped spine and front cover cloth over boards, woodcut illustrations by Andruskó Károly depicting bi-lingual high school in Novi Sad, Serbia, some pages are loose.
The above books were acquired during a 2025 Auction for the Miniature Book Society. In an earlier auction for MBS, also acquired these four Karoly Andrusko miniature books, as follows:
18 October October 18 (1984). Size: 1.75" x 2.25"
Lugano (1978). Size: 1-5/8" x 2"
Mallorca (1981). Size: 1-5/8" x 2"
Varnyu György / Andrusko Karoly / Olajfestmenyei by Varnyu Gyorgy (The Organization of Jugoslavian Collectors, Novi, 1975). Size: 2" x 2"
