Jindřich Veselý (15 June 1885 in Bavorov – 19 September 1939 in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

pedagogue, publicist, historian on the field of puppetry and author of puppet theatre plays.

Early life and education

Veselý was born in Bavorov to a family of a pedagogue. He graduated from the gymnasium in České Budějovice, then studied Czech and German philology at Charles University, where he gained interest in puppet theatre. From 1909 to 1935, Veselý worked as a high school teacher in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and

Kladno Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000. ...

, since 1935/36 he was the director of gymnasium in České Budějovice.

Puppetry

Veselý devoted all his interest to puppet theatre. Originally he collected puppets, texts of traditional puppet plays and documents on the activities of folk puppeteers. Later, he focused on contemporary amateur puppet theatre and became one of the most important promoters of puppet theatre and organizers of the puppet movement. He organized a puppet exhibition in 1911 and co-organized exhibitions in 1921, 1924 and 1929. In 1911 he co-founded the Czech Association of Friends of Puppet Theatre and advocated the publication of the union magazine ''Český loutkář'', which was published in his editorial office in 1912–1913 and was the first specialized puppet magazine in the world. After the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the publishing has been resumed under a new name '' Loutkář'' and continued until 1939. It is published with a break from both world wars from 1912 until today and is the oldest specialist puppet-theatre magazine in the world. He also supported the serial production of puppets and decorations for puppet theatres by Antonín Münzberg. This production and publication of magazine contributed to the fact that

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

began to be called "paradise of puppet theatre". Veselý played a key role in founding

UNIMA UNIMA (''Union Internationale de la Marionnette'' - ''International Puppetry Association'') was founded in Prague in 1929 (the then Czechoslovak magazine Loutkář was UNIMA's first official journal in years 1929–1930). In 1981, the French pup ...

(International Puppetry Association) in 1929 in Prague, and was elected its first president. When

Josef Skupa Josef Skupa (16 January 1892 in Strakonice – 8 January 1957 in Prague) was a Czech puppeteer. He studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, and worked as stage designer in the Plzeň City Theatre, also as designer in ...

took office in 1933, he was awarded the title of honorary president for life.

Work

In 1920 or 1921 his most famous puppet theatre play ''Kašpárek a princezna'' ("Prankster and Princess") was published, which is still being played today. It was also printed in the printer of ''Loutkář'' magazine. He also published professional works on the history of puppet theatre, puppet theatre manuals and collections of puppet theatre plays.

Other interests

Veselý also contributed to literary-historical and educational work, focusing especially on the writers of his home region, the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region ( cs, Jihočeský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western part ...

. He is the author of monograph on life and work of Svatopluk Čech.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesely, Jindrich 1885 births 1939 deaths People from Strakonice District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech puppeteers Czech publishers (people) Charles University alumni