Czech Theatre Studies Department

Throughout the department’s existence it has been developing an archive of historical sources. These are materials that have collected in the course of our research to prepare the volumes of The History of Czech Theatre (1968–1983), and that we continue to gather for the entries that we prepare for inclusion in the Czech Theatre Encyclopaedia.

In the spring of 2011 we began conducting an inventory of these materials in order to identify and document them and to make them accessible to others.

In 2013 we processed the personal research archive of PhDr. Milena Cesnaková, CSc. (*1924 in Prague), a theatre arts researcher who built her research career mainly in Slovakia and whose research interests were largely centred on early theatre and on the Renaissance and Baroque periods in particular. The inventory of her collection lists 615 items, along with the Personal Bibliography of dr. Milena Cesnaková Michalcová – (download the PDF).

In the autumn of 2017, the family of the late Adolf Scherl (18 August 1925 - 3 April 2017) offered his extensive library to the Theatre Institute, specifically to the Czech Theatre Studies Department.

The library dominated the basement room of an apartment house in Prague's Vinohrady district, which also served as Dr. Scherl's study. The lack of storage space for books was solved by an original mobile shelf, probably of his own manufacture, which slid along a rail in the floor to reveal additional shelves full of books hidden behind it. The atmosphere of the study room inspired Alena Jakubcová, at that time the head of the Czech Theatre Studies Department, to think that the library as a whole could become a handy library for the staff of the department in the newly created premises in Nekázanka (another ATI workplace Nekázanka 887/16 and 18, Prague 1). The plan was successful and the books were moved in 2020. The department staff sorted them according to their content into thematic groups and placed them in prepared shelves.

The content was also professionally processed and integrated into the electronic catalogue of the Library of the Theatre Institute. The books can thus be easily searched on the Internet via the Virtual Study  - Library.

Between 2021 and 2022, 3,968 books, leaflets, maps, separates and other printed materials were produced. Of these, 514 items were added to the TI library's collection. 

The donated acquisition includes not only books, but a variety of materials. There are leaflets, maps, sheet music, booklets, souvenir sheets, handwritten notes and lists in school notebooks and notepads. Separates from magazines are also represented in large numbers. The oldest books in the collection date from the second half of the 18th century, while the newest books date from the 1920s.

Dr. Scherl used a simple stamp with his name or signed his books. The dedications reflect the warm professional and friendly relationship between colleagues. The fact that the owner actually read most of the books is evidenced by his handwritten notes, always written in ordinary pencil. Tickets, invitations and other promotional material from a particular event can also be found in information brochures, theatre programmes, catalogues and guides.

The diversity of the literature represented illustrates the Renaissance personality of the library owner and the family history connected with the famous Old Prague house U Halánků. Dr. Scherl's mother was the granddaughter of Ferdinand Náprstek, who came from a brewing family and was the older brother of Vojta Náprstek. The family and professional life of great-grandfather Náprstek is described in the publication by Milena Secká Ferdinand Pravoslav Náprstek. Labužník života (Prague: National Museum 2022). The oldest books in the described library come from the collections of the Náprstek family, as evidenced by the signatures in the individual volumes.

In their new location, the books were divided into the following thematic groups:

• Theatre literature (apart from Czech, mainly Russian, German and Austrian)
• Theatre plays (altogether Czech)
• Philosophy, psychology (Marxist, utopian, metaphysics - combination of technology and philosophy)
• History (all about the revolutionary year 1848)
• Slavonic studies (conference papers in many countries)
• Literary studies, aesthetic
• Music studies (theory, practical booklets – lute, flute, including sheet music)
• Fine Arts (catalogue of exhibitions Mánes, Topič House, World War II, notes on paintings)
• Film (not well represented in comparison with other disciplines)
• Textbooks
• Educational dictionaries and encyclopaedias
• Language dictionaries
• Pragensia
• Guides to castles, chateaus, libraries
• Maps, touristic guides

In addition to this, the Czech Theatre Studies Department also received from Dr. Scherl's family materials of a non-book nature (more than two large boxes full of notes, commentary clippings, separates and other documents) and a personal archive including a number of family photographs. This material is awaiting scholarly processing.