Weingart, Eduard (i.e. Jana Mattuschová, 1906–2000).

[EARLY CZECH QUEER NOVEL] Město mužů: román jediný svého druhu [The city of men: a novel unlike any other].

Prague: Karel Šťastný, 1931. Octavo (17.6 × 12.7 cm). Contemporary quarter cloth over printed boards; 257, [3] pp. With four full-page drawings by K. R. Binding lightly soiled and scuffed at corners; overall about very good. Item #55685

First and only edition of this early Czech novel with homosexual themes, published under a male pseudonym by Jana Mattuschová (born Klánová, 1906–2000). The work explores themes of patriarchal dominance and female self-articulation, including ambiguous same-sex feelings and the desire to live authentically in a hostile society. Mattuschová was an important gay and lesbian rights activist of the interwar Czechoslovak Republic. She worked as an editor of the first Czech publication of the gay community, 'Hlas sexuální menšiny" [Voice of the sexual minority, 1931–32] and its successor, "Nový hlas" [New voice]. The present work was her first novel; a second novel appeared the same year as a supplement to "Hlas", but was not published separately. In 1944 Mattuschová, who was an active member of the Communist Party, was sent to the Terezín concentration camp, but she survived and continued to live in Prague after the war. Little is known about her life after 1950. As one of very few gay rights activists she lived to witness the development of the contemporary Czech movement following the Velvet Revolution.

A printed note at the back states that the book appeared in a unique edition of 800 copies and nearly all were already pre-sold at the time of printing, indicating its tremendous relevance to contemporay readers.

As of April 2026, KVK and OCLC show four copies, one in the Czech Republic, one in Germany, and two in North America.

Price: €750.00

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