Illustration Treasure from A Posy of National Folk Tales by Karel Jaromír Erben

He prepared another series of prestigious accompanying illustrations to Kytice z pověstí národních (A Posy of National Folk Tales) (1927), written by Karel Jaromír Erben - a book of ballads based on Mácha’s literary concept - and here again each ballad was complemented by a full-page, black-and-white illustration. All drawings had the same oval composition, and the double story, each festooned with a floral motif or icicles, that closely followed the content of each ballad, developed over three planes. Zrzavý felt the difficulty of the assignment to express the gravity of the literary work, as he was aware that it drew comparison with Máj. The slow submission of the finished illustrations to the publisher ultimately delayed the issuance of Kytice by a year, but its timing, that coincided with the festive opening of the Aventinská mansarda gallery, together with the exhibition of the book’s drawings, was once again a guarantee of success.