About Jan Sobota
Lived 1939 – 2012 (aged 72–73). Jan Sobota was a sculptor.
Jan Bohuslav Sobota (1 March 1939 – 2 May 2012) was a Czech-Swiss fine bookbinder. He is known for his often playful sculptural bindings that transform the book into a three-dimensional work of art.
Career Sobota was born on 1 March in Hromnice, Czechoslovakia. The son of a book collector, Sobota trained in Czechoslovakia as an apprentice in the Plzeň workshop of Karel Šilinger and graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts, Prague, in 1957. He completed his master's degree at the same institution in 1969, and in 1979, was declared "Meister der Einbandkunst" in Germany. Extensive Czech training in book conservation prepared him for positions as a book conservator at Case Western Reserve University and at the Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University. With his wife Jarmila Sobota he established the Saturday's Book Arts Gallery, which moved with the couple. He was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Guild of Bookworkers in 2012.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jan Sobota's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jan Sobota?
Czechoslovakian-born fine bookbinder
When was Jan Sobota born?
Jan Sobota was born on 1 March 1939.
When did Jan Sobota die?
Jan Sobota died in 2012.
What was Jan Sobota's occupation?
Jan Sobota was a sculptor.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jan Sobota. https://biography.guide/jan-sobota/
MLA: "Jan Sobota." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jan-sobota/.
Chicago: "Jan Sobota." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jan-sobota/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:27 UTC