Overview
This work talks about how a young man from Czechoslovakia became the genius behind the celebrated designs of Waterford Crystal (including his signature Lismore pattern). Miroslav Havel came to Waterford from his home in Czechoslovakia at the age of 25, intending to stay only three months. He had been trained in glass-making at the prestigious High School of Industrial Design in Prague. Teaming up with an eccentric Czech businessman, Karel Bacik, Havel kept extending his stay in Ireland while the two men revived a crystal glass tradition that crippling British excise taxes had ended nearly two centuries before. The book traces Havel's early years growing up in Czechoslovakia, his father's bizarre business dealings and tempestuous lifestyle, his formation as a glass designer, his experiences during the Nazi occupation of his country, his mentor Bacik's sudden flight to Ireland, and Havel's strange adventures as a naive Czechoslovak joining Bacik in a distant country he mistakenly associated with tropical fruits and sunshine. The book explores how, after Bacik sold his interest to a group of Irish entrepreneurs, Havel remained in Ireland to guide the rise of Waterford Crystal by adapting antique Waterford crystal designs to modern production processes. It explains how his creative genius inspired him not only to design and install the magnificent chandeliers that now adorn Westminster Abbey and the Kennedy Centre in Washington, but to develop the beautiful suites of heavy lead crystal glasses that created a trusted brand identity for millions of consumers throughout the world.
Full Product Details
Author: Brian Havel
Publisher: Columba Books
Imprint: Currach Press
Dimensions:
Width: 13.50cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 21.50cm
Weight: 0.381kg
ISBN: 9781856079402
ISBN 10: 1856079406
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 March 2006
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Author Information
Brian F. Havel is Professor of Law, Director of the International Aviation Law Institute and Vice President of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. He holds graduate degrees from University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, as well as a doctorate in international and comparative law from Columbia University in New York city. He formerly practiced international corporate law in New York City, and now lives in Chicago. He is a regular visitor to Ireland.
