ICE-CREAM THAT MARCO POLO INTRODUCED
“MARCO Polo! It’s the rare first edition book!” The words scream in my mind silently when the second-hand book dealer, like a conjurer in a magic show, produces one of Vojtech Robert VladimÌr Kubasta’s famous masterpieces from the bottom of his cardboard storage box.
My quivering hands reach out for the 1962 hard cover edition and impatiently flip through the leaves to reach the final two pages. I can hear gasps of amazement all around me as I unveil Kubasta’s genius — a complex and colourful paper pop-up depicting one of the most famous scenes in history.
Kubasta, a Czech architect and artist, was born in Vienna. His family moved to Prague when he began demonstrating his artistic talent at the tender age of 4. Despite his father’s insistence for him to study law, Kubasta persisted with his aspiration to become an artist and, eventually, managed to sway his father’s expectations towards a career as an architect.
The study of architecture at that time was considered more of an artistic undertaking than a technical discipline. Kubasta worked hard and graduated with a degree in architecture and civil engineering in 1938. His career as a professional architect, however, was short. By the early 1940s, he began making a living as a commercial artist and book designer. He quickly made his mark with his attractive illustrations which captivated the imagination of the public.
Kubasta was particularly well-known for his unique three-dimensional cards that were initially used to advertise various A view inside the Kuala Lumpur creamery after production started at the end of World War Two.
commercial products like porcelain, sewing machines and pencils. In 1953, he designed his first pop-up book, Christopher Columbus, which was published by Prague-based ARTIA publishing house. The book won Kubasta’s fans over almost immediately when its covers parted to reveal threedimensional models of Columbus’ ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa MarÌa.
The book received such a good response that even Kubasta himself was surprised. Between 1955 and 1965, the genius went on to produce nearly a hundred different threedimensional books, making him ARTIA’s best-known book designer and illustrator.
Today, Kubasta’s pop-up books have been published in 24 different languages and more than 35 million copies have been sold. Original editions of his illustrations and books, like the one in my hand, are sought after by collectors from around the world.
“Do you want the book? If not, the gentleman over there is interested,” the seller’s
comments jolts me out of my reverie.
“May I know the price?” I ask nonchalantly, trying very hard to contain my excitement.
“Just RM40. It’s a rare book, the first I’ve seen in my 40 years of business!” the vendor quips. My heart leaps. At that price, it’s definitely a steal.Distancing myself from the crowd, I succumb to the temptation of taking another look at the book before putting it into my backpack for safe keeping.
Published in large quarto format by London’s Bancroft & Co. Ltd. in 1962, the book boasts of a double-page colour popup scene of Polo accompanying Kublai Khan and his retinue on a hunting trip.
There’s so much to see and I slowly bide my time to take in the wonderful creation. The Khan’s palanquin is supported by four elephants, the two foremost pachyderms are secured by red silk reins. There’s also a separate full page colour illustrated map showing the route that Polo took to the Far East, his ships and even pack animals. As I continue browsing through the other stalls at Alor Star’s weekend open air flea market, I suddenly catch sight of children and adults alike crowding around a van with the words ‘Marco Polo Ice Cream’ clearly emblazoned on its sides. What a great coincidence! There certainly is a connection between the great Venetian explorer and everyone’s favourite snack.
Most historians agree that ice-cream, in its ancient form, originated from China. Some 3,000 years ago, people began enjoying a type of dessert made by packing snow to a mixture of rice and milk. Over the years, the recipe underwent a series of improvements, both in terms of flavour as well as composition.
The popularity of ice-cream rose when syrup, flour and camphor were added to make the concoction firmer and sweeter. By the time China was ruled by the Mongols, there were already many shops selling ice-cream in large Chinese cities.
Marco Polo could have been introduced to ice-cream when he spent time in Kublai Khan’s court and saw its production during his travels across that country. When the explorer returned to Italy around the end of the 13th century, it was said that he brought along a recipe that closely resembled what’s now known as sherbet.