Josef Richard Vilímek (1835–1911)

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Josef Richard Vilímek (1 April 1835 – 16 April 1911) was a Czech book publisher. He was born in Vamberk and died in Prague. He studied at a German technical university in Prague and showed writing talent early, publishing poetry, fairy tales and articles under the name Jan Velešovský.

After working as a journalist he was expelled from Prague in 1856 for political reasons. In 1858 he helped start the satirical weekly Humoristické listy with Josef Svátek and, the same year, founded Slovanské knihkupectví (Slavic Bookstore) with Josef Novák, a venture he left in 1867. His most successful business became calendars, almanacs and the plays of Matěj Kopecký.

In 1868 he was elected to the Bohemian parliament. In 1872 he opened his own printing shop, and in 1884 he founded the modern publishing house Josef Richard Vilímek (JR Vilímek). Alongside Jan Otto and František Topič, he became one of the most famous Czech publishers around the turn of the century. In 1885 he handed the company to his son but stayed on as editor and manager of Humoristické listy until 1906. He published his memoir Ze zašlých dob in 1908 and died in Prague in 1911.