If you are a lover of Everything Czech and are especially fascinated with Czechs in America, then surely you have heard of the Rosický’s of Omaha or come across A History of Czechs (Bohemians) in Nebraska. Compiled by Rose Rosicky (Růžena Rosicka) in Omaha, Nebraska in 1929. This special historical book (documents all important Czech...
As you know, we love digging through old archives, magazines, newspapers, books. Some of these we are gifted, some we find on our own, some we search for painstakingly and others come by way of my father who’s work in an antique bazaar allows many opportunities to come across wonderful old treasures. Today we are...
The Great Return by Zuzana Palovic is an inspiring and informational book which shares a unique perspective on the Central European country of Slovakia and its diverse people. It briefly explores the history of Slovakia and how it has shaped its people, going on to explore the circumstances which led some citizens of Slovakia to...
He is widely recognized as one of the best German-language poets, known for his lyrical prose and intense verse, but did you know that this famous writer was born in the capital of the Czech Republic? Rainer Maria Rilke’s story began in the city of Prague, the glimmering capital of Bohemia (Today known as the...
Slovakia: The Legend of the Linden is a fully illustrated book about the folklore of the Linden tree, a beautiful tree native to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia which is also the national symbol for both lands. This beautiful book offers an in-depth history of Slovakia based around the Linden tree, or “Lípa” as...
After 104 years of publication, the end for the last Czech-language newspaper in Texas could come in a Williamson County nursing home. It’s there that 82-year-old Joe Vrabel puts out the Našinec paper as far more labor of love than producer of profit. “Oh, I hate to see it go,” he told me in the...
If you are an old friend and supporter of this site, you know that I love old documents, photographs, books, records and ephemera in general. More so, I love sharing my discoveries with you, the readers. That is precisely why I was inspired to share The Face of Prague – Beautiful Images from 75 Years Ago....
Somewhere There Is Still a Sun: A Memoir of the Holocaust – is a recent book published by Simon and Schuster, which describes first hand experiences of a teenager during the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia (1939-1945). This wonderful book has received the following awards already: 2015 Eureka Excellence in Nonfiction Silver Award – California Reading Institute...
Today I am sharing a reprint from an old book, published in 1920. It’s a translation from a Czech story, Foltyn’s Drum written by Svatopluk Čech. The rare images throughout the bulk of the story are of Svatopluk Čech from a book published in 1908 entitled, O Svatopluku Čechovi. Svatopluk Čech Čech was born on February 21,...
My Antonia, written by Willa Cather “in memory of affections old and true”, is the story of a Czech woman who embodied the pioneer spirit. Antonia represented hard work, pride, love of land, and a desire to do what was best and right – in essence, the character of the Czech pioneers who came to...
Jiří Kolář was a Czech painter (September 1914, – August 2002). He worked as carpenter and had a few other a manual jobs in his younger years but by the 1940’s, he was already a leading figure in a Surrealist group. These days he is perhaps most remembered for his beautiful collages (check out the...
The History of the Brave Czech Nation (And a Few Insignificant World Events) by Lucy Seifert is a big, beautiful coffee table book that seriously says it all. This fantastic book takes you on a whimsical journey into the past of the Czech Republic all the way from how Homo Sapiens arrived in Moravia to...
Lawrence Martin-Bittman (born 1931 in Prague), formerly known as Ladislav Bittman, is an American artist, author, and retired professor of disinformation at Boston University. Prior to his defection to the United States in 1968, he served as an intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the Czech Intelligence Service. Czech Intelligence Service While in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav...
Bohumil Štěpán (April 12, 1913 Krivoklat – March 1, 1985 Mnichov) was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist. He studied at the Ukrainian Academy of Fine Arts and the Rotter Graphic School in Prague. He printed his first drawings in the student magazine H2SO4. In 1937, he exhibited a figural composition in the foyer of...
Otakar Štáfl was born on December 30, 1884 in Havlíčkův Brod. Located in the medieval town fortifications of Havlíčkův Brod is a bastion, which today bears the name of Otakar Štáfla. He had his studio on the premises. He did not finish grammar school and headed straight for Prague where he was admitted to the...
Karl Friedrich May (February 25, 1842 – March 30, 1912) was a German writer best known for his adventure novels set in the American Old West. His main protagonists are Winnetou and Old Shatterhand. It began with Winnetou. Winnetou, the chief of the Apache, is a legend in many countries, especially in then-called Czechoslovakia. Fresh off...
