Sancta Familia – Wels Tomáš, Wels Martin (2020)

The book was created by brothers Tomáš and Martin Wels as a gift for their parents for Christmas in 1938. They managed to capture the everyday life of their family in Prague at the end of the 1930s. The volume is composed of dialogues and scenes depicting the family life of the Wels family, which is in many ways still typical today, while in others, unimaginable. The illustrations are by the artistically gifted younger sibling, Martin, from whose preserved works we published his calligraphic transcription and illustrations for the book 'Jarní romance' by Jaroslav Vrchlický. The book alternates between Czech and German, reflecting the linguistic situation in Prague at the time. English and French also appear. All texts are translated, and the graphic design allows the book to be linguistically accessible not only to Czech readers but also to speakers of other languages. The title 'Sancta Familia' (Holy Family) succinctly expresses family relationships: 'When they are in a good mood, they love each other very much, and sometimes they argue so much that they could tear apart. A family, as it should be.' The book records ordinary situations: Martin walks down Na Příkopě street with his mother Ida – they speak German; at Můstku, they switch to Czech – as was proper on Wenceslas Square – and they stop at a vending machine...