Drawn from a broad range of photography, from works by famed photographers to anonymous images,
Once Upon a Time in the East
offers a portrait of Czechoslovakia across the 20th century, registering its dramatic changes of regime as well as more intimate scenes of daily life. Communist demonstrations and festivals are documented alongside domestic scenes in pubs and cottages. Among the historic moments recorded in this volume are the blasting of the Stalin monument in Prague in 1962 (taken by an unknown photographer); Milon Novotny's photographs of the funeral parade of Jan Palach in 1969; and an incredible series of surveillance photographs taken by an unidentified member of the Czech secret police, which furtively documents equally furtive assignations on the streets of Prague. Works by Ivo Gil, Josef Koudelka, Jindrich Streit, Miroslav Tichy, Jiri Toman and many others are also included.