This was another happy accident. I’d never heard of Eva Záhořová until I stumbled onto one of these photos whilst looking for something by a different photographer. That photo led me to the rest of these images. I love it when that happens. I can’t find anything on the photographer herself, other than that she is apparently the great granddaughter of Božena Němcová, a Czech writer. I have no idea who this cherubic little cutie is either, but she looks mischievous in a couple of these, doesn’t she?
Edit: In perusing the archive from which these images were taken a little more in depth, I think I may have made a mistake. The site may not have been listing the photographer but rather the subject, meaning our little cherub could be Eva Záhořová. Well, in my defense, it’s a Czech site and rather confusing. Anyway, whether photographer or subject, someone involved in the making of these images is named Eva Záhořová. Until I know for sure, I’ll leave the pics unlabeled.
[September 30, 2014] One of our readers has informed me that he attempted to contact the museum and selected the option to order prints. Apparently, the order option on the museum’s website is automatic for all images digitized from the Sechtl and Vosecek archive which includes the Záhořová images. The curator or clerk at the museum replied that they are unwilling to sell prints of these images on the grounds that the grandchildren might object for personal reasons. Although this is disappointing news for those who may want to own prints, it does confirm that the name on this post does indeed refer to the subject, that she is a grandmother and that the photos belong to a particular archive that might offer a clue to the name of the photographer. -Ron
Comments:
From redx on April 28, 2012
oh wow, I’ve seen these before long, long ago. problem was that I could never remember the website and google failed me. I think at the time I was under the impression that the photos originated in Poland so maybe that’s why I couldn’t use my google-fu. if I remember there were a few more pictures of this little princess (though I think you have all of the really good ones here.)
any help on finding where these came from?
From pipstarr72 on April 28, 2012
Hi, redx. My source is here. I used all of the images of her from the site except the first one, which is the same as the second, only laterally reversed and with a weird pink tint to the skin. Hand-tinting black & white images is a skill that few people seem to have mastered, and I generally don’t care for it. There is also some visible damage to the glass covering it which added to it’s unsightliness. The rest of the photos were all fine.
I just wanted to add these observations:
It is so unfortunate that the beautiful, charming Eva apparently lost her parents in early adolescence.
Also, I was wondering about the title “MUDr.”.
I found this information:
MUDr.
Medicinae Universae Doctor – Doctor of Medicine
It corresponds to the title M.D. This title indicates successful completion
of six-year university study in General Medicine.
Because I do not know anything about Czech names, the last names here give me additional “fascination”.
I was wondering if “-ova” might possibly simply be a feminine ending, but then I noticed that the father’s name is given as Zahor in that Czech Wiki article.
Then I also noticed that her descendant’s last name is Zahor.
I was implying a question, since my academic curiosity was piqued.
On Czech last names, is -ova a suffix, which can be interchangeably
used or dropped?
(Maybe not important, but I find linguistic trivia to be very interesting.)
Does Lester or anybody else here have the answer?
Linguistics is also a hobby of mine and I have observed that the -ova (or perhaps just -a) ending in Slavic languages is a feminine suffix of the root name. For example, a boy might have the family name Ivanov while his sister would be referred to as Ivanova. It might be a way of immediately determining a woman’s marital status.
While I have the information to hand …
MUDr. Eva Trefná (born Záhořová) 29th January 1918 but the genealogical record gives no place of birth. Father Prof. Zdeněk Záhořová and mother Marie Němcová both died early 1930’s and her brother died 2003, but if the family tree is up to date (which is highly likely) then she is still alive. Michal Záhoř posted a couple of pictures which are from the same set as listed here on the family tree in 2015 in myheritage which also shows her links back to Božena Němcová and that she is her great grand daughter. Her mothers biography makes interesting reading despite the poor translations from the Czech original and it seems likely the pictures were taken in Prague, but I will follow up with Michal.
OK … Now I have her fathers biography things may make a little more sense. https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zden%C4%9Bk_Z%C3%A1ho%C5%99 … His book on ‘Jak vzniká život’ ‘How is Life’ was published when Eva was seven which would I think suggest that these images may have been used in the book? That is certainly the next avenue to persue
Thank you for all the additional data! Fascinating stuff!