Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
A Gorgeous NYC Guidebook Destroyed By Czech Police In 1968 Has Been Unearthed
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 12, 2014
Modified Mar 12, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 12, 2014
Modified Mar 12, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It was 1964 when "New York: A Mod Portrait of the City" was created in all of its colorful glory, but it wasn't until 1968 that it was actually published. And it was that year that the Czechoslovakian secret police destroyed the entire print run of Zdenek Mahler and Vladimir Fuka's book... all but one copy, that is. That one copy was discovered by Mahler's grandson Simon in 2008, and yesterday it finally made it to American bookshelves (in 2008, a Czech publisher also put it out).
Mahler—who lives in New York City now and unearthed the lone copy with his grandfather—told the Daily Beast, "When I saw it I thought it was absolutely incredible and a huge shame it never published. I thought it was ridiculous something like this was going to be lying in some stack of paper, so I told him he should try to have someone publish it."
According to the (updated) book's summary, this "half century old, timeless illustrated classic artfully captures the Mad Men era... New York City is poetically celebrated in Vladimir Fuka's brilliant, colorful illustrations and collages and Zdenek Mahler's playful accompanying narrative. The book takes readers on a charming journey of discovery through the magnificent metropolis's architectural landmarks, cultural hot spots, and neighborhoods, from uptown to downtown, from Wall Street to Coney Island, and the Guggenheim Museum to Yankee Stadium. Interesting historical fun facts about the city and its inhabitants are combined with descriptions of the reality of everyday New York."
And so a pretty, 1960s era guidebook to New York is now the perfect coffee table book.
Tagged
cold war
Mod Portrait of the City
Simon Mahler
Vladimir Fuka
Zdenek Mahler
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 29, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
Also: Books!
By
Alec Hamilton
Arts & Entertainment
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
Also: Books!
By
Alec Hamilton
How the Village Halloween Parade keeps its soul
By
Hannah Frishberg
'You Can See Everything' … as long as you go to Staten Island
By
Sonia Rao
Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .