Christmas in the CNB Archive

The archival collection of the Bank of the Czechoslovak Legions (Banka československých legií) is unique in that, alongside traditional banking documentation, it contains a wealth of materials relating to the legionnaires' history and legacy, which the bank continually commemorated.

Banking history is not only a world of numbers, but also one of human stories. The protagonists of these stories are bank managers, whose personal destinies can be traced in the collections of the Czech National Bank Archive. Alongside work-related correspondence and accounting records, their personal papers conceal genuine treasures that offer a fresh perspective on the life of a bank manager.

During Advent, our e-mail inboxes and mobile phones fill with Christmas and New Year greetings from relatives, friends, colleagues and business partners. It was no different nearly 100 years ago, when two albums of such greetings were gradually compiled in the office of the director of Česká eskomptní banka on Na Příkopě Street in Prague.

Their owner was the eminent banker Otto Feilchenfeld (1879–1944), who served as Chief Director of Česká eskomptní banka a úvěrní ústav v Praze from 1912 to 1939. He was also a member of the Exchange Chamber of the Prague Commodity and Stock Exchange and other boards of companies across Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.

His albums from 1928 and 1929 contain pasted-in Christmas postcards, New Year greetings with landscape and urban motifs, as well as simple business cards.

Their senders came from Czechoslovakia and various other countries (including the USA, Germany, the United Kingdom and Romania). These items bear witness to the personal and professional connections – the social capital – of one of the country's leading financiers.

Thank you for being with us this year. We wish you a new year filled with good tidings.

The CNB Archive Team