Nicholas Lowry: It was part of my Czech identity that my family owned a condom company

Photo: Archiv Mowshe

Nicholas Lowry leads viewers through IDENTITA: A Film About Czech Graphic Design, which is set for release later this year. The New York auctioneer, art expert and TV personality seems the ideal man for the job, given his vast knowledge of the subject and his family background. We discussed Lowry’s Czech heritage, his time in Prague in the “Wild East” early 1990s and what he has learned from working on IDENTITA in Prague recently, shortly after shooting wrapped on the feature-length documentary.

What are your own Czech roots, Nicho?

“My father was born in Prague in 1932 and lived here with his parents and his brother. They were officially at that time Sudeten Germans, so German was his first language; Czech was his second language.

“We’re also a Jewish family, so come the war, come 1938/1939, the family had to leave, and were able to successfully get out.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby