Home made Happy Families cards featuring drawings of family members by Buddy Elias

In Basel the nine-year-old Buddy Elias made a game of Happy Families with drawings portraying and characterizing his family.  He selected a typical quality for each family member, characterizing himself as “sometimes jealous,” his brother Stephan as “choleric,” his cousin Margot as “can’t bear kisses,” and Anne as “the rascal.” His view of the adults was more pragmatic: Otto Frank is characterized as a “capable businessman,” his father Erich as distinguished by “scrupulous cleanliness” and Grandma Elias as “cooks very well.”