The Jewish World in Postcards

Postcards and greeting cards appeared first in Germany in 1870. Production of postcards reached its fullest flower in the first decade of the 20th century.

Jewish postcards appeared at the end of the 19th century. Originally the production center of Jewish postcards was in Warsaw. There were located such publishing houses as "Omanut", "Iehudia", "Sinai", "Lebanon". Affiliates of these firms were also in Russia, in Moscow. Great number of Jewish postcards were published in the USA. The enormous distribution of Jewish postcards in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century was linked to general literacy of the Jewish population as wellas its migration within the limits of the Russian Empire and mass migration abroad.

Jewish postcards are characterized by a great variety of themes and genres. First there were publishes series of postcards devoted to religious tradition. These postcards displayed scenes of festive worship, weekday and Sabbath prayers, circumcisions, weddings, studies at kheder and yeshiva.

Colored postcards, which reproduced paintings by well-known Jewish artists, were very popular. Among them were pictures vy Morits Oppenheim, Alfons Levi, Ephraim Moshe Lilien, and Lazar Krestin. The postcards displayed artistic works by famous Russian-Jewish painters and sculptors in Russia as well. They included such artists as Isaak Levitan, Mark Antokolsky, Iliya Gintsburg, Leonid Pasternnak, and Moisey Maimon. Very often the postcards depicted synagogues, different public and educational buildings belonging to Jewish communities, and shtetl streets with their inhabitants - peddlers and craftsmen.

In the early 20th century national political parties started to play an important role in life of Russian Jews. That is why publishing houses issued series of postcards with portraits of popular political and civic leaders. Among them were portraits of Zionist leaders Theodore Herzl, Ahad Haam, Max Nordau, Leib Pinsker, David Wolfson, Hirsh Belkovsky, Max Mandelshtam and others. Many postcards were printed with Jewish sacred places and new settlements in Erets Israel in order to support Zionism.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries national Jewish literature and arts were actively developing. This found its reflection in postcards with portraits of such famous Jewish writers as Sholom Aleichem, Shimon Frug, Mendele Moicher-Sforim, Haim-Nachman Biyalik, Perets Smolenskin, Iehuda-Leib Gordon.

In spite of the opposition of the authorities the Jews took active part in all spheres of life in Russia. One can find on the postcards portraits of Jews who became Russian political activists of that epoch: Maxim Vinaver, Vladimir Gessen, Michail Gertsenshtein, Boris Iollos.

Many postcards were issued in particular sets devoted to special events that became remarkable landmark in the history of Jews. These were the series of postcards entitled "The Beilis Affair", "Jews in the First World War", "Jews - deputies of Duma (Parliament in Russia)".

The Jewish question in Russia has always drawn close attention. The publishers of the postcards did not step away from this matter. For example, there was a postcard set "Russians Speak about Jews". It contained portraits of authoritative political leaders, their sayings about Jews, and their ideas concerning ways of solving the Jewish problem in Russia.

Nowadays the illustrated postcards of the past have a great historic and artistic significance. They reflected all aspects of Jewish life. They preserved for descendents portraits of famous Jewish political activists and artists and of common inhabitants of "Jewish street" as well. The postcards show not only well-known synagogues in St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Odessa, but many small ones constructed in shtetls of the Pale of Settlement, that were pulled down during wars and pogroms.

During the creation of this exhibition we aspired to revive the memory of illustrated Jewish postcards as a remarkable phenomenon of Jewish culture in the early 20th century Russia.