Happy New Year card from Chanes Family to Howard Lenhoff. American Jewish Historical Society.
Paper on board, 1900. Many Rosh Hashanah greeting cards are decorated with or take the form of ships conveying the holiday greeting (as here). Yeshiva University Museum.
Williamsburg Art Co., NY. Origin: Saxony c. 1910/1915. “A Happy New Year. We’re here to let you know That good times are coming Times of light, of fortune and joy The world is being renewed!” YUM.
Williamsburg Post Card Co., NY. Printed in Germany. “A Happy New Year! Dear angel, write us down In the book of luck and life And our good, forgiving God Will give it his OK!”
Postcard, c.19th-20th century. This card combines Jewish identity (lions supporting a Star of David) with Austrian patriotism (the photograph of Franz Josef). Mailed fr. Austria to Newark, NJ. YUM.
Paper, ca. 1900. Inscribed in Hebrew, “Happy New Year.” Boy and girl walk hand-in-hand behind dog. Yeshiva University Museum.
All images: Collection of Yeshiva University Museum
Shana Tova!
The start of this year marks a new beginning for us here at the Center for a Jewish History. We’re opening the new David Berg Rare Book Room to showcase treasures from the collections of our five partners, launching a program season packed with everything from concerts to symposia, and embarking on an exploration of the Jewish community of 18th-century Metz, France with a conference and exhibition (co-sponsorsed by YIVO) that we would love for you to attend.
You can start planning your visit to the Center by clicking here.
For more historic greeting cards like the ones above, visit the Center for Jewish History’s Flickr photostream. You can also click here to connect with the Center for Jewish History on Facebook and Twitter.
We continue Sarah Ganton’s story of Molly Picon, for decades a household name in Yiddish theater and vaudeville, then a Broadway star and performer with the USO, then a radio personality. We’re very fortunate to have a rich record of her life through the archives of the American Jewish Historic Society, one of the five partners of the Center of Jewish History. Join us…
Children’s book: Dos ḳetsele. by Leib Kvitko (1890-1952). Illustrated by Y. Dats. Odessa, 1935. 10 pages long. YIVO Institue for Jewish Research.
A little boy and his kitten are best friends and play together day and night. But instead of catching mice at home, the kitten plays and dances with them. When the boy’s mother finds this out, she throws the kitten out of…
Eight soldiers gather with their Jewish chaplain to put finishing touches on giant menorah, circa 1950. American Jewish Historical Society.
Text on back of photograph: “Eight soldiers gather with their Jewish chaplain to put finishing touches on giant menorah for Hanukah celebration at Ft. Eustis, VA. Other Jewish GIs, in other lands celebrate holiday as part of JWB’s year-round, world-wide program of religious and…
