Antisemitic bottle opener made of copper – FAGIN [‘the Jew’]. Europe, 19th century.
The character of Fagin presented as a Jewish criminal and leader of a gang of child pickpockets is taken from the novel ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens [published in 1838], the stereotypical character appears in the book as a Jew in ragged clothing and disheveled hair. In the novel, Fagin is described in the vilest terms as an evil, scheming villain who teaches children how to steal, and is mentioned many times not by his first name but by the epithet “the Jew”. The character was accepted throughout Europe in various forms as a typical derogatory character of the scheming, threating Jewish pickpocket against the local population.
See a similar example in “Anti Judischer Nippes und populare Judenbilder” by Falk Wiesemann 2006, catalog item 182.
Size: 9×8 cm. Good condition.
