25 “Shana Tova” postcards published by Williamsburg – New York, printed in Germany. Early 20th century.
Charming New Year postcards with short greeting texts for the New Year in Yiddish. Among them are several rare examples from the series: scenes of a Jewish family at the dining table, blessing one another on the eve of the Day of Judgment; a “Golden Book” postcard; worshippers at the Western Wall; the windmill – “may our offspring and our wealth increase like the sand”; exile wanderings; a wedding; confession; and others.
All the postcards are published by Williamsburg, except for one postcard depicting a family during Kiddush, with a portrait of Theodor Herzl on the wall, published by Reznik – Warsaw–New York.
American publishers of greeting cards made extensive use of the knowledge and technology developed in this field in Germany. The cards were sent for printing to publishers in Germany who specialized in the production of Jewish postcards, and were then shipped back for marketing among the Jews of the United States. The Williamsburg company was the first and the largest of them to engage in printing “Shana Tova” postcards in America. Its offices were located at 25 Delancey Street, in the heart of the densely populated Jewish quarter of Manhattan. The company excelled in producing a wide variety of illustrated postcards on Jewish themes. The printers used scenes originating from the “Central” publishing house in Warsaw and added a “Western” tone to them.
Overall very good condition.
