An interesting collection of 27 postcards – Jewish life in Salonika, Jewish neighborhoods, and Jewish buildings in Salonika. Early 20th century. Most of the postcards were published by Jewish publishers active in Salonika. (Salonika saw a vibrant movement of Jewish postcard publishing in the early 20th century, with approximately 30 different publishers operating simultaneously in the city.) Among the Jewish publishers in this collection: Hananel Nehar, Jacques Saul, and others.
The postcards feature: Rabbi Yaakov Meir, Chief Rabbi of Salonika; private homes of wealthy Jewish residents of the city; the Jewish cemetery; Jewish women in traditional dress; French soldiers on the roof of a Jewish host’s home during a meal; a mother and daughter in modern attire alongside traditional clothing; a Jewish woman walking past a church; the Alatini Villa, formerly used by Sultan Abdul Hamid; a Jewish porter; the port of Salonika (with a New Year’s greeting on the reverse from the sender); scenic postcards of Jewish centers in the city; and more.
A large portion of the postcards in the collection were sent during the height of World War I, as is clearly evident from the inscriptions on the reverse side of the cards. One postcard, sent in August 1917 during the Great Fire (in which tens of thousands of Jews lost their homes), contains the following message from the sender: “Salonika is once again suffering from a fire. The newspaper reported that a blaze broke out in the Vespuch neighborhood, and it seems this time it’s terrible – the entire population is out in the street and they have no clothes.” In another postcard sent on 27 May 1917, the sender writes about the wartime events in the city: “They told me that by the time you receive my card, I will probably have to go to the front. There’s nothing to be done, such is fate – others have suffered before us. There were heavy bombings on the city yesterday, it was truly an attack. Much damage was caused. Yesterday I received a letter from one of my friends, who was wounded in the knee. We often hear cannon fire, it’s quite disturbing. I hope to get through this safely, and to return soon…”.
In yet another postcard, sent in the midst of World War I, the writer describes the events of the war: “Yesterday there was a major bombing here. There was a lot of shooting, rifle fire. There were also shots from the Greeks. They destroyed our furniture, and as usual, I’m having trouble getting by. It’s impossible to leave the camp, nothing can be done…” and more.
Salonika was home to a large Jewish community for hundreds of years. Following the expulsion from Spain, tens of thousands of Jews arrived in Salonika, settled there, and transformed it into the most prominent and magnificent Sephardic Jewish center. On the Sabbath, the city came to a near standstill— including the port—due to the Jewish majority. By the end of the 18th century, its demographic weight made it one of the cities with the largest Jewish communities in the world. The Jews of the city contributed significantly to its development in commerce, industry, banking, and more. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the city became a center of rich Jewish Torah scholarship and culture.
Many of the postcards in the collection appear in the important works devoted to Jewish postcards from Salonika in the early 20th century: The Jews of Thessaloniki through the Postcards 1886–1917 (1992), as well as in the renowned collector Gérard Silvain’s book IMAGE et TRADITIONS JUIVES.
Most of the postcards were used (handwritten inscriptions on the reverse or sent by mail). Very good condition.
