The beginnings of Jewish settlement in Kraków date back to the 11th century. Successive waves of settlers, mainly from Germany, Bohemia and Moravia, arrived in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. After a fire in the city in 1494, the majority of Jewish residents moved to the nearby district of Kazimierz. For centuries, the local Jewish Community Council was considered one of the largest in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the most important in Europe (https://www.krakow.pl/zydowski_krakow/25261,artykul,historia_krakowskich_zydow_do_1939_r_.html, accessed on 3 March 2021).
An advertising vignette kept in the collection of the District Museum in Leszno is one of the mementos of the activity of the Jews of Kraków. In the centre, it features a decorative cartouche with the German name of the beer: "Excellent/ Gelber", supported by a large standing barrel and three smaller ones, one of which is overturned. On the large barrel, there is a laurel branch symbolizing triumph and the highest quality. Below the composition, there is an inscription: "Herszel Samson Grinberg/ Kraków Manufacturer". The whole design is surrounded by a delicate frame with rounded corners.
Herszel Samson Grinberg, also known as Hirsch Samson Grünberg, was born around 1768. He was the son of Samson Herszel Goldberg and Esther, the daughter of Pesach Dawidowicz. He was married three times and had at least fourteen children, six sons and eight daughters. He died in Kraków on 12 November 1829 (https://www.geni.com/people/Hirsz-Samson-Gr%C3%BCnberg/6000000002784092497, accessed on 3 March 2021).
The copperplate engraving was donated to the Museum in Leszno in 2014 by a resident of Wschowa. The vignette was purchased in 2003 from an online auction. The seller did not provide any information that could trace the history of the item and the company advertised on it.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
