Objects

Photograph of three religious Jews walking along a cobbled road

The photograph was probably taken in 1890 near the market square in Horodenka (now Ukraine) by an unknown author. The only clue pointing to the photographer is the handwritten signature (probably initials) in the lower right corner of the photograph: "WH[K?] 1890".

The photograph depicts three religious Jews walking along a cobbled road, against the background of urban buildings (visible on the left) of the market (?) in Horodenka. The men walking side by side are shot from the front, slightly to the right. They all have beards and the man walking in the middle, probably the youngest of them, has eyeglasses. They are dressed in long, dark, formal gaberdines (Yiddish: kapote), leather high boots and traditional fur-trimmed hats (shtreimlech). The folded tallitot (prayer shawls) carried on the side and the book – probably a prayer book (siddur) in the man on the left – indicate that they are on their way to or returning from the synagogue or house of prayer, perhaps on the Sabbath or another holiday. In the lower left of the frame, there is a visible figure of a several-year-old girl playing on the road. In the distance, against a background of single-storey buildings, individual silhouettes of Horodenka's residents can be seen.

In 1890, the Jewish community made up approximately 35% of Horodenka's population of over 11,000. The local Jews dominated industries such as trade, small-scale industry and crafts. Alongside adherents of traditional Orthodox Judaism, Hasidic groups were strong.

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Information about the object
Author / creator
W[H]
Object type
photography
Time of creation / dating
4th quarter of the 19th century
Place of creation
Horodenka (Ukraine)
Technique
black-and-white photograph
Material
photographic print paper
Keywords
Copyright status
the object is not protected by copyright law
Owner
Seweryn Udziela Etnographical Museum in Kraków
Identification number
III/96/F MEK