Objects

Portrait photograph of two Jewish men

The photograph was taken in Działoszyce, in the Pińczów County, in 1902 by Władysław Postawka (1883–1932), the owner of the estate in Chruszczyna Mała, near Kazimierza Wielka. Postawka was an amateur photographer who captured the life of his own family, manors, and estates in the Świętokrzyskie region, as well as the surrounding landscapes and architecture. However, above all, he captured the residents of villages and nearby towns belonging to the family.

The men depicted in the photograph, grain merchants, are residents of Działoszyce — a town that was a typical shtetel at that time. By the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century the town had the highest percentage of Jews, next to Chmielnik or Kałuszyn, who made up approximately 80% of the population (in 1897 – 76.6%, in 1921 – 83.6%). In the mid-19th century, a brick synagogue was erected, with a cheder, library, mikvah and rabbi's house located in its extension. Działoszyce also had a fairly typical economic profile, with the majority of its residents engaged in crafts and trade. It is known that by the late 1880s, . there were 38 grain merchants in the town, and all branches of trade and industry were dominated by Jews.

The photograph is a full-length portrait of two middle-aged Jewish grain merchants, facing each other as they talk. The man on the left, shot from the right three-quarter view, is wearing a long, dark beard, a single-breasted gaberdine (Yiddish: kapote), with pockets, high boots and a cap with a short brim. In his left hand he is holding an umbrella, tucked beneath his arm. He is listening to another, shorter man who is shot from the left three-quarter view and located on the right side of the frame. He is also dressed in a long, dark gaberdine with a black velvet collar and high boots. He has a small beard and a cap with a short brim. Like his interlocutor, he is also holding an umbrella tucked beneath his arm in his left hand. The outer garments of both men are fastened to the left side. The men are standing on the cobbled pavement in front of the outer wall of the residential building. On the left side of the photograph, there is a visible fragment of the wooden single-leaf front door (with transom window). On the right side – part of the embrasure of a six-pane window.

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Information about the object
Author / creator
Postawka, Władysław (1883-1932)
Object type
photography
Time of creation / dating
beginning of the 20th century
Place of creation
Działoszyce (Świętokrzyskie Province)
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/78443/F MEK