The postcard is in the shape of a horizontal rectangle with a reproduction of A. Osterman's artwork on the front. The depicted scene takes place in a small-town square. In the foreground, there is a carriage pulled by a pair of thin horses. Men in bekishes and fox fur-trimmed caps or hats are riding in the carriage. Another horse team emerges behind the carriage. On the left side, a band is playing in front of a building, and a group of men is gathered around them. In the background, on the left side, there is an impressive building, possibly a synagogue. In the lower right corner, the artist's mark is imprinted: "A. Osterman."
Below the reproduction, there is a Yiddish and Polish inscription: "Arrival of Wedding Guests!" separated by musical notation. Underneath the staff notation, there is a handwritten note in German, which is a translation of the text. On the back, at the top edge, the imprint "Pocztówka" (Postcard) is written in seven languages: Polish, German, English, French, Hungarian, Russian, and Ukrainian (the last two in cyrillic script). In the lower left corner, there is the address of the publisher: "A[wit] S[zubert] Kraków" and the year of publication: "1908."
Awit Szubert was a painter and photographer from Oświęcim . He studied at the School of Drawing and Painting in Kraków. He furthered his studies in Rome, and he delved into the secrets of photography in Vienna. He was one of the first photographers to capture images of the Tatra Mountains, Pieniny, and the interior of the Wieliczka salt mine. He operated his own photography studio from 1864, initially in Oświęcim, then in Kraków and Szczawnica (https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awit_Szubert, accessed on 26 February 2021).
The postcard was donated to the District Museum in Leszno in 1993 by Zdzisław Moliński from Leszno, who received it as part of a package of 20 postcards from the early 20th century. All of them featured reproductions of Jewish-themed artwork. The postcards were given to him by Zdzisław Sosnowski from Lasocice near Leszno, a house painter, collector, history enthusiast, and admirer of General Władysław Sikorski, with the intention of contributing them to the newly forming Department of Judaica
. Władysław Sikorski, with the intention of donating them to the newly established Judaica Department.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
