The Great Synagogue on Tłomackie Street (ul. Tłomackie) in Warsaw was a symbol of progressive Judaism for many. Its construction began in 1876 at the initiative of the most emancipated and assimilated part of the Jewish community in the capital. The grand opening and consecration of the synagogue took place on the Jewish New Year's Day on 26 September 1878. The building was designed by Leandro Marconi, one of the best architects in Warsaw at that time (https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/w/18-warszawa/112-synagogi-domy-modlitwy-i-inne/89718-wielka-synagoga-na-tlomackiem-w-warszawie, accessed on 7 April 2021).
The postcard from the collection of the District Museum in Leszno depicts the building from the north side. The front view shows a vestibule covered with a flattened dome, with a slightly protruding portico supported by four columns that sustain a triangular tympan. In front of the entrance, there are two massive five-branched candelabra. Above the synagogue, there is a square superstructure – a belvedere – surrounded by a balustrade and crowned with a dome in the shape of a closed crown. The square in front of the synagogue is undeveloped and covered with paving stones. In 1909, a garden square was arranged there, surrounded by a low wrought-iron fence. In the upper left corner of the postcard there is a caption: "Warszawa. Synagoga”. On the reverse, in the lower left corner, there is a publisher's mark: "A.I.O." in a heart-shaped surround, and in the upper right corner, there is a date stamp: "WARSZAWA/ 17.5.16. 6-7 N" and a postmark: "SZPITAL TWIERDZY WARSZAWA". The postcard was addressed to Elizabeth Schmellentin from Finsterwalde in Brandenburg.
The publisher of the postcard, Abram Izaak Ostrowski (1874–1930), ran a stationery store, printing house, publishing house, and postcard sales. The company operated in Łódź and Warsaw. Ostrowski started his publishing activities between 1901 and 1903. From 1912, he was also the publisher of "Nowa Łódzka Gazeta Poranna" (W. Puś, Żydzi w Łodzi w latach zaborów 1793–1914, Łódź 1998, p. 119; Łódź na starych pocztówkach, Łódź 2013, p. 7).
The postcard was donated to the Judaic Department of the District Museum in Leszno in 1995 by Norbert Dudziak from Osieczna. The owner purchased it at an antique fair in Berlin.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
