GITTA ALPAR: RISQUE PORTRAIT OF GERMAN ACTRESS

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alger2 This vintage real photo postcard features Hungarian actress Gitta Alpar (1903-1991). She starred in operas and operettas. This photograph is risque relative to the time it was taken. Miss Alpar is wearing a tight bathing suit. Note that the swim suit has a nice design on it’s front. She is posing in front of a large rattan chair. Gitta was born in Budapest, Hungary. She was the daughter of a Jewish cantor. From an early age, she studied singing and piano at the Academy of Music. In 1923, she made her debut at the Budapest State Opera House. She had a long career and she performed at the great opera houses of Vienna, Berlin, an many other international venues. Alpar’s first films were made in Germany. In 1931 she married an actor, Gustav Frohlich. Their marriage ended in 1935 because Alpar was Jewish and the marriage was against the law in Nazi Germany. A related fact is that both of her brothers, a pianist, and a violinist, were concentration camp survivors. Alpar appeared on Hitler’s anti semitic “hit list”. She left Germany in 1933, and then did some globe hopping. She first went to Austria, followed by Hungry, England, and the United States. She continued her singing and film career in the US. The IMDb credits Alpar with nine acting credits from 1932 through 1941. Alpar’s accent ruined her chance to be a successful Hollywood actress. After the war, she primarily worked as a singing teacher. For a sample of Miss Alpar’s singing voice and acting, click on the YouTube segment below. This postcard was published by Ross Verlag and is part of a series (no.6683/2). Alpar’s photo was taken by FFG  (Froehlich-Flm GmbH).   (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 25, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
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PORTRAIT OF A JEWISH COUPLE IN DOBRIESEN, HUNGARY (1927)

An older Jewish couple are featured in this vintage real photo postcard. An ink caption on the bottom front of the postcard states “Debreczen, Hungary, October, 1927).The couple are well dressed. The woman is wearing a double chained locket and the man is wearing a shirt with a wing tipped collar, a tie, and a yarmulke (kippah). A yarmulke is a jewish traditional head covering worn by most Jews in synagogue and worn by Orthodox Jews all the time. The photographer of this photo is Liener Bela, who operated a studio in Debreczen, the second largest city in Hungary (Budapest is the largest city). One can only hope that this Jewish couple left Europe before the Holocaust. In the first few decades of the 1900’s, Jews made up 5% of the Hungarian population. They had managed to achieve great commercial and professional success. In fact, their success was disproportionate to their numbers in the general population. Their accomplishments fostered resentment and the 1920’s were stained with much anti-semitism in Hungary. By 1920, Jewish enrollment in Hungarian universities were restricted by a quota.  Admiral Horthy, the Regent of Hungary, was a self-proclaimed “anti-Semite”. Repressive anti Jewish policies were adapted and fascist groups flourished. Hopefully, this lovely couple survived. This vintage postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

SOLD

Published in: on May 25, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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GORGEOUS WEDDING PORTRAIT OF JEWISH COUPLE IN BUCHAREST, ROMANIA (JUDAICA)

Finding vintage real photo postcards that feature wedding couples is not all that challenging. However, this particular photo postcard is exceptionally special. First of all, the wedding portrait is gorgeous. The bride looks absolutely beautiful in her wedding gown and veil. The bride holds a giant bouquet of flowers. She shows great poise. The handsome groom is dressed to the nines in his tuxedo and top hat. The second factor that distinguishes this photograph is that there is some known history attached to it. The postcard is from an album belonging to a Jewish family in Romania. The front of the postcard is embossed with the name and location of the studio that took this photo. The studio was located in Bucharest, Romania. The name of the photographer is difficult to decipher. I believe that this postcard is from the 1920’s.    SOLD

Published in: on April 9, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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THREE YOUNG SIBLINGS (POSSIBLY SCOUTS) IN POLOTSK, BELARUS

This cabinet card features three children, likely siblings, posing for their portrait at a photographic gallery in Polotsk, Belarus. The young girl in the photograph is holding a ball held inside netting. Perhaps a visitor to the cabinet card gallery can provide more details about this toy. The previous owner of this cabinet card is from St. Petersburg, Russia. He has provided the photographers location, as well as the photographers name, Bernstein. He also contends that the way that the subjects are dressed in this image, indicates that they are scouts. In addition, the previous owner also asserts that the photographer of this image was Jewish. In fact, research reveals that the population of Polotsk in 1897 was over 20,000, and more than half of those residents were Jewish. There was a strong Orthodox Jewish community there.  The “Jewish Virtual Library” indicates that in the late nineteenth century, the city became embroiled in anti-Jewish agitation.

Published in: on March 4, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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FAMILY PORTRAIT IN PAPA, HUNGARY

This family portrait cabinet card was photographed by Sorensen Bela in the city of Papa, Hungary. Due to the age of the seated man and woman, it is difficult to determine the family constellation. Is this a photograph of parents with two daughters? Perhaps its a photograph of a set of parents, their daughter, and their granddaughter? The community of Papa is a historical town in northeast Hungary. The town is noted for its baroque architecture and for being the center of the reformed faith in Transdanubia. In addition, Papa was the third to largest Jewish community in 19th century Hungary.

Published in: on March 7, 2010 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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LILY HANBURY: ENGLISH THEATRE ACTRESS

Lily Hanbury (1874-1908) appears on this Cabinet Card by Sarony of New York City. Sarony was one of the celebrated photographers of Theater Stars of the day. Hanbury was an English Stage Performer. She was born and educated in London. Her theatrical debut was in 1888 when she appeared in W. S. Gilbert’s “Pygmalion and Galatea” at the Savoy Theatre. She played on most major English stages and in such productions as “The Three Musketeers”, “The Stranger”, “Lights O London”, and Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People”. She became very popular with her performances in Shakespeare, acting in plays under the management of both Wilson Barrett and Beerbohm Tree. Tragicially, Hanbury lost her life at a young age when she died of complications after delivering a still-born baby. She was cremated and buried in the Jewish Cemetery at Willieden, England.

Published in: on January 11, 2010 at 1:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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JEWISH COUPLE, REPORTEDLY BRODER SINGERS (YIDDISH) IN BRODY, UKRAINE

This Cabinet card featuring a well dressed couple, offers a bit of mystery. The last owner of this card states that this couple are “Brody Yiddish Singers”. So what does that mean? First of all, Brody is a city in Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. The city was a crossroads and jewish trade center in the 19th century. Brody is considered to be Shtetls,  Brodersanger, Purim, Jewish theater, CzarAlexander III, Berl Margulis, Berl Broder, one of the “shtetls”. The city was famous for the Brodersanger or Broder singers who were among the first Jews to publicly perform Yiddish songs outside of Purim (a holiday) and wedding celebrations. These performers were the precursors of jewish theater. Due to anti Jewish regulation enacted in 1882 by Czar Alexander III of Russia and the resulting exodus of Russian Jews; throughout 1881 hundreds of Jewish immigrants arrived in Brody daily. The most famous Broder singer was Berl Margulis also known as Berl Broder (1815  -1868). It is not certain that this cabinet card really depicts Broder singers and no evidence is available to support the claim , but it is not unusual for families to pass down such information over generations and  there is a reasonable chance that the history is correct and the story is worth telling. The photographer of this cabinet card is Buscdorf.

Published in: on December 22, 2009 at 12:19 am  Leave a Comment  
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HASIDIC JEWISH MAN IN LITHUANIA

orthodoxmanThis Cabinet card is an image of a Hasidic Jewish Man. The photograph was taken by M Puhaczevski in Ponevezh, Lithuania. Note the gentleman’s skull cap and his payot (sideburns).

Published in: on May 9, 2009 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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JEWISH FAMILY IN MINSK, RUSSIA

jew-family-in-minsk_0001This Cabinet card comes from the estate of a Jewish family.  The photograph is an image of a Jewish family in Minsk, Russia.  The parents and children are dressed up nicely for their visit to the photographers studio. Note the footwear and the young boy’s hat.

Published in: on April 29, 2009 at 12:33 am  Comments (5)  
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Jewish Family in New York (Meet the Goldberg’s)

 
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M. Goldberg and his family are photographed by Newman’s Studio of Art Photography. The studio was located on Lexington Avenue in New York City. Perhaps the Goldberg’s were recent Jewish immigrants to America.

Published in: on January 10, 2009 at 1:08 am  Leave a Comment  
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