Jewish Shopkeepers in Jerusalem's Old City -- More than 100 Years Ago
The Getty Research Institute labels this picture as a "Jeblanier jeuf à Jérusalem," taken in 1890 (sic). The Jewish merchant's profession is a "ferbantier" -- a tinsmith or "blecher" in Yiddish. The photographer was taken by Felix Bonfils who died in 1885. Bonfils has pictures of Jerusalem going back to 1865. (Credit: Ken and Jenny Jacobson Orientalist Photography Collection, Getty) |
Several photographers at the time specifically chose Jewish subjects to photograph, particularly at the Western Wall or in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.
But in many cases, Jerusalem's Jews were simply passersby in the picture, or, as in a picture reproduced and enlarged below, owned shops that were part of the landscape.
Jaffa Gate The Library of Congress dates this picture between 1898 and 1946. Based on the carriages outside the gate, the photo was probably taken before the breaching of the Jaffa Gate in 1898 and creation of a road. The American Colony's Elijah Meyers was a photographer prior to the Colony's photographic department's creation in 1898 and may have taken this picture. Look at the shop adjacent to the gate in the accompanying enlargement. |
Enlargement: The shop is a millinery store selling hats. The men inside and outside are Jewish merchants or customers. The signs show hat models and a store name in Hebrew. |
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