Between Poland and Germany: Jewish Religious Practices in Illustrated Postcards of the Early Twentieth Century

2003 ◽  
pp. 137-166
Author(s):  
Shalom Sabar
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
The Public ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Common ◽  
Social Message

This chapter assesses the production of Jewish postcards in the early twentieth century. The fact that the Jews in this period wanted to participate in the postcard phenomenon carries an important social message, and, as is implied in the common Hebrew term for the postcard at the time, mikhtav galui (open letter), this desire was clear for all to see. The printing and acquisition of postcards signified acceptance of and support for the public image portrayed upon them. They are therefore a mirror of the ideology and values of turn-of-the-century Jewish society as that society wished to present them. At the same time, the postcards contain valuable ethnographic information about the lives of Jews during those years. The production of Jewish postcards was concentrated in three centres: two in Europe (Germany and Poland) and one in the United States (primarily New York). Germany may be considered the birthplace of the Jewish illustrated postcard: the earliest examples known were produced there in the 1880s. The chapter then considers the portrayal of Jewish religious practices in the postcards.

scholarly journals “The Great Palace of American Civilization”: Allen Eaton’s Arts and Crafts of the Homelands, 1919-1932

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 98-116
Author(s):  
Diana Greenwold
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Public Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arts And Crafts ◽  
Old World ◽  
Early Twentieth Century

Allen Eaton’s Arts and Crafts of the Homelands exhibition premiered in Buffalo, New York in 1919, where it drew record crowds to the Albright Gallery. Iterations of the display soon opened in Albany, Rochester, and then in several other cities across the United States. Arts and Crafts of the Homelands showcased European craftwork of local immigrant groups to celebrate a model of early twentieth-century American pluralism. This article examines the aims of exhibit organizers, immigrant presenters, and native-born visitors to these exhibitions. The structure of the displays—which highlighted domestic tableaux of old-world objects—obfuscated the contemporary contributions of immigrant groups to American cultural and economic forums. I argue, however, that local groups took advantage of the exhibit’s performance spaces to assert their active presence in American public life. 

“Representatives of All that is Noble”: The Rise of the Episcopal Establishment in Early-Twentieth-Century Philadelphia

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-100
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Rzeznik
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
Moral Leadership ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Religious Establishment ◽  
The Church

AbstractThe United States has never had an established religion, but, by the early twentieth century, many Episcopalians had come to think of themselves as the nation's religious establishment. No other denomination, they believed, was as well-suited to provide moral leadership for the nation and unite its people in faith. This article argues that their commitment to a national civic mission provided Episcopalians with a sense of collective purpose that diverted attention from internal divisions and helped propel the church to a position of prominence within American religious life. It also reveals how many of the prime proponents and beneficiaries of the church's ascendancy were members of the social and financial elite. Committed to a patrician creed of social responsibility, these “representatives of all that is noble” gained status and moral authority through their public support of the church and its mission. To trace the contours of the Episcopal ascendancy, this article focuses on developments within the Diocese of Pennsylvania, one of the largest, wealthiest, and most influential within the church. Over the course of the early twentieth century, its members overcame their prevailing parochialism, strengthened their denominational identity, and brought their influence to bear on the nation's religious life. Their exercise of religious and cultural authority can be seen in their support of three ecclesiastical projects—the proposed diocesan cathedral, historic Christ Church, and the Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge— that helped fashion the public image of the Episcopal Church as the nation's religious establishment.

‘Frail but Fearless’: Dichotomies of femininity and strength at the New York Hippodrome, 1905‐17

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Merriman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Entertainment Industry ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Femininity And Masculinity ◽  
Critical Responses

This article examines two women who performed athletic feats at the New York Hippodrome between 1905 and 1917, arguing that their approaches to costume and bodily display were integral to their widespread critical and public acclaim. The women examined are lion tamer Claire Heliot and swimmer and diver Annette Kellerman. I contend that these performers occupied a difficult position within the early-twentieth-century entertainment industry. The type of mainstream spectacle that the Hippodrome provided, combined with strict societal ideas of what constituted femininity and masculinity, created an environment that was not conducive to the success of athletic women.Their unusual acts therefore required them to negotiate their public image in such a way that emphasized their inherent femininity. Their costume was an essential element of this negotiation as it exposed the audience to a kind of woman with whom they were already familiar. Claire Heliot did this by occupying a traditional domestic womanhood that sharply contrasted with her dangerous lion-taming act, and Annette Kellerman emphasized her beauty through the sexually charged display of her body in form-fitting costumes and swimsuits. In addition to analyses of their costumes, critical responses to their performances are taken into consideration as evidence of these women’s success as performers. This article highlights how costume and the body can be used as tools to alter identity and reinforce gender norms for the purposes of subverting the physical expectations of women.

Mediators in the International Marketplace: U.S. Advertising in Latin America in the Early Twentieth Century

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Scanlon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Latin America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Advertising Agency ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Local Cultures

In the early twentieth century, companies relied on advertising to inform international audiences about their products and services, just as they do today. The J. Walter Thompson Company, a New York–based advertising agency, entered the global stage early, and by 1928 Thompson advertisements had appeared in twenty-six languages in over forty countries. Reaching international audiences and expanding their tastes required an understanding of local cultures and the ways in which they conducted their businesses, and advertisers often had to act as mediators for their clients. The J. Walter Thompson Company's efforts in Argentina provide an excellent case study of how both “local” and “global” messages of consumption were understood–and often misinterpreted–when they were transmitted to other countries from the United States.

scholarly journals The Museum of Safety: Responsibility, Awareness and Modernity in New York, 1908–1923

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-938
Author(s):  
ROSS WILSON
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Safety Devices ◽  
The Public ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Detailed Assessment ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
The Way

This article examines the construction, the development and the denouement of the Museum of Safety in New York during the early twentieth century. Through a detailed assessment of the institution's own bulletin, newspapers and accompanying literature, the manner in which the museum served its visitors, promoted its cause and failed to secure its own future will be examined. The significance of this institution has been overlooked despite the way its role and responsibilities in exhibiting safety devices and procedures to industry, workers and the public reflect important trends within late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century society. The Museum of Safety also emerged as the effects of capitalism, immigration and industrialization began to be addressed. Examining the history of this “lost museum” will, therefore, reveal how responsibility, awareness and modernity were encountered in New York.

Shaping Jazz

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon J. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Recording Industry ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Long Run

There are over a million jazz recordings, but only a few hundred tunes have been recorded repeatedly. Why did a minority of songs become jazz standards? Why do some songs—and not others—get re-recorded by many musicians? This book answers this question and more, exploring the underappreciated yet crucial roles played by initial production and markets—in particular, organizations and geography—in the development of early twentieth-century jazz. The book considers why places like New York played more important roles as engines of diffusion than as the sources of standards. It demonstrates why and when certain geographical references in tune and group titles were considered more desirable. It also explains why a place like Berlin, which produced jazz abundantly from the 1920s to early 1930s, is now on jazz's historical sidelines. The book shows the key influences of firms in the recording industry, including how record labels and their executives affected what music was recorded, and why major companies would re-release recordings under artistic pseudonyms. It indicates how a recording's appeal was related to the narrative around its creation, and how the identities of its firm and musicians influenced the tune's long-run popularity. Applying fascinating ideas about market emergence to a music's commercialization, the book offers a unique look at the origins of a groundbreaking art form.

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