Browse Items (226 total)

Ad from Ilustrowana Republika publicizing performances of favorite artists of the Yiddish stage—Shimen Dzigan, Israel Shumacher, and Menashe Oppenheim among them. During 1938, the ensemble toured central Poland with this popular show.

Ad from Najer Folksblat publicizing 1926 performances of a Yiddish troupe at the Scala theater in Łódź. The visiting troupe, led by Natalia and Moshe Lipman (both also known from their roles in Yiddish film), performed a stage adaptation of du…

Poster advertising a 1928 Łódź performance of Betty Kenig. A much admired soubrette actress who made her name in American Yiddish theater, Kenig paid several visits to Poland. The performance was to take place at the theatre Modern, located at Krótka…

Ad from Najer Folksblat publicizing a 1930 exhibition of curiosities, or "freak shows," as they were known at the time. Here, the focus is on human deformities billed as "wonders of nature."

Ad from a 1903 calendar, publicizing film presentation in one of the earliest cinematic venues in Łódź, the American Bioscope, owned by the enterprising Krzemiński brothers. Most of the films shown here were the brief but beautifully imaginative…

Ad from the Yiddish newspaper Lodzer Tageblatt publicizing a 1910 screening of two short films in the theater Modern in Łódź. In the early years of cinema, films were often shown within variety and magic shows. In this case, two typical film…

A poster advertising performances by the Warsaw Circus Troupe. Like other residents of Lódź, Jews were drawn to circus entertainment. This can be glimpsed from numerous ads in the Jewish press. Neither was it uncommon for Jews to be employed in…

Ad from the Yiddish newspaper Najer Folksblat publicizing a 1930 screening of The Jazz Singer at the movie theater Splendid in Łódź. As the first cinema with a permanent sound-film setup, Splendid was the ideal venue to screen the first full-feature…

Ad from the Yiddish newspaper Najer Folksblat publicizing a 1933 screening of the film Anybody Can Love (Każdemu wolno kochać) at the garden movie theater Rakieta in Łódź. Anybody Can Love, the first full feature Polish talkie, is about a poor song…

Ad from the Yiddish newspaper Najer Folksblat publicizing a 1930 screening of The Promised Land (Ziemia Obiecana) at the movie theater Raj in Bałuty. There is a particular poignance in this film version of Władysław Reymont's celebrated novel about…