Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Wed, Jun 24, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-06-24 11:00:00 2026-06-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/june-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-23574
Our June 2026 auction presents a focused and exceptional selection of historical photographs spanning the 1840s through the early twentieth century, with unusual depth in named subjects, rare formats, and documented provenance anchored by strong vernacular material that rewards close looking.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 318

Cabinet Card, Two Women at Jewish Gravestone, Grajewo, Poland

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $5,000
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
Two women in full mourning dress stand on either side of a carved Hebrew gravestone in a Jewish cemetery in this gelatin silver print mounted on plain board, produced by D. Stryjew at Pilsudskiego No. 13, Grajewo, Poland, circa 1920 to 1935. The stone bears a Hebrew inscription identifying the deceased and the date of death, with a carved lion relief in the arched upper register. Both women wear black head coverings and dark coats; the woman at right holds a walking stick with both hands and rests one hand on the stone.

The gravestone is rounded at the top and features a carved lion in the upper panel above the inscribed text, a common symbol in Jewish funerary art associated with the tribe of Judah. The stone's Hebrew inscription reads: "A man who walked in the right path, wholehearted, conducting his business in faithfulness, our master [surname: Hartzatzki], son of Rabbi Zev, departed the 20th of Elul 5644," corresponding to 1884. The closing line bears the standard Hebrew acronym for "May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life."

Grajewo was home to a substantial Jewish community in the interwar period. Memorial portrait photographs taken at gravesites were a common practice in Eastern European Jewish communities, and this example, with its clearly legible inscription and identifiable photographer, is a document of a community largely destroyed in the Holocaust.

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