A Pole, Polish Jews and Hungarian Peasants, Hand Colored Lithograph, 1842

An original antique lithograph, hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows four men. At left a bearded man in a fur cap and a long green coat with red cuffs, a black belt, red breeches and high boots points with one hand, holds a small yellow pouch in the other and wears a curved saber at his side. In the center two bearded men in fur hats talk with raised hands, one in a dark gray coat and the other in a long blue robe with a white sash under a dark cloak. At right a bearded man in a striped blue jerkin over a white shirt, ocher breeches and white stockings holds a dark hat and a cloth bundle. The lower image shows four Hungarian country people: a man with a mustache in a brown suit, cloak and green sash holding a hat; a woman in a white headcloth and long blue gown holding a bowl; and two men in tall fur caps, long white shirts with red sashes and white trousers, one leaning on a stick and the other in ocher trousers with a saber at his side.

The lettering reads "Tav: 96" at upper left, "RUSSIA" in the center and "Tom IV" at upper right. The upper captions read "Polacco" (A Pole), "Ebrei Polacchi" (Polish Jews) and "Ebreo di Munkato" (Jew of Munkato). The lower caption reads "Contadini Ungheresi" (Hungarian Peasants).

In 1842 much of Poland lay under Russian rule, which explains the heading. The long coats and fur hats worn by the Jewish figures were the customary dress of Jewish men in Poland at the time.

A useful document of Central and Eastern European dress for a study or a collection on Jewish history.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.