Photo Album – The Jewish Community in Moisés Ville, Argentina

Photo album documenting Jewish life in Moisés Ville, late 19th cent., and during the 1920s.
Moisés Ville was established in 1889 by a group of East European Jews and was the first Jewish settlement in Argentina. Baron Hirsch started to support the community of Moisés Ville in 1891 and more Jews arrived from Europe. The founders’ ideal was to manage an agricultural settlement. During its prime thousands of Jews lived there; seven synagogues, schools, a teachers’ seminar, youth movements, cultural centers and a theater were all active in Moisés Ville.
The photo album presented here contains twenty eight photos, all annotated by hand, in Yiddish:
1-19. Nineteen photos (5.5X8 cm) of the first half of the 1920s (four photos appear twice). Buildings and inhabitants of Moisés Ville in staged photos, outside their homes. Annotations include the names of the persons in the photos. Two photos (16X11 cm) document the visit of the journalist and author Jacob Ze'ev (Wolf) Latzky-Bertoldi, of the Socialist-Zionism, with many dignitaries including the owner of the photo album (whose identity is unknown).
20-28. Nine photos (12X16.5 cm) documenting the first decade of Moisés Ville’s existence. It is possible that these are reproductions of original photos taken early in the 20th cent. The photos portray agricultural activity, a group prayer in memory of Baron Rothschild in the village of Clara (named after the Baron’s wife), photo in front of a mansion in Moisés Ville, etc.
Album 16.5X23 cm, delicate leaves and cover, with minor tears at edges. Most photos in good condition, some are somewhat faded.