Rosh Hashanah card sales

Percy Loomis Sperr, 1890–1964

[Manhattan: Delancey Street - Suffolk Street ; Manny's Bar.]

New York, 1936

This photograph by Percy Loomis Sperr dated September 25, 1936, provides a unique glimpse into a rarely captured scene of the Hebrew New Year cards display on the busy corner of Delancey and Suffolk streets on the Lower East Side. While the Rosh Hashanah cards have been preserved in many libraries worldwide in remarkable quantities and artistic variety, it’s quite uncommon to come across photographs depicting exactly how they were sold on the eve of the holiday. This could be attributed to the seasonal nature of Rosh Hashanah card sales, which took place for only a few weeks a year. Here, large boards placed above the entrance to Manny’s Bar announce, in Yiddish and English, “Headquarters for Hebrew New Year cards.” Manny’s Bar, had likely gone out of business recently, since another announcement above the cards’ signs indicates that the ground floor is available for rent and suitable for a restaurant. 

Vertical displays with the cards are placed on both sides of the entrance  along with boards enticing customers, again in Yiddish and English, with deals like “50 cards for 50 cents (envelopes free!)” and “New Year’s Cards printed while you wait.” It is fascinating to note how many various businesses one corner would accommodate. In addition to the site of Manny’s Bar, the same building was home to the “Universal Beauty Parlor” and the dental office of Dr. M.I. Shapiro. The office of Beth David Cemetery, in the adjacent building at 154 Delancey Street, is also visible on the right side of the photograph.