53 – Fira’s Albums

(till 1939)

 

There are six ordinary albums with black cards, cardboard covers, sometimes covered with fabric, of different colours. Pages of the first two ones are decorated by white ink lines, names of cites, places and dates. Since the 1990s Fira started to complement the pictures by white-letter captions providing some information about the people and the places seen in the photos. Also, next to the photographs, she sticked white sheets with a few words commenting or explaining the circumstances of taking the particular picture. Also, Fira sticked her handwritten poems into the albums.

Altogether, there are about 1200-1300 photographs in five albums. Around 700-800 of them present Poznan and Jews of Wielkopolska (even if they were taken on holiday or in other cities). About 300 photos concern Brzeziny near Lodz, where Fira spent much time as her family lived there. The remaining 100-200 pictures depict the Jews of different towns, Fira’s friends. The sixth album contains copies of photographs of different times, which Fira must have especially liked as she ordered their copies of various sizes. There is, for example, a photograph there, showing Fira standing in the forest of Srodborowo, with orange and golden flowers painted in the picture.