Young Sholem Aleichem’s unknown photo. Kiev, 1884

Atelier of Franciszek de Mezer

Young Sholem Aleichem’s unknown photo

Sholem Aleichem (“Peace be Upon You”) is the pen name of the legendary Yiddish writer Shalom Rabinovitz (1859–1916).

Kyiv, 1884

Sholem Aleichem is renowned for his authentic portrayal of Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire, famous for his upbeat humor, and admired for his use of the colorful, idiomatic Yiddish language. Born in Pereiaslav, near Kyiv, Sholem Aleichem lived most of his life in Ukraine before immigrating to the U.S.—and New York City—in 1906. On display is the earliest known original photograph of him at the age of 25, made in Kyiv in 1884 in the atelier of the photographer Franciszek de Mezer (1832–1922). Most significantly, the photograph features the earliest known Yiddish inscription of his pen name, which he had adopted just a year prior, in his own handwriting. The inscription reads: “Ondenkung fun Sholem Aleykhem” (“On good memory from Sholem Aleichem”). The signature on the back identifies the photograph’s owner as M. Spector (Mordecai Spector, 1858–1925), a close friend and fellow writer. Both authors moved in the same literary circle in Kyiv. 

In 1884, Sholem Aleichem was living with his wife, Olga Loyeff, and their newborn daughter in Bila Tserkva, a town near Kyiv. He worked first as an inspector for Lazare Brodsky, a Kyiv sugar magnate, and later for his father-in-law, Elimelech Loyeff, a wealthy landowner. But success as a businessman eluded him. Sholem Aleichem had much more luck establishing his literary career and gaining popularity as an emerging Yiddish writer.