Polonik rodem z Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego na aukcji Swann nawiązującej do 250. rocznicy USA

Banner for a mutual aid association for Jewish immigrants from a Polish town. 1907. ZOBACZ   Embroidered crimson silk over cloth, 53 x 34 inches plus tassels; wrinkling, separating from backing cloth along top edge, other minor wear. The Petrikower Young Men's Benevolent Association was founded in 1907 as a mutual aid and burial society for New York-area Jewish immigrants from a large town in central Poland near Lódz which has been variously anglicized as Pietrokover, Pietrokower, Piotrokow, Petrokov, Petrikau, or Piotrków Trybunalski. This was one of hundreds of similar Jewish town societies, or "Landsmanshaftn," formed on the American east coast and elsewhere during this period. With the inevitable passing and dispersal of the immigrant generation, this group was legally dissolved in 1996. The banner reads "Progressive Pietrokover Young Men's Aid Ass'n, Org. Dec. 22 '07, made by Garechtman's" with decorative floral patterns and scrollwork. The reverse side has the same text in "Yinglish" (English words transcribed into Yiddish characters). We are not aware of any other Landsmanshaft banners at auction. The banner maker may be impossible to identify with confidence, but Garechtman as spelled here was not a common name. We find a musician named Adolph Gerechtman (1881-1961) living at 309 5th Street in Manhattan in the 1910 census and 1911 and 1912 directories. In the 1912 directory, his wife Anne was listed as a hatmaker. They were listed in the census as Yiddish speakers who emigrated from Russia in 1907 and 1908. By the time of the 1915 census and 1917 draft, they had shortened their name to Grecht, and he was manager of ladies' hats at the Pokress Hat Company.