Jewish life in the Netherlands had many faces in the period from 1850 until 1950. Rich and poor, urban and provincial, strictly religious and completely assimilated.
The collection of picture postcards, photographic portraits, graphics and prints offer an image of this diversity. The picture postcards show us Amsterdam's Jewish neighbourhood, but also the synagogues in cities and villages elsewhere in the Netherlands. The portrait photographs (glass negatives) were made by Studio Jacob Merkelbach, where both Dutch celebrities and the affluent citizenry had themselves photographed. The collection of historical objects and graphics contains many objects from everyday life.