Capturing the moment, keeping it for the memories

The A. Abramowitz photo. /Rhode Island Jewish Historical Assn.

Ah! The selfie, that ubiquitous symbol of our digital age and desire for instant communication. All you need is a camera phone and an arm long enough to put YOU in the picture. One click and your photo says, “Look where I am! Look at what I am doing! Look at who is with me!” Serious or funny, it instantly captures a moment in time to be sent immediately over the Internet to friends everywhere, and perhaps posted on a Facebook wall. 

Of course selfies are not a new phenomenon. Recently the astronaut Buzz Aldrin laid claim to having snapped the first selfie in space, while earlier that year his colleague Michael Collins took the first selfie in a capsule. For years, one of my cousins has set up a camera on a tripod, set the shutter on delay and then scooted around to a place in the scene. There is a major difference with these selfies. A snapshot, despite the name, required some planning. It also had to be developed before you knew if you had a photo or a blur. Only then could it be shown to others, pasted on the pages in a photo album or framed as a permanent record of the moment captured.

Before cameras became small enough to be easily portable in space or on land, before they became instant, the professional photographer was there to capture life’s important moments: the recent graduate holding a diploma, a gentleman with an air of substance, young ladies with huge bows in their hair.

The archives of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, I am told, boasts some 5,000 photos – portraits of individuals, synagogues past and present, major public events or celebrities who came to our community, brides in lace gowns and grooms standing stiffly by, elderly couples, confirmations, early street scenes, seders … I could go on and on. They are all interesting visual testaments to the history of the Jews in Rhode Island.

Some of the earliest photographs date back to the late 19th century. They include family groups formally posed by the photographer. The parents are seated, surrounded by children of all ages, the youngest ones sitting or lying on the floor. The mother, her head covered by an obvious wig, is dressed in her best shirtwaist and skirt. The bearded father wears a shiny black gabardine coat, a tall yarmulke atop his head.  No smiles – it is a serious occasion. In all the earliest photos, of individuals or groups, the faces had serious expressions because getting the image was a lengthy procedure. It required the subject(s) to remain in rigidly posed positions for a long time. Maintaining a smile was not possible. Besides, having a photograph taken in that era was a momentous occasion.

Then there is Henry Green who stands proudly in front of his clothing store on North Main Street in Providence in a photo taken circa 1870. Green sports a bowler and cutaway, proper attire for the owner of an establishment, while his clerk wears a suit. At the turn of the 20th century, A. Abramowitz advertises his tailoring skills with a horse-drawn wagon containing four female figures. Each is dressed in an intricately detailed garment. (One of these figures is now a resident of the RIJHA office.) Red, white and blue bunting adorns the windows and doorway of Herman’s Dairy Lunch in the North End. The two Hermans (Swartz and Komensky) show their patriotism during the citywide celebration of Old Home Week in 1907.  

Before there were supermarkets and drug store chains, there were the peddlers and mom and pop grocery stores and pharmacies. Their photos now reside in our archives. They tell a story beyond what words can describe.

Not all the photos in our archives depict “ancient history.” Some are as recent as last month. I just chose some of my favorite treasures to highlight. Yet I wonder – in this era of the computer and the cloud, where digital photos are now stored without a hard copy to share, what will our future archives resemble?

GERALDINE FOSTER is a past president of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association.

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