Shylock Postcard (1906) – Antisemitic Shakespeare Illustration

This early 20th-century leather postcard illustrates Shylock, the Jewish moneylender from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.  it reflects both the popularity of novelty postcards and the persistence of antisemitic stereotypes in American culture.

The front of the card shows a caricature of Shylock with exaggerated features, clutching what appear to be moneybags. The caption reads Shakespeare Illustrated – The Merchant of Venice, ‘Shylock’. The border mimics a cut-out pattern, a common style in cheap comic postcards of the period.

Antisemitic Imagery

While the card presents itself as a “literary” illustration, it trades on longstanding antisemitic stereotypes:

• Shylock is drawn with a hooked nose and hunched stance.
• He is shown obsessing over money, echoing the trope of the greedy Jewish usurer.
• The cartoon format reduces Shakespeare’s complex character into a crude stereotype, perpetuating cultural prejudice.

Postmark and Usage

Date: September 19, 1906 (Allegheny, PA, 4:30 PM). Allegheny City was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907.
Stamp: 1¢ Benjamin Franklin definitive
Recipient: Miss Anna Disher, Erie, PA

Publisher

No publisher imprint is visible. This was likely produced by Knickerbocker Leather & Novelty Company (New York) in 1906.

Belief Me – A.H. Jewish stereotype postcard

Author: Lawrence – September 1, 2025

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

These four postcard variants, and probably more exist, all showing the same caricatured image, were printed across different years. Each reflects the commercial humor and visual style of the early postcard era, with subtle differences in production or captioning.

Series overview: The caption Belief Me appears on a group of early 1900s postcards credited as Copyright 1905 – A.H., likely tied to Alfred Holzman of Chicago. Designs exist as paper chromolithographs and as leather postcards burned by pyrography. Numbering of 73, in the lower margin places them, in a commercial humor series from the undivided back era.

Antisemitic Stereotypes Depicted

• Physical Caricature: The man is depicted with exaggerated facial features—large nose, thick lips, and round spectacles—traits that have been used in antisemitic iconography to mock Jewish appearance.
• Attire: The figure wears a beard and a skullcap, suggesting the stereotype of the "Eastern European Jew" or Orthodox Jew, feeding into the imagery used to otherize Jewish communities.
• Jewelry: The prominent jewel or medallion on the chest can be linked to stereotypes about Jews and wealth or greed, with the radiant lines around the stone possibly suggesting ostentatiousness or material obsession.
• Smoking Cigar: The smoking cigar, often seen in antisemitic illustrations, can be intended to indicate self-indulgence, showiness, or a louche lifestyle.
• Gestures: The open-handed gesture might be interpreted as a sign of exaggerated speech or persuasion, often used to suggest untrustworthiness or theatricality in antisemitic portrayals.
• Text (“Belief Me”): The pseudo-Germanic phrase “Belief Me,” intentionally misspelled, mocks Jewish accent or manner of speaking, a trope found in English-language antisemitic humor at the time.

Production notes

• Credit line in first postcard reads Copyright 1905 – A.H. with a small series number of 73.
• Printed as chromolithography on paper and as leather postcards using pyrography on deer hide.