1890 ”Congreagation Heska Amona” stamp

The imprint of this stamp (perhaps a book stamp or for stationery?) was found among Rabbi Isaac Winick’s papers long after his death.  He served Heska Amuna Synagogue from 1895 until 1926.  Granddaughter Barbara Winick Bernstein located it among her aunt Ida Winick Siegal’s possessions after Ida’s 1977 death.

                No trace of the original has been found.  Its original purpose is unknown.  No evidence has been found suggesting when the stamp may have been produced.  It is possible that the stamp was created in 1890 or soon thereafter to document the congregation’s founding and that Rabbi Winick inherited it, or it may be that Rabbi Winick commissioned it.  Nothing among the extant documents of Heska Amuna  at the Archives shows its use, nor has any evidence of a correct imprint been located.

                The transliteration of the Hebrew letters apparently was intended to read “Chevre Hezke Amunah [or Amonah], Noksvil, Tenesee” [for non-Hebrew & Yiddish readers, the same Hebrew letter may be used for both ‘oh’ {Amona} and ‘oo’ {Amuna} sounds], but careful scrutiny of the letters suggests that what should be the samekh [s] of “Noksvil” may have been the similarly-shaped mem [m].  Readers will likely disagree on what the first letter of “Tenesee” is, and someone more knowledgeable than the Archivist may be able to explain that aleph at the end of “Tenesee.”