Mendele Moicher Sforim (1836–1917)

Mendele Moicher Sforim was hailed as the "grandfather of Yiddish literature" by his selof-declared "grandson" Sholem Aleykhem (alias Sholem Rabinovitsh), though the latter was of almost the same age. His literary attacks on the kahal made his position in the shtetl untenable. (Marie Schumacher-Brunhes, Lille)

Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh (pen name: Mendele Moicher Sforim (1836–1917)) at his desk, Odessa, Ukraine, black-and-white photograph, 1910, unknown photographer; souce: © YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York / The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe; original source: Mendele Jubilee Album, Vilnius, Warsaw, New York ca. 1935.