Crystal Pitcher Used by Rebbe Rayatz on Pesach – Purchased Upon His Arrival in the United States in 1940 by R. ...

Crystal Pitcher Used by Rebbe Rayatz on Pesach – Purchased Upon His Arrival in the United States in 1940 by R. Shlomo Aharon Karzanovsky – With Letter of Authenticity Signed by Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary

Pitcher used by Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the Rayatz of Lubavitch, on Pesach 1940.
Pitcher made by the Cambridge Glass company – Ohio, U.S., in the second half of the 1930s. Crystal decorated with medallions and flowers (Rose Point etched).
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift… the rose point lemonade pitcher my father used for pessach 1940". Dated – 10th December 1989.

The First Pesach of Rebbe Rayatz in the United States
When WWII broke out in 1939, Rebbe Rayatz, his mother Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, his wife Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and his daughter Rebbetzin Chana and her husband, R. Shemaryahu Gurary were living in perilous conditions in German-occupied Warsaw. After several months of travail and wandering, on Tuesday 9th Adar II, the Rayatz and his family finally reached American shores. After a short reception at the port, the Rayatz arrived at his temporary quarters – Room 609 at the Greystone Hotel on Broadway and 91st Street in Manhattan NY.
Immediately thereafter, the Agudas Chasidei Chabad invested great efforts in finding an appropriate permanent residence for the rebbe and his family. R. Shlomo Aharon Kazarnovsky headed the committee established for this purpose.
With the approach of Rebbe Rayatz's first Pesach in the United States, R. Shlomo Aharon Karzanovsky purchased for him several crystal dishes from the Cambridge Glass company. For other dishes which R. Karzanovsky bought for the Rayatz for Pesach, see previous item (pair of crystal candlesticks and four Lucite candles), and see Kedem Online Auction 35, items 8 and 9 (a pair of plates and pair of cups).
According to the enclosed letter, the Rayatz used the present pitcher on his first Pesach on American soil.
(Rebbe Rayatz celebrated his first Pesach in the US in Lakewood, NJ. He stayed in Lakewood from 8th Nissan to 7th Iyar 1940, then returning to Greystone Hotel).
On 19th Elul 1940, after some six months of temporary residence, the Rayatz and his family moved to their new home at 770 Eastern Parkway in the center of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. There, the Rayatz rebuilt the Chabad court and its institutions, until his passing on 10th Shevat, 1950
The first Chabad rebbes used to place their valuable utensils on the Seder table, in commemoration of the "great possessions" the Children of Israel took with them upon leaving Egypt.

Maximum size: approx. 17X25X23 cm.