Geneva—Rothschild Hospital (Le Prieuré)
Adolphe (“Dolly”) de Rothschild (1823–1900) was the son of the founder of the Naples branch of the family, established in the 1820s by Mayer Amschel Rothschild’s fourth son, Carl Mayer Rothschild (1788–1855). Always more interested in the arts than business, he was bought out of the family partnership in 1865, a first in its history. He spent the rest of his life in Geneva and Paris. The (probably apocryphal) story goes that on one occasion, as he arrived in Geneva by train, a speck of coal injured one of his eyes and he was so impressed with the ophthalmologist who treated him, Jules-Auguste Barde (1841–1915), that he endowed an ophthalmological clinic for the free treatment of patients in need, located in the Prieuré neighbourhood, close to the lake. It opened on 5 October 1874 with a capacity for ten male and ten female patients. A paediatric ward was added in 1887 and a pavilion named after Barde in 1900. In 1987, the clinic’s buildings, restored to their original state, were integrated into the new Youth Hostel erected on the same block. Published by Phototypie Co., Neuchâtel.
Postcard from the book: Jews in Old Postcards and Prints