Hidden Treasures is back!

We’re delighted to let you know that after a bit of a break, Hidden Treasures is back and we’re excited about our new direction – just in time for the beginning of the new year!

Launched in the summer of 2020, the Hidden Treasures website and social media celebrated items found in archives up and down the country which told the story of Jews and Jewish communities in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. During the pandemic, thousands of people tuned into online events which brought these manuscripts, photographs and records to life.

Since then, the number of archives joining Hidden Treasures has grown and we now have more than 60 different organisations and institutions featured on our website. We’ve been inspired by the enthusiasm and dedication shown by archivists up and down the country who care for these collections, which is why we’re going to be shifting our focus.

Our plan is to support our growing network of archives and archivists so that everyone working with Jewish material is better able to understand what’s in their collection and know how best to care for it. We realise there are often barriers to unlocking this material, whether that’s deciphering Hebrew text, understanding Jewish terminology, knowing where to find relevant experts or building relationships with local Jewish communities.

We’ll be providing resources and training including opportunities to bring the network together to collaborate, learn from experts in their field and share their own diverse experiences. Take a look at the range of diverse archives featured on our site and get in touch if you’re interested in joining our network.

You’ll see more activity on our social media feeds, where we’ll be posting about Hidden Treasures and sharing news from the archives in our network. Look out for our featured archives where we’ll bring you an inside look from archives across the country.

We’ll also be updating our website, adding new archives to our pages as well as online resources to help archivists working with Jewish material. We want to make Hidden Treasures the ‘go to’ site for British Jewish archives and help make these collections more accessible.

As we turn out attention towards our archive network, we’ll be revisiting some of the highlights we’ve uncovered over the past 3 years since the project was first launched by the Board of Deputies.

For those celebrating the Jewish new year this weekend, Rosh Hashanah, we wish you ‘Shannah Tova U’Metukah’, a good and sweet new year.

—Rebecca Singer

Prayer Book for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur a completely new 1740 Spanish translation by Isaac Nieto the Haham of the London Spanish and Portuguese Jews. This was the first official publication of the post-Cromwell readmitted Jewish community • Bodleian Library

Read more about this treasure here.