Bomberg Talmud, c.1526-1548 Bomberg Talmud [Sion Arc Quarto A70.1/T14] • Lambeth Palace Library This Babylonian Talmud was printed in Venice, c.1526-1548. It was purchased for Sion College Library by the parishioners of St John the Evangelist, London, in 1629 and is now part of the Lambeth Palace Library collections. The Babylonian Talmud is a central text of rabbinic Judaism, encompassing Jewish law, customs, history, and folklore. Printed by Daniel Bomberg in Venice, this book is one of the greatest achievements in the history of Hebrew printing and served as a model for all subsequent editions. Although the first edition was printed at the request of Pope Leo X in 1519, Hebrew literature was being burned by the 1550s. Surviving copies are very rare. Bomberg Talmud [Sion Arc Quarto A70.1/T14] • Lambeth Palace Library The Sion Talmud was given to Sion College in 1629 by the church of St John the Evangelist, Watling Street and the initials of the church, ‘SIEW’, are stamped in gilt on the covers of each of the twelve volumes. George Walker, incumbent of the parish, raised the substantial purchase price of £26 from eighteen of his parishioners, whose names are inscribed in the first volume. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Lambeth Palace Library Family History | Historical Documents | Holocaust | Interfaith relations | Local History | ReligionPartially online Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury. The vision of Lambeth Palace Library is to collect, […]
Samuel Becher’s gravestone Samuel Becher's gravestone • The Living Stones This gravestone, recorded by The Living Stones, is in High Wycombe. It commemorates refugee and violinist Samuel Becher. It says he was born in Stryj, a small town in Poland in 1903 and that he died in 1965 but the next line hints at the fate of his neighbours: His heart was broken when his Dear ones died in the Holocaust In 1943. The fate of Stryj is well documented in “The Book of Stryj”, written by the surviving residents of the town in Israel in 1962. The book describes the events from July 1941 to August 1943, when the Stryj ghetto and labour camps were liquidated. Stryj was liberated by the Red Army on August 8th, 1944 and several Jews emerged from hiding but it is not know whether Samuel was among them. A Dr. N. Becher is listed as having died during the pogroms in Stryj and it’s possible he was a relative. The sculpture of the violin on the stone is beautifully made and it’s very unusual to find an ornament like this on a stone. There must have been a great deal of discussion between the stonemason and the burial board and the violin must have been very important to Samuel’s life. How and when Samuel left Stryj and his route to England, are unknown. His next record is when he gained British Naturalisation in May 1952 whilst living in High Wycombe. In the 1965 Probate Register, he is described as a Polish musician who lived at an address in Winton. The probate was granted to Alice Laura Giovanna Clinkard who is likely to be the ‘Alice’ mentioned on the stone. She paid for its styling and erection, so she was probably also the person who asked for the violin to be included. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain The Living Stones Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online The Living Stones is an online archival project documenting the Jewish heritage of Bournemouth and Poole through information found on gravestones in local […]
Oneg Shabbat Box This box, on loan to the Imperial War Museum‘s new Holocaust Galleries, once contained part of the Ringelblum Archive, a collection of documents from the World War II Warsaw Ghetto, collected and preserved by a group known by the codename Oyneg Shabbos (in Modern Israeli Hebrew, Oneg Shabbat; Hebrew: עונג שבת), led by Jewish historian Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum. The group, which included historians, writers, rabbis, and social workers, was dedicated to chronicling life in the Ghetto during the German occupation. They worked as a team, collecting documents and soliciting testimonies and reports from dozens of volunteers of all ages. The materials submitted included essays, diaries, drawings, wall posters, and other materials describing life in the Ghetto. The collecting work began in September 1939 and ended in January 1943. Read more about The Oneg Shabbat Archives with this digital exhibition from Yad Vashem. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Imperial War Museum Family History | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is a national museum based in London, whose archival records cover Holocaust testimony, military history documentation and […] Eva Rott’s Slave Labour Ring Ring made by Eva Rott at the Heinkel aircraft factory • Imperial War Museum Sten Gun Menorah Hanukkah Menorah made by WW2 soldier • Imperial War Museum
Boris Bennett’s Camera This Kodak “Big Bertha” camera was used by the well-known East End wedding photographer Boris Bennett. Born in Poland in 1900, Boris came to Britain in 1922. Five years later, he opened a photographic studio in the East End of London, which was an instant success. In his stylish Art Deco studio, Boris made ordinary Jewish East Enders look like Hollywood film stars. He was able to photograph up to 30 bridal couples on a single Sunday, the traditional day for Jewish weddings. Couples would queue on the stairs of the studio waiting to have their pictures taken and crowds often gathered outside to witness the scenes. It was the ultimate compliment to have your photograph displayed in his studio window. Boris Bennett’s distinctive style used romantic flowing dresses, lavish bouquets and immaculate tailoring. Perfection and beauty was his purpose and he made all his brides glamorous. One commentator described him as the man who brought Hollywood to the East End, and today his work is much sought after by collectors. Boris was quoted as saying that sometimes when couples were queuing to be photographed he was tempted to rearrange them to create more perfect matches. From this he got the nickname ‘Boris itch to switch’. With his own bride Julia he had no such temptation. On the day she came to his studio for a passport photograph he was so enraptured that he proposed to her there and then and they married in 1929. As Boris achieved fame and fortune he used his position to help others, including assistance with the purchase a house in Finchley Road to provide shelter and support for young Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. Later he left photography to become a successful financier. Towards the end of his life he would look back on his days in the East End with much affection and say, “What a wonderful Jewish World it was!” Boris Bennett died at the age of 85 in 1985. You can see more of his work in this great book: Vintage Glamour in London’s East End, published by Hoxton Minipress. Read more here: https://spitalfieldslife.com/2014/11/21/boris-bennett-photographer/ Text adapted from https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/50-objects/2009-18-1/ and https://www.jewisheastend.com/boris.html Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Jewish Museum London Cultural | Religion | SocialOnly online The Jewish Museum London is a public museum, with an archive collection of historic Jewish cultural, social and religious items. Archive Description […]
Sir David Salomons’ Carriage Doors Sir David Salomons’ Carriage Doors • Jewish Museum London Sir David Salomons, 1st Baronet (22 November 1797 – 18 July 1873) was a leading figure in the 19th century struggle for Jewish emancipation in the United Kingdom. He was the first Jewish Sheriff of the City of London and Lord Mayor of London. These carriage doors, from the Jewish Museum London, are painted with his family coat of arms. During the 18th century and first part of the 19th century, Jews faced discrimination, as did anyone who was not a member of the Church of England. In 1753, the “Jew Bill” allowing Jewish immigrants to be naturalised as British subjects was repealed after a public outcry. Sir David Salomons’ Carriage Doors • Jewish Museum London The 19th century saw an active campaign to secure full civil rights. Born in 1797 in London, Salomons followed his father into business and was one of the founders of the London and Westminster bank. From the 1830s, he was elected to take up various posts within public office, including as a Member of Parliament, but was unable to do so because of the requirement to swear an oath “on the true faith of a Christian”. He was finally able to take up his post as the first Jewish Sheriff of London in 1835 after Parliament passed the Sheriff’s Declaration Act. In 1855, he became the first Jewish Lord Mayor of London, after canvassing support from Sir Robert Peel. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Jewish Museum London Cultural | Religion | SocialOnly online The Jewish Museum London is a public museum, with an archive collection of historic Jewish cultural, social and religious items. Archive Description […] The Salomons Museum Cultural | Family History | Local HistoryNot online The Salomons Museum comprises two rooms within the Salomons Estate located on the edge of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The Salomons […] 18th Century Shofar Engraved Shofar • Jewish Museum London
Jews’ Free School Boys at Jews’ Free School • JCR-UK This fabulous photo, from the treasure-house that is JCR-UK, shows boy pupils, undated, performing a drill at the Jews’ Free School in London. Louise Messik, writing on the JCR-UK site, describes the Jews’ Free School, (which still exists as JFS to this day, in a different location): The Jews’ Free School is Europe’s largest and most successful Jewish secondary school. It was established in 1732 as the Talmud Torah of the Great Synagogue of London, serving orphans of the community.In 1822, the School was relocated to Bell Lane in the heart of the East End where, throughout the 19th century, it absorbed thousands of immigrant children. At one time JFS had 4,000 children on roll and was the largest school in the world.In the inter-war period, children often came straight from the Kindertransport to JFS. During World War II, students were evacuated to East Anglia and Cornwall and the School was destroyed by enemy action. It re-opened in 1958 in Camden Town where its location was central for the London Jewish community of the late 1950s.Maintaining its tradition of mirroring the demography of the community, JFS left Camden Town in 2002 and relocated itself to state of the art facilities closer to the heart of North West London. The JFS archives are partially held by The London Archives. Search the database and see more photos here. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain The London Archives Immigration | Local History | Religion | SocialPartially online The London Archives (formerly London Metropolitan Archives) is a public archive, housing a broad collection of social, religious, and local history records. […] Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) Communal Records | Databases | Family History | Historical Documents | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionOnly online Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) is an online project whose aim is to record details of all Jewish communities […] Jews’ Free School Classroom, 1905 Classroom image from the diary of Samuel Morris Rich • Southampton Anglo-Jewish Archives
Yiddish Typewriter Yiddish Typewriter • Jewish Museum London This Yiddish typewriter, from the collection of the Jewish Museum London, belonged to the playwright Abish Meisels. Born in Galicia, Abish Meisels spent 12 years working in Vienna as a dramatist before emigrating to London in 1938. During World War II, Meisels was a central figure in the New Yiddish Theatre in Adler Street as a playwright and prompter. Yiddish theatre was brought to Britain by immigrants from Eastern Europe from the late 19th century. Plays were performed in Yiddish, the language spoken by Central and Eastern European Jews. They ranged from comedy to tragedy, drawing on Yiddish folk tales, adaptations of Shakespeare and stories of immigrant life. For hardworking immigrants, a night out at the theatre was a rare opportunity for entertainment and relaxation. Meier Tzelniker on stage in the New Yiddish Theatre Company’s performance of The Merchant of Venice. Abish Meisels can be seen in the prompt box. Yiddish theatre had a unique atmosphere with enthusiastic audiences who joined in and sang along. The early 20th century was the heyday of Yiddish theatre, with long queues for tickets and packed theatres. A number of theatres were set up in the East End of London, most notably the Grand Palais and the Pavilion theatre. As the number of Yiddish speakers declined, so did Yiddish theatre. In 1970 the last remaining theatre, the Grand Palais, finally closed its doors. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Jewish Museum London Cultural | Religion | SocialOnly online The Jewish Museum London is a public museum, with an archive collection of historic Jewish cultural, social and religious items. Archive Description […] It’s Hard To Be A Jew Grand Palais Theatre Poster • Jewish Museum London London Jewish Bakers Union banner London Jewish Bakers Union banner • The Jewish Museum, London
Eva Rott’s Slave Labour Ring This ring, from the collection of the Imperial War Museum, was made by Eva Rott, née Hamburger, while incarcerated as a slave labourer at the Heinkel aircraft factory in Barth. Eva and her friend Klara Rakos, both Hungarian Jews, were deported to Auschwitz in the summer of 1944. They survived several of Dr. Mengele’s selections for the gas chambers. Eva believes that it was their close friendship which aided their survival. They were transported as slave labour to Barth, a sub-camp of Ravensbruck. Here they worked at the Heinkel aircraft factory; Eva made this ring for herself out of aluminium scrap. Eva and Klara were liberated by the Soviet Army on 1 May 1945. Eva was eventually reunited with her mother and stepfather, who had escaped to Tangiers. We love this ring as a testament to Eva’s skill and resistance. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Imperial War Museum Family History | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is a national museum based in London, whose archival records cover Holocaust testimony, military history documentation and […]
Sir Nicholas Winton’s ring Sir Nicholas Winton’s commemorative ring • Sir Nicholas Winton Archive This ring, from the Sir Nicholas Winton Archive, was presented to Sir Nicholas Winton by Czech and Slovak Kinder at a reunion in June 1988. Engraved with the words “Save one life, save the world,” it commemorates the lives Sir Nicholas saved. Nicholas Winton was born on 19 May 1909 and died on 1st July 2015 aged 106. In the 9 months leading up to the outbreak of World War II, 669 children, mostly Jewish, were transported from Czechoslovakia to Britain and other countries. This was due almost entirely to the foresight and energy of a small group of people of whom 29-year old stockbroker, Nicky Winton was the organiser. You can read more about him on the Sir Nicholas Winton Memorial Trust website. This action saved the lives of these children, since most of their families and contemporaries who remained in Czechoslovakia perished. The details of this monumental action remained little known for many years, until 1988 when it featured on That’s Life, a BBC TV programme hosted by Esther Rantzen. In 2003 Sir Nicholas was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for Services to Humanity. Sir Nicholas Winton and his daughter Barbara • Sir Nicholas Winton Archive Sir Nicholas is a true treasure. He is pictured above with his daughter Barbara, who wrote his biography, entitled IF IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE, after Sir Nicholas’s personal motto: “If something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do it”. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Sir Nicholas Winton Archive Cultural | Family History | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online The Sir Nicholas Winton Archive is a private family archive available to researchers, educators, and descendants. It is operated by the Sir […] Imperial War Museum Family History | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is a national museum based in London, whose archival records cover Holocaust testimony, military history documentation and […] Kindertransport Travel Document Kurt Marx’s Travel Document • AJR Refugee Voices Testimony Archive
It’s Hard To Be A Jew It’s Hard to be a Jew (Yiddish: Shver tsu zayn a yid) is a 1920 Yiddish-language comedy play by Sholom Aleichem about the difficulty of Jewish-Gentile relationships in the Russian Empire. It was premiered at The Yiddish Art Theatre, Second Avenue, New York on 1 October 1920, and later performed at the Grand Palais Theatre on Commercial Road, London. During the first half of the 20th century, Yiddish theatre in London was a vibrant and popular tradition; it was of great social and cultural importance to the growing community of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Yiddish, a richly expressive language based on German and written in Hebrew characters, was the mother tongue of many of these immigrants. The Yiddish theatre of the early 20th century was remarkable for the range of its repertoire, the versatility of its actors, and the enthusiasm of its audiences. To discover more about London’s Lost Yiddish Theatre, read this fascinating article from the Londonist. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Jewish Museum London Cultural | Religion | SocialOnly online The Jewish Museum London is a public museum, with an archive collection of historic Jewish cultural, social and religious items. Archive Description […]
Silver Menorah Silver Menorah • The Rothschild Archive, London This silver menorah, from The Rothschild Archive, London, is believed owned by Nathan Mayer Rothschild, c.1800-1805. It was discovered in the vaults at old New Court in London, location of the global headquarters of the Rothschild investment bank since 1809. The maker’s mark is that of Erhard(t) Christian Specht of Frankfurt. The piece is absolutely typical of German neo-classicism of the period, and it is possible that Nathan Rothschild brought this piece with him from the family home in Frankfurt, when he came to England at the turn of the nineteenth century. Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836) was a German Jewish banker, businessman and financier. Born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, he was the third of the five sons of Gutle (Schnapper) and Mayer Amschel Rothschild, and was of the second generation of the Rothschild banking dynasty. In 1798, at the age of 21, he settled in Manchester, England and established a business in textile trading and finance, later moving to London, England, beginning to deal on the London Stock Exchange from 1804. From 1809 Rothschild began to deal in gold bullion, and developed this as a cornerstone of his business, which was to become N. M. Rothschild & Sons. A cornerstone of the Rothschild’s successes were their extensive networks of carrier pigeons, bringing international news before it reached their competitors. Gifted to the Trustees of The Rothschild Archive London by N M Rothschild & Sons Limited. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain The Rothschild Archive Commercial | CulturalNot online The Rothschild Archive, based in London, is a private archive holding the commercial records and personal papers of members of the Rothschild […] The Waddesdon Archive at Windmill Hill Commercial | Family History | Historical Documents | Immigration | Local HistoryNot online Waddesdon is a stately home, managed by the Rothschild Foundation on behalf of the National Trust, who took over ownership in 1957 […] Letter in Judendeutsch Letter from Nathan Mayer Rothschild to his brothers, 1816 • The Rothschild Archive
Iraqi Passport This treasure, from Sephardi Voices UK, is Niran Bassoon-Timan’s Iraqi passport. “This is my Iraqi passport. Until the age of 15, I did not know what Iraqi passports looked like because Jews were not allowed to carry passports. This is my first passport and my last Iraqi passport. With this, I was able to leave Iraq in 1973. This is the first page of my passport showing my picture, my signature, my name and it’s giving a list of countries that this passport can be used including Turkey and all the Eastern Europe countries, UK, Luxembourg and other places.” Niran was born in 1957 in Baghdad, Iraq. Her father was an eminent journalist and the family spoke the Baghdadi dialect of Arabic at home. She left Iraq in 1973. Today Niran is an activist, working with Arabic-speaking communities to tell the story of the Jews of Iraq. Sephardi Voices UK is an oral history archive giving voice to the stories of Jews from Arab-speaking countries who resettled in the UK. Visit their site here: https://www.sephardivoices.org.uk/. We love this treasure for the light it sheds on lesser-known communities and experiences of Jews who emigrated to Great Britain. Discover more Hidden Treasures Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain Sephardi Voices UK Family History | Holocaust | Jewish Life | Middle Eastern JewryOnly online Sephardi Voices UK is a video and image archive held in the British Library. Its collection of interviews covers topics around family […]