Collection: Manchester Jewish Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  What are now Manchester Jewish Museum’s oral history and photograph collections were first established during the 1970’s when the Manchester Studies Unit at Manchester Polytechnic undertook an oral history project relating to the life of the Jewish Community in Manchester. The project unearthed a wealth of photographic material. Recognizing the intrinsic and historical value of this material it proceeded to gather original photographs and process their duplication, thereby building up an archive of negatives and contact prints. The originals were subsequently returned to their respective owners. In 1978 The Jewish Heritage Committee was formed to salvage the documentary and material evidence of Jewish Manchester. By 1981, this committee had become Manchester Jewish Museum trustees and The Manchester Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue was purchased to house the museum. The Manchester Studies Unit photographic collection was duplicated and passed to the museum. Since then, the collection has developed in size and scope and to date there are over 20,000 images. The subject matter of the collection is varied and wide-ranging and covers topics such as family portraits, work, school life, leisure, religion, charitable activity and weddings.

  The new museum also received reel to reel copies of Manchester Studies Unit oral history collection. Cassette tape copies were made by The North West Sound Archive for use in the museum and the original reel to reels housed by the archive. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s Ros Livshin worked on a project called the ‘National Lifetimes Collection’ for the British Library National Sound Archive. The series was called ‘Living Memory of the Jewish Community’ in which she interviewed Holocaust survivors. The museum acquired copies of the Manchester related interviews. In 2012 the museum acquired a collection of 76 cassette tape interviews with 1930s refugees produced by Bill Williams for his research in writing his book Jews and other Foreigners and in 2005 Basil Jeuda donated 62 cassette tapes from his research into Manchester Sephardim. Since 1984, individual interviews have been conducted by the museum for exhibitions and various projects and these have been added to the collection, the largest of such projects being the ‘Picture This’ Exhibition in 2006 and the ‘Extraordinary Voices’ Project in 2019.

  The rest of Manchester Jewish Museum’s collections date from 1982 when the first physical objects were accessioned into the collection. The collection had grown overwhelmingly through individual or organisational donations and, on a very rare occasion, purchases. Active accessioning has been pursued on several occasions in the museum’s history, usually motivated by the temporary exhibition schedule or project work.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Manchester Jewish Museum collects material relating to the social and religious history of Jewish people in the Greater Manchester region and material from holocaust survivors in the Greater Manchester area. The collection numbers around 34,000 items. The time period covered is from the late 18th century to the present day. The museum actively endeavours to collect material illustrating contemporary Jewish life in Manchester. Material relating to the social and religious history of Jews living in the region includes items brought from their countries of origin, for example Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The museum may acquire contemporary religious items for educational use.

  The existing collection includes objects relating to Jewish ritual, culture and everyday life – this includes:

  • Textiles – Torah mantles, skull caps, ark curtains, Challah (bread cloths), matzo (unleavened bread) covers, tallisim (ritual shawls) and tallit bags, raincoats, wedding dresses.
  • Silverware – candlesticks, spice containers, scroll pointers, candelabras, wine cups, presentation cups, presentation keys.
  • Other metalware – presentation cups, presentation keys, wine cups, kitchen utensils.
  • Wooden objects – synagogue reader’s desk, dedication boards, kitchen utensils, cobbler’s materials.
  • Photographs – people, events, buildings, streets, organisations.
  • Documents – birth and marriage certificates, certificates of naturalisation.
  • Ephemera – tickets for events, posters, business cards, invitations.
  • Prints – events in Jewish history e.g. Warsaw Ghetto.
  • Paintings – generally of local Jewish dignitaries.
  • Tape/Digital recordings – interviews with local people and holocaust survivors.
  • Cassette tapes/Digital recordings – Jewish music and events
  • Pamphlets – commemorating events, of general Jewish interest.

  The collection’s biggest asset is its oral history collection, particularly the first-hand accounts of migrants from the end of the 19th century through to the 1940s who came to Britain as a result of persecution or a lack of opportunity. The collection also has a strong emphasis on the everyday lives of Jewish Mancunians, particularly those living in the Cheetham and Strangeways area of Manchester at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The emphasis on personal stories allows the collection to have strong relevance to other migrants and minority communities today and makes the stories, while wholly Jewish, have a relevance far beyond British Jewish communities.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC