Collection: Jewish Museum, London [closed to the public]

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Jewish Museum London’s collections include those from the first Jewish Museum in 1932, to the Museum of the Jewish East End (founded, 1983) which ran in parallel to each other before amalgamating on one site to form the new Jewish Museum London in 2010.

  2.1 Jewish Museum 1932-1995

  The first collections were acquired by the volunteer-run Jewish Museum based in Bloomsbury Square in 1932. Among its initial acquisitions were items from one of the first Judaica collections in the country that were on sale at the time, the Arthur Howitt Collection, later joined by Judaica from the Arthur Franklin collection. Many outstanding items of Judaica (including synagogue silver and textiles and items used for private worship) were collected under the leadership of Wilfred Samuel – chairman of the committee from its inception to his death in 1958. He was succeeded by Alfred Rubens, who had joined as its expert on prints and drawings and continued as chairman for the next twenty-five years.  Over time, the museum committee also collected social history items with the caveat, however, that they should be at least 100 years old, which meant that they tended to omit the history of the late 19th century onwards. The focus was on rare and outstanding items. An important early acquisition was (in 1932) a fine 17th century synagogue ark, discovered at Chillingham Castle in Northumberland. Another substantial addition was the bequest of a beautiful collection of over 1,500 paintings, prints and drawings by Alfred Rubens, spanning from the 18th to the 20th centuries to the collection, in the 1990s.

  2.2 Jewish East End Museum / Museum of the Jewish East End / London Museum of Jewish Life 1983-1995

  The London Museum of Jewish Life had independently come into existence in 1983 under the name Jewish East End Museum (later: Museum of the Jewish East End) with the aim to collect and document the history of the Jewish East End of London and salvage cultural heritage of that area. Collecting activity focused on the everyday life of the immigrants and acquisitions included materials relating to working life (e.g. tailoring, cabinetmaking), social and political activity, local charities (e.g. Jews’ Temporary Shelter) and home life (household materials). The museum collected numerous photographs and documents and recorded oral histories. In 1988 the museum changed the name to the London Museum of Jewish Life and expanded its collecting policy to reflect the diversity of Jewish roots and life in Britain.

  2.3 Jewish Museum London 1995-2010 (operating on two sites), 2010-2023 (Camden)

  In 1995 the Jewish Museum was amalgamated with the London Museum of Jewish Life, first operating on a two-site basis under the directorship of Rickie Burman. In the same year it acquired the archive of Holocaust survivor Leon Greenman, of whom the Holocaust gallery centred on.  In 1997 the Jewish Museum was awarded Designated status by the Museums and Galleries Commission in recognition of the outstanding importance of its Judaica collections as part of the national heritage. In 2010 the two collections were amalgamated under one roof. An important new acquisition was a 13th century mikveh, excavated in the City of London, the largest and one of the oldest exhibits at the museum. In 2015, an agreement with the Jewish Military Museum following their closure, assigned the Jewish Museum responsibility for the management, accessibility and engagement with their collection of military items.

  2.4 Covid 19 pandemic and new operating model, 2020-2023

  In 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic led to a temporary pause in acquiring new items (March 2020-Jan 2021) and a subsequent change in direction established programmes such as ‘Inclusive Judaism’ which encourages the acquisition of items from underrepresented groups (see Appendix 1). In 2023, the Museum closed and sold its Camden building in order to release funds to be financially sustainable, and accelerate the vision to develop a new Jewish Museum London for the future. The Museum is now operating as a ‘Museum Without Walls’ expanding its loans programme and museum curated displayed hosted by external venues; items from the core collection feature in regularly changing displays at JW3, the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, Bradford Reform Synagogue. Throughout 2024, items will be on display in at least five regions of the UK; London, Manchester, Bradford, Nottingham, & Brighton, with plans to expand our outreach and display potential in the coming years. Aside from items on display, the collection has been transferred into storage with Queens Fine Arts, a company approved by both our Board of Trustees and insurers. The collection can be accessed by staff for Museum projects and research requests.

  Acquisitions were paused from July 2023 to April 2024.

  The long-term agreement with the Jewish Military Museum and associated loan of their collection ceased with collections management responsibilities returning to the Jewish Military Association (AJEX) in 2023.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The Jewish Museum London collection contains over 32,000 items including a Judaica collection with Designation Collection1 status as recognised by Arts Council England. It has a combination of items that reflect the religious traditions and practices, alongside those that illustrate the history and culture of Jewish people in Britain. It seeks to reflect the diverse roots of the Jewish community in Britain, including Ashkenazi, Sephardi & Mizrachi traditions, however, the collection is more heavily weighted towards Ashkenazi material. The earliest material dates to the medieval 11th century with a small percentage of items relating to 17th/18th century and a higher concentration of objects dating to the 19th century onwards. The collection includes items that reflect the roots and identities of Jewish people in Britain, including their countries of origin (primarily European countries). This has led to certain items having tenuous links to British Jewry through association rather than a direct connection. The collection aims to represent Jews from all cultural, ethnic, religious and sexual backgrounds that reflect the Jewish population of Britain past and present.

  Designated Collection

  3.1 Judaica (representing the religious aspects of Judaism)  Primarily collected by the early Jewish Museum, items consist of those used in the synagogue (eg Torah ornaments), home (eg Hanukah lamps) or by individuals (eg amulets). There is overlap with the textile collection (e.g. Torah mantles, kippot, tefillin) and books/manuscript/documents collection (e.g. synagogue records, ketubot (marriage certificates), & Mizrach) The Judaica collection includes silverware and other metals (e.g. rimmonim), glass and ceramic (e.g. Sabbath lamps), textiles (e.g. tallitot) and paper-based items (e.g. Haggadah).

  Non Designated Collections

  3.2 Social History (representing the history and culture of Jews in Britain) Primarily collected by the Museum of Jewish Life, items consist of secular objects often connected with communal activities (eg trophies, regalia), domestic items (eg cooking equipment) and personal items (eg jewellery). There is overlap with the costume/textile collection (e.g. wedding dresses) and with books/manuscripts/documents (e.g. memoires, personal letters, magazines) and the art collections (prints/paintings/photographs) The social history collection includes silverware and other metals (trophies), glass and ceramic (e.g. figurines), and ephemera (e.g. Bar mitzvah invitations).

  3.3 Working History (representing the industries and working life of Jews in Britain) The collection is mainly made of items from the 19th and 20th century representing the East End industries following the great migration. Well-represented trades include tailoring, cabinet making, baking, printing, hat making and cigarette making. Later 20th century material includes well known businesses such as Boris Bennett photographic studios to the more obscure such as the Massil Master Bowling Pin.

  3.4 Military History (representing the history of Jewish military service)  Items relating to Jewish military history include a range of service medals, prayer books, correspondence, and photographs.

  3.5 Costume & Textile (representing both items of religion and social /working history)  Items relating to a religious context are centred on synagogue textiles, (e.g. Ark curtains and Torah mantles 17th – 20th century) and those used in the home such as challah covers, or items of personal piety such as prayer shawls.  Non-religious textiles include a range of domestic items (eg tablecloths) and several banners from communal organisations, including one of only two surviving Jewish trade union banners. Costumes are primarily late 19th and 20th century, including wedding dresses, uniforms, clothing accessories (eg handbags, shoes and hats) and baby clothes (including circumcision gowns). They also reflect diverse traditions of Jewish costume throughout the world, including Baghdadi Indian clothes and a Bukharian barmitzvah robe. There are also two concentration camp uniforms and several costumes from Yiddish theatre actors.

  3.6 Prints & Drawings (2D artwork exc. paintings) The Rubens collection makes up one of the world’s most important collections of Jewish prints with depictions of religious ceremonies and practices, Jewish costume, portraits of famous Jews, and caricatures by masters such as Rowlandson and Gillray. It also holds additional prints and drawings collected by the museum, including work by Simeon Solomon, and Eva Frankfurther, alongside cartoons, sketches and collages.

  3.7 Paintings & Sculpture (2D & 3D works of art) The museum holds a small collection of primarily 18th and 19th century oil paintings and miniatures of historical interest. There are also a limited number of small busts and sculptures either by Jewish artists or depicting Jewish individuals.

  3.8 Archaeology & coins The museum has a small collection of classical, Middle Eastern and medieval coins, medals and seals, and occasional archaeological pieces (eg Sumerian clay bowl).

  3.9 Books, manuscripts & documents  The book collection includes both religious and secular books, printed in a range of languages, including English, Hebrew, Yiddish and German, from the 17th to the 20th century. There are also bound religious registers. Books in the collection are treated as museum objects, rather than reference sources. In the event of disposal, any religious books must be disposed of according to appropriate religious custom. There is a wide range of both religious and secular manuscripts, documents and ephemera in the collection, dating from the 17th century to the present day. The 19th/ 20th century is heavily represented with synagogue records and ephemera, ketubot (marriage certificates), amulets and other religious documentation, trade cards, bookplates, posters, invitations, scrapbooks, account books and ledgers, newspapers, magazines and annual reports. Personal papers and records include letters, diaries, certificates, ID cards and passports. There is a fine collection of posters, playbills and other ephemera relating to Yiddish theatre in London.

  3.10 Photographs The museum holds both original photographs and an archive of historical and contemporary images. Original photographs are primarily gelatin silver prints, with a very small number of daguerrotypes and albumen prints. There are also large framed items and photographs housed in albums and scrapbooks. The majority of images in the collection are copy prints in the Photographic Archive, generated from original photographs loaned to the museum for this purpose. Originally in the format of 35mm negatives, these images are now produced digitally and housed on the museum’s computer network. Photographs illustrate the full range of the museum’s collecting interests, including people, places, activities and areas of origin. The museum has collected photographs of all aspects of Jewish life, with a more recent focus on documenting contemporary life and representing the broad Jewish spectrum. It does not collect unidentified photographs.  All new acquisitions must have their copyright status assessed and cleared (where possible) and take data protection issues into account.

  3.11 Oral History The museum’s Oral History Archive consists of personal histories, working life and communal activities, and include interviews with refugees from Nazism, Holocaust survivors and others who have come to Britain from around the world. Copyright in all interviews is cleared at point of recording. Most audio is on cassette tape with a combination of digitised mp3/wav. Versions, and /or a transcription.

  3.12 Audio-Visual collections  The museum holds a small archive of audio-visual material. This is primarily reference material on VHS or DVD, with a few examples of archival footage. Copyright for reference material has generally not been cleared. Recent audio/visual acquisitions have been restricted to digital versions only.

  3.13 Holocaust collections Items relating to the Holocaust are primarily from the archive of Leon Greenman, with additional items relating to kindertransport testimony. There is also a small collection of antisemitic items from the time, and liberator photography.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC