Friday, September 30, 2005
LEGENDARY COLLECTION OF JEWISH AMERICANA DONATED TO NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY
One of the most important private collections of Jewish Americana has been donated to the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia by Rabbi Peter Schweitzer, who amassed his collection of an estimated 10,000 artifacts during more than 25 years of collecting.
The Peter H. Schweitzer Collection is significant for the field of American Jewish history because it contains objects of material culture that depict the everyday lives and experiences of Jews in America, both in their secular lives as well as their religious practice. Included in the collection are signs, posters, tins, bottles, photographs, trade cards, menus, neon clocks, Yiddish typewriters, yearbooks, autograph books, textiles and ritual items.
The Museum will preserve the objects and artifacts for future generations and allow wider access to the collection by scholars and the public for the first time. Because the artifacts are devoted to the social world of everyday relationships and popular culture, the collection is highly evocative to both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.
“We are excited and thrilled to be chosen as the home of this major collection of Jewish Americana,” said Gwen Goodman, Executive Director/CEO of the National Museum of American Jewish History. “A collection like this is a rarity. These objects that connect people and places to Jewish experiences in America will enable us to best tell our story.”
Rabbi Schweitzer, of New York City, gave his collection to the Museum because “I wanted to find an institution that would share my commitment to preserving the material culture that tells the story of our experience in America. I wanted to know that the Museum appreciated the diversity in the Jewish community, which is comprised of secular and religious Jews, and that no one interpretive stance would dictate over others. After meeting with the Museum’s professional staff, I felt assured that would be the case. I am confident that I am entrusting the collection into caring hands.”
“The donation of Peter Schweitzer’s collection to the National Museum of American Jewish History is a landmark event in the world of American Jewish museums. The gift will make accessible to scholars, curators and the general public a collection of extraordinary depth and richness,” said Dale Rosengarten, Ph.D., Curator of the Jewish Heritage Collection, Marlene & Nathan Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C. "The Schweitzer Collection is extraordinary in its variety and expansiveness. From items of popular culture to ritual objects to photographs, postcards, advertisements, and a host of material too numerous to list, this is perhaps the most ambitious effort to collect objects that reflect the range of American Jewish experience. It would be difficult to imagine a collection better suited for a museum dedicated to American Jewish history,” added Beth S. Wenger, Katz Family Term Chair in American Jewish History, University of Pennsylvania.
Rabbi Schweitzer is the leader of The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in New York City and is Vice President of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis. He is also a senior social worker at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in Brooklyn.
He is a great-grandson of the renowned constitutional lawyer and Jewish civic leader Louis Marshall. His maternal grandfather, Jacob Billikopf, was a recognized Jewish communal leader who led the Federation of Jewish Charities in Philadelphia and directed the American Jewish Relief Committee that provided aid to suffering Jews in Europe after World War I.
“I consider this collection to be a living collection. I’m interested in finding new things for it,” said Rabbi Schweitzer, who will continue to serve as a consultant to the collection.
FOR ART, CONTACT JAY NACHMAN AT 215-923-5978 OR BY EMAIL AT JNACHMAN@NMAJH.ORG
The Peter H. Schweitzer Collection is significant for the field of American Jewish history because it contains objects of material culture that depict the everyday lives and experiences of Jews in America, both in their secular lives as well as their religious practice. Included in the collection are signs, posters, tins, bottles, photographs, trade cards, menus, neon clocks, Yiddish typewriters, yearbooks, autograph books, textiles and ritual items.
The Museum will preserve the objects and artifacts for future generations and allow wider access to the collection by scholars and the public for the first time. Because the artifacts are devoted to the social world of everyday relationships and popular culture, the collection is highly evocative to both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.
“We are excited and thrilled to be chosen as the home of this major collection of Jewish Americana,” said Gwen Goodman, Executive Director/CEO of the National Museum of American Jewish History. “A collection like this is a rarity. These objects that connect people and places to Jewish experiences in America will enable us to best tell our story.”
Rabbi Schweitzer, of New York City, gave his collection to the Museum because “I wanted to find an institution that would share my commitment to preserving the material culture that tells the story of our experience in America. I wanted to know that the Museum appreciated the diversity in the Jewish community, which is comprised of secular and religious Jews, and that no one interpretive stance would dictate over others. After meeting with the Museum’s professional staff, I felt assured that would be the case. I am confident that I am entrusting the collection into caring hands.”
“The donation of Peter Schweitzer’s collection to the National Museum of American Jewish History is a landmark event in the world of American Jewish museums. The gift will make accessible to scholars, curators and the general public a collection of extraordinary depth and richness,” said Dale Rosengarten, Ph.D., Curator of the Jewish Heritage Collection, Marlene & Nathan Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C. "The Schweitzer Collection is extraordinary in its variety and expansiveness. From items of popular culture to ritual objects to photographs, postcards, advertisements, and a host of material too numerous to list, this is perhaps the most ambitious effort to collect objects that reflect the range of American Jewish experience. It would be difficult to imagine a collection better suited for a museum dedicated to American Jewish history,” added Beth S. Wenger, Katz Family Term Chair in American Jewish History, University of Pennsylvania.
Rabbi Schweitzer is the leader of The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in New York City and is Vice President of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis. He is also a senior social worker at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in Brooklyn.
He is a great-grandson of the renowned constitutional lawyer and Jewish civic leader Louis Marshall. His maternal grandfather, Jacob Billikopf, was a recognized Jewish communal leader who led the Federation of Jewish Charities in Philadelphia and directed the American Jewish Relief Committee that provided aid to suffering Jews in Europe after World War I.
“I consider this collection to be a living collection. I’m interested in finding new things for it,” said Rabbi Schweitzer, who will continue to serve as a consultant to the collection.
FOR ART, CONTACT JAY NACHMAN AT 215-923-5978 OR BY EMAIL AT JNACHMAN@NMAJH.ORG
