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Solomon L. Skoss papers

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us] 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
Arc MS 21
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Extent:
5 linear feet (5 boxes)
Language:
Arabic, English, German, Hebrew, and Russian
Preferred Citation:
Solomon L. Skoss papers, 1919-1957, Arc Ms 21, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
Date:
1919-1957 (inclusive)
Creator:
Skoss, Solomon Leon, 1884-1953
Form:
Correspondence, Drafts (documents), Indexes, Card., Manuscripts (documents), Photographic prints, Typescripts, and Writings (documents)
Abstract:
Dr. Solomon Skoss (1884-1953) was a scholar and professor of Arabic at Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning from 1934 until his death. The Solomon L. Skoss papers consists of correspondence, drafts, notes, photographic reproductions and reviews for his book Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible : known as Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz. (Agrōn) of David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī the Karaite, as well as personal materials and writings, dating from 1919 to 1957.

Dr. Solomon Leon Skoss was born on April 4th, 1884 in Chusovoy, Russia into a religious family. Between 1904 and 1906, Skoss was drafted into military service for the Russian Empire. He immigrated to the United States in 1907. In 1911, Skoss married his first wife, Sarah Myerson (1887-1920), with whom he had a daughter, Sarah Theodora Skoss (1920-1979). Skoss graduated with a BA in Romance languages from the University of Denver in 1913. Between 1918 and 1921, Skoss and his family lived in Los Angeles where he worked as an automobile painter, in a millinery shop, a beekeeper and the principal of the Yiddish Folk Shul of Los Angeles.

Skoss was a graduate student and fellow at Dropsie College from 1922 to 1925, majoring in Arabic. While at Dropsie College, Skoss studied at the graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania in Semitics. "In 1924, as Fellow from the Dropsie College he went to Cairo, Egypt for advanced studies in Arabic, and also attended courses in Arabic literature, poetry, philosophy at the 'Egyptian State University' and at the 'School of Oriental Studies of the American University' in Cairo where he studied colloquial Arabic. In 1925, he was appointed Instructor in Arabic at the Dropsie College; in 1932, Associate Professor; in 1934, Professor." Skoss received his Ph.D. from Dropsie College in 1926. Skoss married Irene C. Kapnek (1885-1973) in 1926. Skoss was the recipient of two grants by the American Council of Learned Societies which enabled him to conduct research at the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the Leningrad State Public Library in 1932.

Solomon Skoss published four books including: The Arabic commentary of ʻAlī ben Suleimān the Karaite on the book of Genesis (1928), The Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible : known as Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz. (Agrōn) of David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī the Karaite (1936-1945), Saadia Gaon, the earliest Hebrew grammarian (1955), and Portrait of a Jewish scholar; essays and addresses (1957). He also authored many articles including: "Swarming" and "Beekeeping in California."

Solomon Skoss died in 1953 in Philadelphia.

The Solomon L. Skoss papers consists of correspondence, drafts, notes, photographic reproductions and reviews for his book Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible : known as Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz. (Agrōn) of David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī the Karaite, as well as personal materials and writings, dating from 1919 to 1957. Most of the materials in this collection are in Arabic, English and Hebrew, while other languages include German and Russian.

The Solomon L. Skoss papers are arranged into four series: I. Correspondence, II. Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible : known as Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz. (Agrōn) of David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī the Karaite materials, III. Personal materials, and IV. Writings.

Gift of the Skoss family, 1953/1954.

Subject

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Hope Jones
Finding Aid Date
2026 May 1
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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Scope and Contents

The series "Correspondence" consists of letters arranged alphabetically and by topic from colleagues and family, dating from 1924 to 1953. Skoss replied to a lot of correspondents on the back of their penned letter, or used old letters to type replies to other people decades later. Therefore, the processor had to use discretion when arranging some of the correspondence because some letters were double-sided with writings decades apart. People who feature prominently in the correspondence section include: Cyrus Adler, Walter Hart Blumenthal, Congress International des Orientales, Israel Davidson, Norman V. Donaldson, Ethel Elkins, Morton S. Enslin, Samuel I. Feigin, Joshua Finkel, Louis Finkelstein, Aharon Giat, Richard Gottheil, A. S. Halkin, Philip Hitti, Isaac Husik, Maurice Jacobs, Moses Jung, Jacob Klatzkin, George Alexander Kohut, Giorgio Levi Della Vida, David Zaki Licha, Harry S. Linfield, Jacob Mann, Alexander Marx, James A. Montgomery, Abraham A. Neuman, Leon Nemoy, Julian Obermann, Harry M. Orlinsky, Simon Rawidowicz, Nathan Sherman, Skoss family members, Solis-Cohen family, Eleazar I. Szadzunski, Charles C. Torrey, Abraham S. Yahuda, and Edward J. Young.

The topical correspondence consists of letters to Skoss concerning his application for American Council of Learned Societies and American Philosophical Society grants, publication and readership correspondence for the Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible, and correspondence concerning Skoss' trip to Leningrad in the 1930s.

Abdulcadir, A. M. - Alder, Cyrus, 1925-1941.
Box 1 Folder 1
Adlerstein, Fanny R. - Cymerman, I. M., 1925-1953.
Box 1 Folder 2
Danesh, Hussain - Frankel, Benjamin M., 1924-1951.
Box 1 Folder 3
Gandz, Solomon - Husik, Isaac, 1927-1953.
Box 1 Folder 4
Jacobs, Maurice - Levi della Vida, Giorgio, 1927-1951.
Box 1 Folder 5
Levine - Mosseri, Jack N., 1926-1951.
Box 1 Folder 6
Lichaa, David Zaki, 1937-1948.
Box 1 Folder 11
Nathan, Edward I. - Rynin, S., 1932-1952.
Box 1 Folder 7
Saks, Leo - Szadzunski, Eleazar, 1927-1953.
Box 1 Folder 8
Tannes - Zuckerman, 1925-1951.
Box 1 Folder 9
Unidentified senders, 1929-1942.
Box 1 Folder 10
American Council of Learned Societies grant correspondence, 1927-1944.
Box 1 Folder 12
American Philosophical Society grant correspondence, 1926-1953.
Box 1 Folder 13
Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible publication correspondence, 1927-1936.
Box 1 Folder 14
Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible readership correspondence, 1936-1941.
Box 2 Folder 1
Leningrad research trip correspondence, 1929-1941.
Box 2 Folder 2

Scope and Contents

The series "Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible : known as Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz. (Agrōn) of David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī the Karaite materials" consists of drafts, written notes and notecards, photographic reproductions and reviews related to Skoss' published book, dating from 1920 to 1947. The drafts of the book consists of two full length typescripts, as well as two drafts of its introduction and two drafts of the front material.

The notes consist of handwritten documents on Hebrew words in which to include in the dictionary on lined paper, as well as Hebrew and Arabic words for the dictionary on notecards. Some of the notes are written on the back of old Dropsie College library request cards.

The photographic reproductions include around 50 early modern archival documents from the Leningrad and Bodleian Library connected to the works of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī and Saadia Goan. Skoss used these archival documents in his research for The Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible : known as Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz. (Agrōn) of David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī the Karaite and Saadia Gaon, the earliest Hebrew grammarian. The majority of the reproductions are manuscripts from David b. Abraham al-Fāsī's Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz .

The reviews of Skoss' The Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the Bible appear in journals such as the Jewish Quarterly Review and the American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature, penned by colleagues such as W. Windfuhr, Fr. Zorell S. J., D. S. Maroliouth and Isaac D. Markon.

Forward, Abbreviations and Introduction (pages VII-50), typescript, undated.
Box 2 Folder 3
Front material, typescript, with correspondence, 1944.
Box 2 Folder 4
Hebrew typescript (pages 1-143), with textual notes, 1939.
Box 2 Folder 5
Hebrew typescript (pages 144-270), with textual notes and biblical references, 1939.
Box 2 Folder 6
Hebrew typescript, pages 271-622, 1939.
Box 2 Folder 7
Hebrew typescript (pages 52-92), with "Notes to Introduction" (in English), then pages 465-582), undated.
Box 2 Folder 8
Hebrew typescript, front matter and pages 1-299, 1945.
Box 2 Folder 9
Hebrew typescript, pages 300-626, 1945.
Box 2 Folder 10
Introduction, pages 1-11, undated.
Box 2 Folder 11
Introduction, pages 1-23, undated.
Box 2 Folder 11
Hebrew words for the dictionary, א-ט, undated.
Box 2 Folder 12
Hebrew words for the dictionary, י-צ, undated.
Box 2 Folder 13
Hebrew words for the dictionary, ק-ת, undated.
Box 2 Folder 14
Hebrew and Arabic words for the dictionary, notecards, ל ,ס , ע ,פ ,צ ,ק ,ש ,ת and ل ,س ,ع ,ص ,ق ,ش ,ت ,ث ,خ, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Hebrew and Arabic words for the dictionary, notecards, ח ,ה ,ד ,ג ,ט ,כ ,ל ,מ ,נ and ح ,ﻩ ,د ,ج ,ط ,ب ,ل ,م ,ن, undated.
Box 3 Folder 2
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4471 (63 leaves) Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 2 Folder 15
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4494, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 2612 (2 photographs, Introduction to Jami' very important), Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 2623, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 2402, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 2729, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4496, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī ('Ali b. Israel), Ms. 2608, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, 'Ali b. Israel, Ms. 1044, Sassoon Library (From David S. Sassoon Collection)-107", undated.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, 'Ali b. Israel, Ms. 4506, II Firkowitch Collection, IsT series (62 leaves) Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, (Levi b. Yefet), Ms. 2401, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, (Levi b. Yefet), Ms. 2923, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī ('Ali b. Israel), Ms. 2666, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, (Levi b. Yefet), Ms. 4472, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 2663, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 636, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 5
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4476, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 3 Folder 5
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Bodleian Library Ms. 1451", undated.
Box 3 Folder 6 Box 4 Folder 1
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4497, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 2
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 2726, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 2
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4473 (112 leaves), Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 3
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4506, I Firkowitch Collection (317 leaves) Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 4-6
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4475 (138 leaves), Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 7
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. 4475 - 5 leaves, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 8
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. no. 661 - 51 leaves, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library, abridgment of Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz", undated.
Box 4 Folder 8
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. no. 2385, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 9
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. no. 4495, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 9
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Ms. no. 4505 - 293 leaves, Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 10-11
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz of David b. Abraham al-Fāsī, Last five leaves of Ali b. Suleiman's Dictionary, Ms. 605, I Firkowitch Collection State Public Library, Leningrad", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Sefer ha-Agron of Saadya Gaon (fragment), Ms. 3067, II Firkowitch Collection, Leningrad State Public Library", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Saadia Gaon's Tafir of the Hapox Legomena, Ms. Heb. f. 56, Ms. Heb. e. 74, Bodleian, Oxford", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Saadya's אגרון, Leningrad, Ms. 3072, II Firkowitch Coll., 1st Series, 8 leaves", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Saadya ספר הקלוי Leningrad, Ms., II Firkowitch Coll., 1st series, 2 leaves", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Fragments from Saadya Gaon's Siddur and commentaries on Pentateuch, and misc., Cambridge Univ. Library (Judaeo-Arabic), UL - Arabic 50/186, 6/88, 24/81, 26/59, 18'/125, 31/22, 21/64, 1a/7, 7/124, 50/186, G2/2, 5/47, K27/64", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Pennsylvania University Museum, E. 16510 verso/recto," with typed transcription, undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Cat. no. 2454 - Ms. 193, Christ Church College, Khazar Letter (fols. 12-18v)", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Fragment of autograph letter by Abraham Maimonides, Mosseri Collection - L 160", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Licence[sic] of tax collection in Arabic from 241 A. H. (856 A. D) with Seal. E 16274 from Pennsylvania University Museum", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Kitāb al-Usūl of Ibn Janāh, Ms. 2763, Firkowitch Collection, State Public Library, Leningrad", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"III. Westminster Coll., Cambridge., No. 179", undated.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Abi b. Suleiman commentary on Pentateuch (see Skoss Ali…, p. 82), Ms. no. 4423, II Firkowitch, Leningrad Public Library", undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
"Kitāb Jāmi' al-Alfāz, Firkowitch II. 4470", undated.
Box 5 Folder 2
"Ms. Firkovitch, השגות מבשר הלוי, נדפס מצילוו זי ע''י ציקר, missing 1st pg.", undated.
Box 5 Folder 3
"קטעי הניזה מסידור קדמון, נדכש ביהר, (not USSR)", 1920.
Box 5 Folder 3
"Miscellaneous fragments from English Libraries" and "Geniza Skoss Photos + notes", undated.
Box 5 Folder 3
"אגרון לדוד אלפוסי", undated.
Box 5 Folder 3
"BT Tannit Mss (for Maltei's edition), Taanit Mss. & Photos", undated.
Box 5 Folder 4-5
In the Journal of Theological Studies (two items), 1937.
Box 5 Folder 6
"An Ancient Hebrew Lexicon" by the Expository Times, 1937 March.
Box 5 Folder 6
In the Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 1937.
Box 5 Folder 6
In Der Islam by W. Windfuhr, 1937 December.
Box 5 Folder 6
In the "New Books" section of the American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature, 1937.
Box 5 Folder 6
In Biblical by Fr. Zorell S. J., 1938.
Box 5 Folder 6
In the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society by D. S. Maroliouth, 1938 July.
Box 5 Folder 6
"Hebrew Arabic Dictionary of the Bible of David Al-Fāsi" by Isaac D. Markon in the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1947.
Box 5 Folder 6
Review by De V., undated.
Box 5 Folder 6

Scope and Contents

The series "Personal materials" consists of short biographies and curriculum vitaes of Skoss, collected materials, and Dropsie College materials, dating from 1925 to 1954. The biographies of Skoss were written by him, sometimes only including his professional accomplishments, with others spanning his entire life up until the time of writing.

The collected materials include newspaper articles in Yiddish, issues of the journal Al-Shubban al-Qara'in, meeting minutes, articles on Arabic literature and education, and flyers for a lecture by Skoss on Saadia Gaon.

The Dropsie College materials consist of administrative and course materials, completed course examinations, professional references from Skoss, and Skoss' reports on theses by Ph.D. candidates at the college. Academic material from and about Eleazar Szadzunski and Pinchos Wechter feature prominently in this sub-series.

A. Skoss biographies/CV, 1937.
Box 5 Folder 6
28th Annual Meeting of the American Jewish Committee materials (two items), 1935.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Preparations of Copy for Printing" in the Bulletin, with letter from Roland G. Kent, 1936/1937.
Box 5 Folder 7
Al-Shubban al-Qara'in (three issues) (Arabic), 1937.
Box 5 Folder 7
"מאמע-טאכטער," by Joseph Opatoshu, 1937 July 2.
Box 5 Folder 7
"איינער איז א רוסישער איד, דער צווייטער א גאליציאנער. - דר. שמואל נח קרעמער און דר. יעקב האמער. - ווער זיי זיינען" by H. Lang in Forward, 1938 May 20.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Reaction of Christian Visitors to Adath Jeshurun Reprinted from 'The Journal' of North Philadelphia", 1938 November 17.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Minutes of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association of the Dropsie College", 1940.
Box 5 Folder 7
"נעגערשער בישאף גיט ארויס בוך מיט אויסצוגען פון תלמוד," by M. Hzkuni, 1942 May 1.
Box 5 Folder 7
Solomon and Irene Skoss, Congrès International des Orientalistes membership cards (two items), 1948.
Box 5 Folder 7
Dr. Solomon Skoss lecture on Saadia Gaon, flyer, 1950.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Sutro Library Notes," with a note that Dr. Solomon Skoss is working with scrolls at the library, 1951 Winter.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Aims of Students of Modern Middle East Studies," by John Marsh for the Conference on Modern Middle East Studies at Dropsie College, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"A Chronological Chart of Arabic Literature," by R. W. Caldwell, with notes by Skoss, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Kairo [In]schrift am Nilmesser auf der [In]sel Roda, ca 199 A. H (814-15 A.D.) with Arabic graphic lettering, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"List of Institutions and Libraries to Receive Dr. Skoss's Thesis", undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Memorial Minutes for Dr. Pinchas Wechter", undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Minutes of the Meeting of the executive committee of the American Academy for Jewish Research…", undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
Notes on unknown topic, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Plan of Buildings and Grounds, Columbia University", undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"Recent Approaches to Arabic Literature," by G. E. von Grunebaum, typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
"What is the 'Middle East'?" by Harvey P. Hall for the Conference on Modern Middle East Studies at Dropsie College, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
Dropsie College administrative and course materials, 1925-1954.
Box 5 Folder 8
Preliminary examinations for the major of Arabic for unidentified student and Pinchos Wechter, 1936, 1938.
Box 5 Folder 8
Professional references from Skoss for Eleazar Szadzunski and Pinchos Wechter, 1935-1947.
Box 5 Folder 8
Reports and reviews of theses by Harry S. Davidowitz, Meyer S. Cohen, Frank Zimmerman, Diana J. Reisman, Eleazar Szadzunski, Zev Vilnay, Philip Birnbaum, Pinchos Wechter, Charles M. Cooper, Abraham I. Katsh, Menahem G. Glenn, R. Laird Harris, Mosheh Zucker, Alan Tichenor, David Freedman, Joseph Fox, and Aaron Giat, 1927-1953.
Box 5 Folder 8

Scope and Contents

The series "Writings" consists of at least 41 drafts of unpublished and published works by Skoss, dating from 1919 to 1957. The majority of these writings are unpublished typescripts of articles on Saadia Gaon, David ben Abraham Al-Fāsī, Arabic grammar and Hebrew grammar.

There are four handwritten manuscripts which Skoss wrote while living in California before his formal education in Arabic and Semitic studies: "Bee Keeping in Holy Land in Time of Jesus," "Foul Brood in Russia," "Swarming: A Study in Bee Behavior," and "Voluntary Exile."

This series contains a published copy of Skoss' book Portrait of a Jewish Scholar, along with typescript drafts of its chapters "Solomon L. Skoss -- A Biography" and "Incidents in the Life of Doctor Skoss."

"Adolph Sutro: Civic Leader and Bibliophile," typescripts (three items), undated.
Box 5 Folder 9
"Arabic Commentary of 'Ali Ben Suleiman the Karaite on the Book of Genesis," in the Jewish Quarterly Review, with typescript of chapters 1 and 2, 1927.
Box 5 Folder 9
"Arabic Grammar Study Book" (Hebrew), with notes, undated.
Box 5 Folder 9
"Bee Keeping in Holy Land in Time of Jesus," manuscript and typescripts (three items), undated.
Box 5 Folder 9
"Brief Sketch of the Linguistic History of the Jews Up to Destruction of the Second Temple," typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 9
"Chapter on Permutation in Hebrew from David ben Abraham al-Fasi's Lexicon 'Jani' al-Alfaz,'" typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Corrections to Mandelkern's Concordance," in the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 10
"David bin Abraham al-Fasi, the qaraite world from the tenth century and the Hebrew Arabic dictionary for the Torah," with Arabic translation by Musa Faraj Rasun (Arabic), undated.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Enigma of the Jews," typescripts (five items), undated.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Foul Brood in Russia," manuscript and typescripts (four items), 1921.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Fragments of Saadia's Grammar 'Kutub al-Lugh' and His Dictionary 'Agron', Found in the State Library at Leningrad," typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Fragments of Unpublished Philological Works of Saadia Gaon," in the Jewish Quarterly Review, with typescript, 1933.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Gaonic Letter from the Mosseri Collection in Cairo," typescript with notes, undated.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Geniza" entry for the Encyclopedia Judaica, typescript, 1939.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Geology of Manica and Sofala (Mozambique) Territories with Respect to Oil and Coal" by J. c. S. van Soelen, translated from German by Solomon Skoss, 1930.
Box 5 Folder 10
"Gikatilla, Moses ben Samuel ha-Kohen (Ibn)" entry for the Encyclopedia Judaica, typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Hebrew Lexicon", undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Is There a Jewish Expressionism?" by Bernard Dorival, translated from French by Solomon Skoss, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Jefet ben Ali ha-Levi" entry for the Encyclopedia Judaica, typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Levi (b. Jafet ha-Levi) abu Said" entry for the Encyclopedia Judaica, typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Maimonides," typescript, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Meaning of the Russian Revolution," typescript, 1919.
Box 5 Folder 11
Millōn 'Araḇī-'Iḇrī la-Lāšōn hā-'Araḇīṯ ha-Ḥădāšāh (Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary of the Modern Arabic Language) by David Neustadt, review by Skoss, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Notes," manuscript and typescript in Hebrew and English, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Parliamentary Procedure," handwritten, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
Portrait of a Jewish Scholar, with typescript drafts of "Solomon L. Skoss -- A Biography" and "Incidents in the Life of Doctor Skoss", 1957.
Box 5 Folder 11-12
"Prohibition of Wine in the Mahammedan Religion," typescripts (three items), 1928.
Box 5 Folder 13
"Report on the Summer Workshop of New York University at the Berl Katznelson Institute in Israel July 5th to August 18th, 1950," typescript (three items), 1950.
Box 5 Folder 13
"The Root בטח," in Jewish Studies in Memory of George A. Kohut (two items), 1935.
Box 5 Folder 13
"Saadia Gaon, the Earliest Hebrew Grammarian," in the Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research (four items), 1953.
Box 5 Folder 13
"Study of Hebrew Vowels from Saadia Gaon's Grammatical Work 'Kutub al-Lughah,'" in the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1952.
Box 5 Folder 13
"Study of Inflection in Hebrew from Saadia Gaon's Grammatical Work 'Kutub al-Lughah,'" in the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1942.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Study of the Uses of Letter 'Yōd' by David ben Abraham al-Fāsī," in the American Oriental Society, 1958.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Suggestions for Further Studies in Judaeo-Arabic Literature," written for the Goldziker Volume, undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Swarming: A Study in Bee Behavior," manuscript and typescript (two items), undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Treatise of Maimonides on Personal Hygiene and Distetics," typescript, 1930 February.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Treatise on Alchemy," in the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1933.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Voluntary Exile," manuscript, 1920.
Box 5 Folder 14
"מפירושו הארוך של רב סעדיה גאון על בראשית כב, כ-כג, יח ; כה, כא-כו" (three items), undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
"לקביעת תקופת חייו של עלי בן סלימאן הקראי", undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
"המאמר על התנועות בעברית מספר הדקדוק 'כתב אללגח' לר סעדיה גאון", undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
Untitled Hebrew writings and fragments, undated.
Box 5 Folder 14

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