Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1622

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

4.75 linear feet (6 boxes)

Language:

English, Russian, Ladino, Yiddish, and Hebrew

Preferred Citation:

Leon Bassein papers, 1905-1929, Ms. Coll. 1622, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1905-1929 (inclusive)

Creator:

Bassein, Leon, 1879-1928

Form:

Books

Abstract:

Leon Bassein, also known as the author Leon Elbe, was a Yiddish children's author, whose most well known book is Yingele Ringele, and contributor to Yiddish dailies, such as Der Tog. The Leon Bassein papers mostly contains the writings of Bassein, in addition to personal correspondence, family photographs, and Yiddish books authored and collected by Bassein. The majority of the items found in this collection are scrapbooks into which Leon Bassein glued newspaper articles he authored, along with many manuscripts.

Leon Bassein (Leyb Bassayn), also known as the writer Leon Elbe, was born in Minsk, Belarus, then the Russian Empire, in 1879. While in Minsk, he co-founded the Minsk Labor Zionists and participated in the Poale Zion movement. In 1905, Bassein immigrated to the United States where he started out performing odd jobs until he met Louis Miller (co-founder of the Jewish Daily Forward) and started writing for Miller's papers Varhayt and Firer. Bassein was a regular contributor to the Kinder zhurnal, Der Tog, Tsukunft, Kinderland, and many other journals and newspapers. For Der Tog, Bassein wrote a column titled, "Fun di kleyne kinder's vegen," which was later published into a book. His most famous children's book was Yingele ringele (Little boy, little ring), a published copy of which can be found in this collection. According to a biography in the book Honey on the Page, Bassein "compiled Di yidishe shprakh (The Yiddish language), the first Yiddish chrestomathy, or anthology for scholastic use, published in America" (188), of which there is a published copy in this collection. As well as writing for the Kinder zhurnal, Bassein was also associated with its publisher, the Sholem Aleichem schools, where his children studied. Although born Leon Bassein, and widely known as Leon Elbe, Bassein wrote under many pseudonyms which included: Leybe de royter, Ben ha-bat, B. Leon, and A lamed bat-nik. Leon Bassein died in New York City in 1928 of tuberculosis.

Bassein, Leon. Yingele Ringele. New York, Farlag matones, 1929.

Elbe, Leon. "Lemekh Goes Ice Skating". Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children's Literature, edited by Miriam Udel, New York, USA: New York University Press, 2020, pp. 188-190. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479859139.003.0026

Niger, Samuel, and Jacob Shatzky. Leksikon Fun Der Nayer Yidisher Literatur. Nyu Yorḳ: Aroysgegebn fun alṿelṭlekhn yidishn ḳulṭur-ḳongres, 1956.

The Leon Bassein papers mostly contains the writings of Bassein, in addition to personal correspondence, family photographs and Yiddish books authored and collected by Bassein. The majority of the items found in this collection are scrapbooks (called journals by the creator and from here on out) into which Leon Bassein glued newspaper articles he authored, along with many manuscripts. The majority of the collection consists of around 20 journals of newspaper articles and feuilletons (non-news or commentary pieces) authored by Bassein, 24 journals containing Bassein's manuscript writings, and 15 journals of articles about various academic topics. There are also newspaper articles in the collection concerning Leon Bassein's death and legacy, as well as a journal containing reviews of Bassein's work. This collection would be of primary interest to those who study Yiddish children's literature and Yiddish literature in general.

The Leon Bassein papers are arranged into five series: I. Correspondence, II. Personal Photographs, III. Writings, and IV. Books Bassein published and collected