Call Number:

Print Coll. 91

Repository:

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

Extent:

.1 linear feet

Language:

Dutch; Flemish, English, French, and German

Preferred Citation:

Judaica print collection, 1666-20th century, Print Coll. 91, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1666-20th century (inclusive)

Form:

Caricatures, Color prints, Engravings (prints), Lithographs, and Prints (visual works)

Abstract:

The Judaica print collection consists of 24 prints of Jewish people, customs and themes, dating from 1666 to the 20th century. These prints include depictions of regular Jewish life and themes, well-known Jewish philosophers and religious figures, and antisemitic caricatures of European Jewish people.

Jewish people have been visually depicted in books, newspapers and film for centuries. In the 19th century, with antisemitic legislation on the rise and high profile cases such as the Dreyfus affair, Jewish people around the world were commonly depicted in current events and "satirical" newspapers alike. This collection showcases a small, but varied selection of prints depicting Jewish people from the 17th to 20th centuries.

The Judaica print collection consists of 24 prints of Jewish people, customs and themes, dating from 1666 to the 20th century. Several of the prints come from "satirical" newspapers and magazines such as Punch, or the London Charivari and Le Charivari, while others are engravings published for private use. These pieces were engraved by artists such as: William Davison, William Bromley, [William] Ridley, William Sharp, and Christoph Weigel.

The majority of the prints involve Jewish people and themes, including images depicting Jewish people from Morocco, Frankfurt (Germany), Istanbul (Türkiye), and Mukachevo (Ukraine). There are also items depicting the Brady Street Cemetery (England), Frankfurt after its bombardment in 1796, and a Jewish, Christian and Islamic calendar. There are stamps, most likely from the 20th century, advertising the collection of funds for the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe.

Some prints in this collection depict well-known Jewish people or those who studied Judaism, including: David Levi, Solomon Hirschel, Sabatai Zevi, Moses Mendez, Richard Brothers and Moses Mendelssohn.

There are seven prints depicting antisemitic caricatures of Jewish people, in reference to England's "Jew Bill" of 1753, the stereotype of Jewish people collecting/begging for rags, and depictions of the "wandering Jew."