Guide to the Isidore Meyer (1903-1992) Papers, 1848-1992 (bulk 1925-1980)
 
P-905

Series I: Personal, 1903-1984.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

Isidore Meyer’s nonprofessional life is represented in this series in the form of correspondence, schoolwork, clippings, and financial and legal documents of the Meyer, Myers and Ritt families, as well as other families and friends. Correspondence from Hannah Myers in 1938 just before she married Isidore Meyer is especially extensive. "General Correspondence" includes correspondence Meyer received from Yetta Meyer, Bessie Meyer, Leah Meyer, Dora Meyer, Nessa Meyer, Anne Ritt, Hattie Meyer Douglas and Lena Meyer, as well as his letters to his family during his studies in Jerusalem. His parents' documents in Box 1, Folder 6 include material related to their bakery in New London, Connecticut. The Myers Farm folder contains correspondence between Hannah Myers Meyer, her sister Bessie Myers and Isidore Meyer regarding inherited farmland from an Uncle Myers in Pleasanton, Texas, and leasing of the land for oil well drilling. The Mittwoch Family folder includes correspondence with Friede, Eugen and Caroline Mittwoch, with whom Meyer lived while studying in Berlin. Photographs of members of the Meyer, Mittwoch and possibly the Myers family are in Series VIII in Box 42, Folders 2, 4 and 5.

Series II: Education, 1922-1981.

Arrangement:

Arranged in two subseries.

Scope and Content:

This series covers the education of Meyer from 1922 through 1936, as well as his ongoing relationship with the Jewish Theological Seminary after his graduation.

Subseries 1: General, 1922-1981.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by educational institution.

Scope and Content:

Meyer's schooling is documented in Subseries 1 via transcripts, correspondence, diplomas and yearbooks. Also represented is his decades long relationship with the Jewish Theological Seminary, including the Doctor of Divinity the Seminary awarded him in 1961. "University of Berlin and Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums" holds items from Meyer's 1929-1930 studies in Berlin, including his official documents, address book and flyers from events he attended.

Subseries 2: Class Notes and Assignments, 1925-1936.

Arrangement:

Arranged in two sections based on schools.

Scope and Content:

Meyer's schooling is documented in Subseries 2 via class notes, tests and papers. Those notes which easily broke down by class and/or instructor were foldered accordingly. The bulk of this material, however, arrived completely unorganized and has been placed in “Miscellaneous” folders, which include notes and assignments from classes with Louis Finkelstein, Moses Hyamson, Jacob Hochsander, Morris D. Levine, Alexander Marx, Israel Davidson, Salo Baron, and Mordecai Kaplan.

Columbia University, Jewish Theological Seminary, Teachers College

Universities in Berlin and Jerusalem

Series III: Writings and Research, 1848-1990.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by title and research subject.

Scope and Content:

This series reflects Meyer's historical research and output in the form of scholarly articles (published in AJHS journals and books, Menorah Journal, Jewish Social Studies, Journal of Jewish Bibliography and Jewish Social Service Quarterly), newspaper articles, book reviews, speaking engagements and letters to the editor. Types of materials present include manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks, loose notes, reprints, photostats, photocopies and clippings. Many photostats are of documents dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Some of his research and writing in the 1930s and 1940s focused on Jews in Germany, rewriting of history under Nazi Germany, and preservation of Jewish books, all of which he addressed in his manuscript, "The War and Our Books" (Boxes 24-25). A small portion of this manuscript was published as "Enemies of Books" in the Jewish Book Annual in 1943. The bulk of his research and writing from the late 1930s and onward focused on what he often called the “Hebraic element in early American culture,” which he approached, for example, by looking at the study and use of Hebrew language in the first colonial colleges and the influence of post-biblical Hebraic sources on the political thinking of early leaders of the U.S. (especially John Adams). His research interests shifted in the early 1970s to the origins of Jewish communal health and ancillary care in the United States (see “Hospitals” folders). The “Miscellaneous Research” folders contain research that intersects with many of the subjects in this series, but arrived largely unfiled and/or proved difficult to categorize. His research and writings directly related to AJHS are in the Series V.

“Speaking Engagements” includes transcripts of various talks, appearances on radio programs, and invitations to speak. Talks for which he also kept research have their own folders, such as his 1965 talk for the Society of American Archivists, "Resources for the Study of American Jewish History."

Also of note may be an 1871 legal document (shtar mekhirat hametz) in Hebrew, signed by members of a Jewish community in the Alsace region of modern day France, selling leaven to a gentile for the duration of Passover; and a 19th century paper amulet (حجاب) in Arabic, an item which is traditionally worn as a necklace or placed in a cloth to be carried as one walks. In Box 17, Folder 8, there is an 1848 receipt for a share in the Northern Railroad purchased by someone whose name might be Alfred A. Marcus in Boston. It is not known why Meyer was in possession of these three items.

Series IV: General Professional, 1925-1988.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series, rich in correspondence, broadly documents Meyer’s professional contacts and activities, from the start of his professional life and beyond his retirement. There are individuals represented in this series who were key figures in AJHS, but most of the correspondence directly relating to AJHS matters while Meyer was an employee can be found in Series V. Meyer was a corresponding member of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, and in this Society’s folders there is a large body of correspondence from Louise Rosenberg, George F.J. Bergman and Israel Porush. Meyer’s service as the head of the Committee on Books for Devastated and Other Libraries Abroad of the Jewish Book Council of America folders is chronicled in Box 27, Folder 2, with reports, correspondence, meeting minutes and data gathered through a survey of U.S. Jewish organizations regarding what books they were shipping abroad to libraries in need. In 1948 and 1949, Meyer attended the Fourth Intensive Training Program in the Preservation and Administration of Archives and the Institute in the Preservation and Interpretation of Historic Sites and Buildings; his class materials and notes from these study programs are in this series. Also of interest might be the texts of talks he delivered at YIVO events in Box 28, Folder 10.

Series V: American Jewish Historical Society, 1892-1893, 1926, 1934-1992.

Arrangement:

Arranged in two subseries. Materials created in conjuction with all of Meyer's roles at the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) are in Subseries 1. Materials related only to Meyer's work as editor are in Subseries 2, in keeping with Meyer's and/or his assistant's tendency to keep a portion of the editorial files in separate clusters from his more generalized AJHS files.

Scope and Content:

The breadth of Meyer’s duties for AJHS is reflected in correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, publications, manuscripts, printed materials and clippings in this series.

Subseries 1: General, 1892-1893, 1926, 1934-1992.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

Meyer’s title at AJHS from 1940 through 1962 was Librarian-Editor and from 1962 through 1968 was Editor and Archivist, but he also served AJHS as an exhibit curator, annual meeting organizer, Executive Council member and In-Service Course consultant. His work in all these roles, but especially in the library and archives (which he often simply termed the “library,” not differentiating between the library and the archives) is reflected throughout this subseries.

This subseries is largely comprised of correspondence, much of it from AJHS leaders. The largest volume of correspondence is with Lee M. Friedman, followed by Jacob Marcus and Bernard Wax. In the 1960s, Meyer and/or his assistant Fanny Lindey tended to alphabetize correspondence by individual, organization or occasionally by subject. This alphabetized correspondence, here called “General Correspondence,” connects to all of Meyer’s roles and duties at AJHS.

Executive Council and various Committee files contain correspondence, reports, financial statements and meeting minutes. The annual meeting folders include correspondence related to arrangement of the meetings, together with texts of a few talks delivered at those meetings. Meyer’s research towards his paper, "The American Jewish Historical Society," published in the Journal of Jewish Bibliography, contains much information about the history of AJHS and its archives and library. Meyer kept files of “Research Requests,” especially in the 1960s, which reflect research interests during that period; many of the correspondents in these folders are represented elsewhere in the collection as well. Meyer wrote the "Report on a Brief Visit to Seven Libraries Abroad" following a 1967 trip to Israel and various European countries, during which he represented AJHS at the annual meeting of the International Committee for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University. Also of potential interest is a copy of a letter from Cecil Roth to A.S.W. Rosenbach in 1940 describing the destruction of the Jewish Historical Society’s headquarters in London during an air raid (Box 34, Folder 3). A number of items in “Library -- Book and Document Purchases” were likely Meyer’s personal purchases, not purchases on behalf of AJHS. For materials on the In-Service Course cosponsored with the Jewish Teachers Association, see Series VII.

Subseries 2: Editorial Work, 1939-1973.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by publication title and last name of author or associate.

Scope and Content:

This subseries was generated during Meyer’s editorship of AJHS’s publications, primarily the American Jewish History Quarterly in the 1960s. Materials from the period of the 1960s include accepted and rejected manuscripts (many of which are the transcripts of talks delivered at AJHS annual meetings) authored by the individual named on the folder title and correspondence with peer reviewers and contributors. There is a gap in documentation during the 1950s, but prior to that Meyer's editorial work on the Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society in the 1940s is documented in correspondence with Maurice Jacobs at the Jewish Publication Society of America.

Series VI: Rabbinical Career, 1921-1992.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series reflects Meyer’s rabbinical activities, primarily while serving the congregation at the Jewish Center of Bay Shore, Long Island (1937-1943) and to a lesser extent at the Congregation Sons of Israel in Palisades Park, New Jersey (1944-1948). The Bay Shore files, particularly rich, are comprised of correspondence from fellow clergy and Meyer’s congregation members, including many on active military duty during World War II, as well as newsletters, service bulletins, reports on activities, bills, religious school enrollment books, documentation on war relief efforts to which the congregation contributed, member lists, and clippings. “Sermons and Notes” contains Meyer’s typewritten and handwritten drafts and notes for sermons and invocations that he delivered to his own congregations and in other settings. The collection arrived with much of Meyer’s miscellaneous research notes and sermon notes mixed together, making it at times difficult to discern which was which. The series also documents Meyer’s struggle to be placed with a congregation in the 1930s (Box 39, Folder 5). Jewish Theological Seminary files can be found in Series II.

Series VII: Teaching Career, 1930-1981.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series documents Meyer’s brief periods of employ as a teacher of Jewish history in the 1930s at Brooklyn College, the School of the Jewish Woman, and the Brooklyn Jewish Center’s Institute of Jewish Studies for Adults; in the 1950s at Yeshiva University; and in the 1970s at Queens College. Contents include correspondence, letters of recommendation from his mentors, course syllabi, student work, notes, and publications put out by the institutions at which he taught. There is also substantial material generated in the 1960s and 1970s during his role as consultant and occasional lecturer for the In-Service Course for New York City public secondary school teachers, sponsored by the Jewish Teachers Association and AJHS. The In-Service Course folders include reports, critiques, announcements, course-specific bibliographies, teaching materials for Meyer’s own lectures, and correspondence with prominent Jewish leaders and scholars who lectured in the In-Service Course.

Series VIII: Photographs and Slides, [1922-1973].

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

This series consists of photographs, slides and a few negatives of Isidore Meyer, his family, his associates and travel destinations from the early 1920s through the early 1970s. The earliest photograph may be a group portrait of Meyer’s Talmudical Academy class in 1922. There are photographs of Meyer in the AJHS office in the 1940s and 1950s, at the Maryland Hall of Records with others (Ernst Posner may be among them) presumably during the Fourth Intensive Training Program in the Preservation and Administration of Archives in 1948, at a Jewish wedding in the 1940s, and visiting the Sheftall family graves in Georgia in 1965. There are many portraits of Meyer. Other individuals in the photographs include Hannah Meyer, Jonathan Meyer, Anita Libman Lebeson, Solomon Gaon, Saul Viener, Louis Rabinowitz, Moshe Davis, Maximilian Hurwitz, and various family members. Also of interest may be negatives from his time in Berlin in 1929-1930 with the Mittwoch family and slides of trips to Israel and Jewish synagogues and cemeteries of the Caribbean in 1967-1970. There are a number of photos of ceremonies in Jewish cemeteries in the 1960s. Some of the photos in this series were used in AJHS publications.