The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of
American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history.[1][2][3][4]
History
The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the United States. The Society's library, archives, photograph, and art and artifacts collections document the American Jewish experience. AJHS is located at the
Center for Jewish History in Manhattan.[5]
AJHS serves public educational and interpretive functions by publishing a journal, a newsletter, monographs and reference works; organizing and curating exhibits; and developing resources and curricula on the American Jewish experience.
In 2007, it was among over 530 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the
Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg.[6]
The Society publishes books, a genealogy program, museums tours, academic assistance and other related educational activities. Additionally, the American Jewish Historical Society publishes the following publications:
The Society holds the original manuscript of "
The New Colossus" by
Emma Lazarus,[11] as well as very early American Jewish documents, including
Judah Monis's
Hebrew grammar textbook (1735), the first American
siddur for
Jewish holidays printed in English (1761), and the first Hebrew‐English prayerbook published in the United States (1826).[13] The Society also holds documents from American Jewish
Patriots of the
American Revolution, including the
marriage contract of
Haym Salomon (1777).[13] The Society's Loeb Portrait Database of American Jewish Portraits is a repository of more than 400 portraits of pre-1865 American Jews.[14]
The Society also maintains the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1969 at the
Judah L. Magnes Museum in
Berkeley, California, and became part of the American Jewish Historical Society in 2001.[15]
Exhibitions
2014: "October 7, 1944," multimedia exhibition created by choreographer
Jonah Bokaer.[16]
^American Jewish Historical Society: Organized at New York, June 7th, 1892. Washington City, U.S.A.: American Jewish Historical Society. 1892.
hdl:
2027/inu.30000093657793.
OCLC691194237.
^American Jewish Historical Society: Report of Organization. Abstract from the Minutes, 1892. Baltimore, MD: American Jewish Historical Society. 1892.
hdl:
2027/uc1.$b31191.
OCLC262540372.
^Queen, Edward L.; Prothero, Stephen R.; Shattuck, Gardiner H. (2009). Encyclopedia of American Religious History (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Facts On File. p. Volume 1.
ISBN978-1-4381-0995-4.
OCLC370721276.