Moritz Steinschneider Correspondence at the JTSA (ARC. 108): An Inventory

The library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, holds the Moritz Steinschneider Papers under the shelfmark ARC 108, consisting of correspondence, miscellaneous notes, research materials, offprints, catalogs etc. Between 2-5 October 2023, the present writer together with Reimund Leicht visited the JTS library and consulted the entire Moritz Steinschneider Papers with the aim of preparing a detailed inventory of the materials they include. The present dataset constitutes a preliminary result, listing all of Steinschneider’s correspondents in alphabetical order.
The correspondence that is found among the Moritz Steinschneider Papers consists of letters and postcards Steinschneider had received since the 1840s until his death on 24 January 1907. While Steinschneider did not keep copies of his own correspondence to others, he noted, in red ink, on the letters and postcards he had received the dates when he had responded to them. Moreover, Steinschneider recorded his correspondence from 1855 through 1907 in three small notebooks, whose entries, arranged according to year, month, and day, list the letters and postcards he received and replied to on each day. They also indicate the dates given on the letters sent to him. The Moritz Steinschneider Papers also include some documentation relating to the transfer of Steinschneider’s Nachlass to the JTS.
The aim of the present inventory is to provide a first comprehensive overview of those from whom Steinschneider received letters that are included today among the Moritz Steinschneider Papers. Since the material is still largely in disorder, letters and postcards from the persons listed below are found in numerous locations of the Nachlass. Names that are rendered in green could be verified, names rendered in purple might refer to the same person.