General records of the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, including letter books; appointment books; statistics; minutes of the Chief Rabbinate Council; minutes, correspondence and proceedings of the Conference of Anglo-Jewish Preachers; papers of the Provincial Jewish Ministers Fund including correspondence, minutes, financial accounts and reports of inspections of Hebrew classes; orders of service for national and royal occasions, synagogue foundations, consecrations, jubilees and anniversaries; funerals and memorials, marriages, Holocaust memorials, and dedications of hospitals and schools; and photographs. ACC/2805/01/110 records the results of the survey into Hebrew Congregations in the British Empire commissioned by Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler soon after he took office.

PLEASE NOTE: Records can only be accessed with the written permission of the depositor. Contact the Chief Executive, Office of Chief Rabbi, 735 High Road, North Finchley, London NW12 OUS.

Papers, 1832-1968, of and relating to Soloman Marcus Schiller-Szinessy and his family, owned or created by Raphael Loewe. A file of documents from Hungary, 1832-1888, comprises personalia relating to Schiller-Szinessy's activities there, including school reports. A file on Schiller-Szinessy's time at Manchester includes correspondence and papers, 1851-1860, on the synagogues of the Manchester Old Hebrew Congregation and Congregation of British Jews, Manchester, and Schiller-Szinessy's association with them as rabbi. A file on Schiller-Szinessy's time at Cambridge comprises printed material, press cuttings, manuscripts, and correspondence of Raphael Loewe, and includes a letter to Schiller-Szinessy from Sir Moses Montefiore, 1883, replying to his ninety-ninth birthday greetings, and an unpublished manuscript by Schiller-Szinessy (in German), 1888, on 'Der Neue Catalog Der Hebraischen Handscriften In Der Bodleiana'. A file on Schiller-Szinessy's contribution to the Jewish press, 1850-1890, includes press cuttings of his articles and typescript notes on his work. A file on Schiller-Szinessy's other publications includes printed copies and press cuttings of his writings from 1845. A file on the marriage, offspring and death of Schiller-Szinessy comprises a letter from H Samuel to Schiller-Szinessy, 1861; papers relating to his marriage, 1863, and other family papers; a photograph of him, 1888; undated photographs of his daughters Henrietta and Eleanor; a photograph, 1963, of his gravestone; cuttings and other printed papers on his death, 1890, including letters of condolence to his wife; notes, cuttings and correspondence, 1962-1968 and undated, of Raphael Loewe on Schiller-Szinessy, including biographical information. A file of correspondence and papers of Raphael Loewe concerning Alfred Solomon Schiller-Szinessy includes a small scrapbook containing poems, 1886-1887 and undated, by Alfred S Schiller-Szinessy; a photocopy of an article by Alfred S Schiller-Szinessy on 'The Testaments of the XII Patriarchs' from The Jewish World, 1887; and two letters, 1962, concerning his education at the Perse School, Cambridge. A file on the Schiller-Szinessy children notably includes correspondence, 1958-1965, of Raphael Loewe on the welfare, death and burial of Sydney Schiller-Szinessy. Other original material comprises a manuscript transcript of Bereshith Rabbathi; undated manuscript accounts of the Hebrew language, for teaching; bound copies of Der Ungarische Israelit (in German), 1886, for Dr Schiller-Szinessy; a notebook containing manuscript verse and miscellaneous notes, inscribed [1903]. There is a typescript list of documents relating to Schiller-Szinessy, 1940, and a ticket for an address by Raphael Loewe on Schiller-Szinessy, 1962.

Records, 1961-2000, relating to the original and new series of the periodical Modern Poetry in Translation and associated projects. The material pertains to languages including Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Yiddish. Publications comprise issues 1-44 of the magazine, 1965-1982, covering poetry from a wide range of sources including countries in Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, Asia and Russia; MPT Year Book (1983); MPT programme for Poetry International 71 (1971); Poetry World (1986); and an Anthology of Twentieth Century Russian Poetry (1974), edited by Max Hayward and Daniel Weissbort. There are also files of translated poems, undated, from sources including various countries in Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. The bulk of the records comprises correspondence, covering all aspects of MPT's organisation including discussion with publishers, printers and distributors; decisions on the content of future issues and work by guest editors; correspondence with translators on specific projects and the general theory of translation; and many letters from translators offering their services, demonstrating the wave of enthusiasm of which MPT was part. The first series of correspondence, covering 1961 to 1984, relates to issues 1-6 (1965-1969, when MPT was published by Cape Golliard) and includes files on particular countries and related translators; organisations including the Arts Council and Gulbenkian Foundation; individuals including Ted Hughes and his involvement with MPT; distribution in Britain and America. The second series, 1966-1984, relates to the independent production of the magazine from 1969 and also to the Year Book (1983), and comprises some files on particular countries and their translators but also more general files covering aspects of production and admininstration over particular periods. The third series, 1964-1984, relates to translation projects in which Daniel Weissbort, editor of MPT, was engaged outside MPT. Subsequent deposits relate largely to the revival of MPT from 1992 and include papers on MPT, 1978-2000, among them translations, correspondence, reviews, biographical information and ephemera; papers relating to Poetry World after its launch in 1986; files relating to new series issues of MPT, comprising correspondence and translations; printed material including issues 1 and 2 of the new series, 1992; and working papers of Professor Norma Rinsler, 1993-1994 and undated, relating to the MPT new series and the Second International Poets Festival in Jerusalem, 1993, and including typescript poems and information on poets.

Correspondence and papers of Dr Moses Gaster, his family, and the family of his wife Lucy (née Friedlander), 1796-1973, dating largely from the 1870s to the 1930s, also including some material on Gaster's life and work which post-dates his death. Many papers relate to Gaster's activities in his official posts, notably as Haham, to his interests in Jewish affairs and Zionism, and as a scholar, but the collection touches upon a wide range of topics in late 19th and early 20th century history, including the history of Rumanian Jewry and Anglo-Jewry. The bulk of the collection comprises Gaster's correspondence, which includes letters from Jewish and Zionist organisations in Britain, Europe and Jerusalem, from newpapers, periodicals and publishers, and from a large number of individuals outside Gaster's family, including eminent British, European and American Jewish scholars, rabbis and public figures, such as members of the Adler, Gollancz, Mocatta, Montefiore and Rothschild families, and with non-Jewish public figures, but it also includes a wide range of other material. The main series mostly cover much or all of Gaster's adult life. Some material of the same type or on the same subject is separated between different sections of this large collection.

Correspondence series include letters from organisations and individuals outside Gaster's family, one sequence sorted alphabetically by correspondent; one sequence sorted chronologically, 1874-1939, with a few other items, the earliest dating from 1854; a sequence of undated letters, sorted alphabetically; letters received by Gaster on the emigration of Rumanian Jewry, including to England, 1900; Gaster's out-letters and copies of letters written by him, 1887-1939; copies of letters from Gaster to the Zionist Chaim Weizmann dating from the 1900s and 1910s; letters not written by or addressed to Gaster, 1870-1939 and undated.

A series of bound volumes contains press cuttings and other items, largely printed, including circulars and pamphlets, with some letters received and written by Gaster, and relates to various subjects, although much of the material was apparently bound haphazardly; the contents, overall dating largely from 1879-1939 but with items of 1796, 1838-1849, and 1867, include persecution of Jews in Rumania and elsewhere; emigration; Anglo-Jewish matters and the Anglo-Jewish Association; hospitals and schools; lectures, weddings, and other functions; the Board of Deputies of British Jews; Shechita; the Slaughter Bill, 1911; the Spanish-Portuguese congregation, including Bevis Marks Synagogue and Gaster's 25th anniversary as Haham, 1912; Independent Order of B'nai B'rith; letters congratulating Gaster on his engagement, marriage and birth of his children, and on the 'Gaster Anniversary Volume' ; Zionism, including the Jewish Colonial Trust, and Zionist Congresses in 1905, 1907 and 1913; Palestine; the Royal Asiatic Society; the Folklore Society.

Printed ephemera, dating from the 1870s to the 1930s, includes invitations to lectures, weddings and other events; visiting and greeting cards and condolences.

Papers, 1890-1896, on the Ramsgate affair relate to Gaster's association with the College there, the controversy over his management, and events leading up to his departure in 1896.

Papers relating to Zionism include copies of letters between Gaster and Theodor Herzl at the turn of the 20th century and other Zionist correspondence and papers up to the Balfour Declaration of 1917; file of letters and telegrams, some copies, from Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, 1906-1908; volume of minutes of Council meetings of the London Zionist League, 1904-1910; microfilms of Zionist sources, among them Herzl letters held elsewhere.

Pamphlets, 1944-1950, relate to the Anglo-Jewish Association, a London conference of Jewish organisations, Palestine, the Jews in Britain, and Jewish Relief Units in Germany.

Working papers include notebooks, many undated, relating to Gaster's studies (from the 1870s) and later research; typescript and some manuscript reviews, sermons, letters to the press, obituary articles or notices, speeches and articles by Gaster; loose press cuttings of Gaster's reviews and articles, and cuttings on Gaster himself and his areas of interest; reproductions of texts and manuscripts and working notes by Gaster on his scholarly research.

Papers on Gaster's life, work and estate include a photostat manuscript catalogue of Gaster's Hebrew, Samaritan and other manuscripts and printed books, with annotations postdating Gaster's death in 1939; papers relating to Gaster's manuscripts which passed to the British Library, John Rylands Library and Rumanian Academy, including manuscript and typescript descriptions of manuscripts, and correspondence, 1925-1926, 1941, 1961-1962, on their disposal; papers dating from the 1940s to the 1960s on the estate of Gaster's wife (d 1940) and disposal of her books and on Gaster's will, estate and the disposal of his books and manuscripts including his Judaica, the sale of his Rumanian library to the School of Slavonic Studies, the disposal of Samaritan and Hebrew manuscripts to the John Rylands Library, his papers at University College London; material, including press cuttings and papers to 1971, on Gaster's publications, including a copy of his 'History of the Ancient Synagogue ... in Bevis Marks ... 1701-190' (published in 1901); papers to 1961 on the 'Gaster Centenary Publication' (first published in 1936), the centenary of Gaster's birth in 1956, and his publications; papers on Gaster's life and work following his death in 1939, including a file of Vivian Gaster's correspondence on his father to 1973.

Personal papers include Gaster's appointment diaries; congratulations on Gaster's engagement (1889); various rolled or printed addresses to Gaster as Haham, from Jewish communities; certificates, including one for Gaster's election as Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, 1930; letters of congratulation and cuttings on Gaster's 80th birthday (1936); typescript autobiographical notes and reminiscences by Gaster; papers on Gaster's death, 1939, including a scrapbook of cuttings.

Family papers include a genealogical roll of the Gaster family; two photograph albums, largely undated but apparently dating from the latter 19th century, many items unlabelled but some taken in Bucharest, Breslau and London and some identified as members of the Friedlander and Gaster families; correspondence, comprising letters from Gaster's family in Rumania, 1873-1939 and undated; Gaster's original letters to his family in Rumania, from 1874; letters from Gaster to his wife and children, 1885-1939 and undated, and a diary of Gaster on a journey to Palestine, 1907; letters to Moses Gaster from his wife Lucy, between Moses and Lucy and their children, and from the Friedlander family to Moses and Lucy Gaster, 1888-1939; letters from Lucy to her parents, Michael and Bertha Friedlander, before and after her marriage, 1880-1922; Friedlander family correspondence including letters from Michael Friedlander to his wife Bertha, from 1866, and to the Friedlanders from the Gasters; other letters received by the Friedlanders from their family and others, largely 1870-1927 and undated. Other Friedlander papers comprise papers of Michael Friedlander, including notes, and working papers and correspondence relating to Jews' College, including its administration and courses; and the diary of Bertha Friedlander (wife of Michael Friedlander and mother of Lucy Gaster, née Friedlander), 1893-1898.

Papers, 1921-1959, of Roy Clive Abraham, comprising personal manuscript notebooks of grammar and vocabulary notes on the various African, Middle Eastern and European languages studied by him.

Records of the Jewish Memorial Council, 1899-2001. The archive mainly consists of files and volumes of minutes and working papers. The records of the Reverend Malcolm Weisman are noteworthy for the detail they provide on the survival of Judaism in small, often isolated, communities.

Notes by John Dixon on medical matters and on things of personal interest to him such as astrology and photography spanning his entire career, 1848-1903. MS.5191 comprises more formal material, namely certificates and indentures.

Records from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel Brodie, 1917-1967, including public messages, circular letters, prayers and appeals issued by the Chief Rabbi; orders of service; correspondence with a variety of individuals and organisations including the Anglo-Jewish Association, Aria College, the London Beth Din, the Board of Deputies, the Central Council of Jewish Religious Education, Jewish Day Schools Council, the Jewish Board of Guardians, Jews' College, the London Jewish Hospital; the Kashrus Commission; the Kosher School Meals Service, the London Board of Jewish Religious Education, London County Council, the Rabbinical Commission, the London Board for Shechita, and the United Synagogue.

Correspondence with congregations in Great Britain and Ireland, including arrangements for pastoral tours, and correspondence with congregations abroad including in America, Australia, Canada, France, India, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and the Soviet Union.

Correspondence on subjects including anti-semitism, kosher food, marriage, relief organisations, congregations, education, yeshivot, refugees, Hebrew pronunciation, Israel, liberal Judaism and reform synagogue, Russian Jews, shechita, sopherim training, and teacher training.

Papers relating to the Committee on Calendar Reform including minutes and resolutions of protest. Papers relating to refugees and post-war reconstruction, including report on Belsen Concentration Camp, reports and correspondence of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, Commission on the Status of Jewish War Orphans in Europe, Refugee Rabbis Relief Programme and speeches made at the League of Nations.

PLEASE NOTE: Records can only be accessed with the written permission of the depositor. Contact the Chief Executive, Office of Chief Rabbi, 735 High Road, North Finchley, London NW12 OUS.