Out of the Archives
Yiddish Artists Relax in the Catskills, circa 1938
by Rachel Harrison, Processing Archivist, Center for Jewish History

The Adler Family Papers (P-890) at the American Jewish Historical Society contain a wealth of photos of figures from the heyday of the American Yiddish theater, from the 1880s and running to the 1970s. These include Jacob P. Adler, the patriarch of the Yiddish acting dynasty, his second wife Dinah Shtettin, and their daughter Celia, his third wife, Sara, and several of their children, as well as various spouses, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, and in-laws, many of whom were involved in Yiddish theater. There are also myriad photos of groups of family members and friends, as well as numerous pictures of actors in costumes from various productions.

In the above photo, Yiddish actors, singers, playwrights, poets, and theater owners relax at a bungalow colony in the Catskill Mountains in the late 1930s. Among them are Shmuel Niger, David and Adele Pinski, Jacob Ben-Ami, Peretz, Esther Shumiatcher and Omus Hirschbein, and Lazar Freed, who was the first husband of Celia Adler. For more information about the Adler family and their impact on Yiddish theater, including numerous wonderful photos, please see the Guide to the Adler Family Papers.