Currently on display in the Center’s Great Hall: A Shavuot papercut from the early 20th century. From the Collection of Yeshiva University Museum.
In addition to the Partner exhibition spaces, permanent art installations and the David Berg Rare Book Room, the Center has recently started to showcase treasures from all of the Partners in an innovative combination of electronic and physical objects. The project is called Great Treasures in the Great Hall.
In the past, we’ve highlighted an illustrated Megillat Ester (Book of Esther) circa 1750 and The Offenbacher Haggadah both from the Collection of the Leo Baeck Institute. We were also excited about a recent display that featured a selection of performing arts materials, from the Collection of the American Jewish Historical Society, including Irving Berlin’s sheet music for “God Bless America” and two letters from Gershwins–both George and Ira.
An interactive tablet display allows us to add a multimedia dimension to each exhibition, allowing visitors to see additional items, view parts of a work that are not otherwise visible or magnify intricate details. For the performing arts selection, we made Yiddish theater posters and photos of Celia Adler and Molly Picon part of the interactive experience.
In coming weeks, we will be celebrating the contributions Picon made to American culture with a series of blog posts by our former research intern Sarah Ganton. In her first post, she describes the early years in the star’s amazing career.
We invite you to stop by the Center to view these rare and remarkable treasures. More information on visiting the Center can be found here. In the meantime, enjoy our series of posts revealing the stories behind them.
Artifact above and currently on display:
Shavuot papercut
Eastern Europe, early 20th century
Papercut, ink and gouache on paper
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum
Gift of Daniel Friedenberg