Description:

Szold Henrietta

Henrietta Szold TLS, editor of Jewish Publication Society of America

 

2pp TLS signed by American Zionist Henrietta Szold (1860-1945) as "Henrietta Szold" at the top of page two. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on January 28, 1902. Cream watermarked paper typed in purple with "The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1015 Arch Street (P.O. Box 1164), Philadelphia" letterhead. Expected light paper folds, else near fine. Each page measures 6" x 9.5".  From the Collection of Norman Boas of Seaport Autographs and purchased at Christie's December 5, 2017 sale.

 

Henrietta Szold, acting as Secretary to the Publication Committee of the Jewish Publication Society of America, and also its principal editor, wrote Mayer Sulzberger, who had served as chairman of that committee since the society's founding in 1888. Szold's letter is direct and professional, and demonstrates some of the traits that made her such a competent editor.

 

Szold's memorandum reads in part:

 

"Under separate cover you will receive galley-proof of the translation of the Psalms as revised by Professor G.L. Kittredge, the Editor for English style…

 

There is also a series of notes by Professor Kittredge in which he suggests as advisable certain alterations which he has not made, justifies others, and makes remarks of a general nature.

 

The desire of the Committee is to render the translation as correct and as elegant as possible. You are, therefore, requested to make a careful study of all the papers set before you, and to present such comments as seem to you pertinent…"

 

Henrietta Szold served as the first editor of the Jewish Publication Society--where she edited, wrote, translated, and scheduled works for press--for 23 years. Cofounded by American Jewish intellectuals in Philadelphia in 1888, the Jewish Publication Society sought to educate American Jews about their history, culture, and religion by providing them with scholarly English language reading material. The Jewish Publication Society still operates today and provides its readership with a variety of religious and secular texts pertaining to the Jewish diaspora. Szold also edited the Jewish Encyclopedia, American Jewish Yearbook, and a version of the Talmudic Dictionary among other works.

 

Mayer Sulzberger (1843-1923), like Henrietta Szold, was committed to exploring his American Jewish identity. The Pennsylvania lawyer and judge was a social philanthropist who owned one of the most extensive private libraries of Judaica in the United States. He was a founding member of the Jewish Publication Society.

 

George Lyman Kittredge (1860-1941) was an English literature professor at Harvard University. His knowledge of classical languages (Greek, Latin) as well as "modern languages" (English, German, Icelandic, Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon) made him a formidable linguistic scholar. In addition to teaching, editing, and writing, Kittredge was also a devoted folklorist.

 

Henrietta Szold was a significant Judaic scholar and Zionist activist in turn-of-the-century America. Her education, though mostly self-directed, included a stint at an all-male Jewish Theological Seminary. Following her career in publishing, Szold traveled to Palestine and became absorbed in charitable works there. She was an original co-founding member of Hadassah, an organization that built hospitals, soup kitchens, and schools in Palestine. Szold advocated for a binational solution in Palestine, where Arabs and Jews coexisted in a single state.

 

Provenance: Ex-Christie's December 5, 2017 sale; Ex-Norman Boas, Seaport Autographs.

 

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