Germany, ca. 1920s-1930s
Gift of Barry S. and Joann C. Slosberg
National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia
1995.69.1


This steamer trunk accompanied Lilly and Josef Joseph and their ten-year-old daughter, Liesl, on the SS St. Louis which sailed from Hamburg to Havana in May 1939. Like many of the 937 Jewish passengers on the ship, this German Jewish family had obtained visas to enter the United States at a future date because of strict immigration quotas. Considering it unsafe to remain in Europe until their visas became effective, they planned to wait in Cuba. However, the Cuban government declared all but 20 of the Jewish passengers’ landing permits invalid and refused to grant them entry. Mr. Joseph was the president of the passenger committee that was formed to buoy spirits when it became clear that the ship would return to Europe. The Joseph family disembarked in Britain and made their way to Philadelphia in 1943.

Manufactured by Raisin & Levine, Inc.
New York, New York, ca. 1920s-1930s
Peter H. Schweitzer Collection of Jewish Americana
National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia



This food product was marketed to early twentieth century American Jewish consumers. Its container displays both an image of a Puritan settler and a prominent announcement of kosher certification. Beneath this blending of American and Jewish identities lies the suggestion that one could become a classic American by consuming this cheese.

This object is currently on view through October 31, 2007 in our exhibition Forshpeis! A Taste of the Peter H. Schweitzer Collection of Jewish Americana. The exhibition explores the role food played in helping immigrant Jews adjust to life in the United States and illustrates how Jewish foods, like American Jews themselves, have become a part of the American mainstream.

This Yiddish translation of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography is the third in a series of artifacts that will be featured regularly here, illustrating objects in the NMAJH Registry of Jewish Americana, a digital catalog of artifacts, documents and photographs from collections around the country.




Benjamin Franklin: Life Story and the Liberation of America
Progress, publisher
Warsaw, Poland, 1901
National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia

Franklin’s autobiography has been published throughout the world in numerous languages. This Yiddish translation comes from Warsaw, Poland and was printed at a time when large waves of Eastern European Jews immigrated to America.

This object is currently on view through May 31, 2006 in our exhibition Benjamin Franklin and Religious Liberty that explores Franklin’s relationship with the Jewish community and illustrates his role in forging a pluralistic America. This exhibition is being held in conjunction with “Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia,” a region-wide celebration of all-things Franklin. To learn more about this exhibition, click here to view the press release.

The NMAJH Registry is a digital catalog of artifacts, documents, photographs and other objects that tell the story of the Jewish people in America. Each month, the NMAJH will feature a different artifact from the Registry. The first few featured artifacts come from the NMAJH’s collection, but future featured artifacts will illustrate the extraordinary collections of other museums, institutions and individuals across the country and represented in the NMAJH Registry.



Seltzer Bottle, ca. 1910-1940

National Museum of American Jewish History
Peter H. Schweitzer Collection
Photograph by Jeffrey E. Holder

Click to preview sample registry page

The word “seltzer” originated in Niederselters, Germany, where natural springs produced carbonated water enjoyed by the locals. Europeans drank seltzer as an alternative to often-polluted water systems and reveled in its medicinal properties. Jewish immigrants brought their love of seltzer to the United States. During seltzer’s heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, Jewish seltzer salesmen could be found throughout America offering “two cents plain,” the slang for a bottle of seltzer with no syrup.

This object is one of over 10,000 items from the Peter H. Schweitzer Collection, one of the most important private collections of Jewish Americana. Recently donated by Rabbi Schweitzer to the NMAJH, this collection features a range of materials including documents and photographs, and a wide variety of objects such as clocks, typewriters, signs, and political buttons, among others. The NMAJH is honored to be the permanent home of this collection. To learn more about this donation, click here.

The NMAJH Registry is a digital catalog of artifacts, documents, photographs and other objects that tell the story of the Jewish people in America. Each month, the NMAJH will feature a different artifact from the Registry. The first featured artifact comes from the NMAJH’s collection, but future featured artifacts will illustrate the extraordinary collections of other museums, institutions and individuals across the country and represented in the NMAJH Registry.

Click to preview sample registry page



Carving from the Congregation Shaarei Eli Torah Ark
Philadelphia, PA, ca., 1918
Wood, carved and painted
20 x 42 x 7½

National Museum of American Jewish History
Gift of Congregation Shaare Eli. Funds for conservation of the Torah ark were provided by Jeanne Saligman Levin, Philadelphia, in loving memory of her mother, Mary Saligman Levin and sister, Augusta Saligman Levin.

The carving is an element of the Congregation Shaarei Eli Torah Ark. The NMAJH began conservation of the carving in 1984, along with other rare and precious objects which faced ruin following the closure of the building in 1981. Founded in 1917 in South Philadelphia, the synagogue was forced to close its doors as the population shifted and the second and third generation children of the founders moved away from the old neighborhood.

The position of the hands in the carving symbolize the Priestly Blessing given in the time of the Temple in Jerusalem and recited in synagogues today. The Blessing comes from Numbers 6:24-26, stating: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord deal kindly and graciously
with you; The Lord bestow his favor upon you and grant you his friendship.”

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