Beyond the Reading Room

Culinary historian and Adjunct Curator Janice Bluestein Longone passed away on August 3, 2022 at the age of 89. Jan was the principal donor and driving force behind the formation of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive, the culmination of a life-long interest in culinary history that she shared with her husband Dan Longone, University of Michigan Chemistry Professor Emeritus.

Newly cataloged for the Jewish Heritage Collection: a poster announcing the premier presentation in Philadelphia of the Yiddish play Milchume kalles (The Jewish War Brides) at the Arch Street Theater. Gift of Elliot H. Gertel.

Newly cataloged for our Jewish Salonica Postcard Collection: Salonique, type de vieux juif – a historical postcard depicting an old Jewish man in traditional dress standing in the middle of a street in Salonica, the famous Balkan port-city located on the shore of the Aegen Sea. Some evidence from the picture allows us to established that it was taken between 1912-1917.

A new exhibit pairs a dozen selections from the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive (Special Collections Research Center) with dishes from the International Museum of Dinnerware Design. Enjoy this display in the Audubon Room from Thursday, July 7 to Thursday, September 29.

From the Jewish Heritage Collection: a trilingual postcard depicting Jacob Meir, Chief Rabbi of Salonica.

The Joseph A. Labadie Collection holds at least 22 titles in Hebrew. One of them is the Sparṭaḳisṭ 4, a periodical published by the Spartacist League of Israel between 1973-1975.

Newly acquired and cataloged for our Jewish Salonica Postcard Collection.

Newly catalogued for the Jewish Salonica Postcard Collection: Two centuries meeting – the mother and daughter, circa 1917.

A newly acquired and cataloged item for our Jewish Salonica Postcard Collection.

Newly gifted to the Joseph A. Labadie Collection: Der Frayer Gedanḳ (La Pensée Libre), a Yiddish monthly Anarchist journal published in Paris and Tel Aviv between 1949-1963.