Join & Support: Archival Wish List

For information about any of the below,
please contact (202) 789-0900 or info@jhsgw.org

19th-Century Family Scrapbook - $3,000

This amazing scrapbook documents the families of Civil War veteran Abraham Hart, Herbert Rich and Frank Rich of Rich’s shoe store, and related Washingtonians, 1860s- 1950s. Includes: newsclippings, Rosh Hashanah cards, photographs, invitations to weddings and presidential inaugural balls, government documents with presidential signatures, and even a baby bonnet.

Needs: Disbinding, interleaving, flatten creases, cleaning, rehousing in microchamber box and folders

Civil-War Era Ketubah - $850

This 1862 ketubah (at right) documents the wedding of Bettie Dreifus of Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington’s Harry Baum. Civil War travel restrictions prevented the groom from traveling to his bride’s home in Virginia, so the couple married in Washington.

Needs: Cleaning, removal of adhesive residue, mending of tears

Immigration Records & Reise-Pass Documenting Behrend Family - $2,400

This 1845 Reise-Pass was carried by Bernhard Behrend when traveling from Rodenberg to Frankfurt, Germany. A second document signed by the mayor of Rodenberg lists family members preparing to emigrate.

Needs: Cleaning, removal of adhesive residue and tape, mending tears, deacidification

Simon Wolf Autograph Books - $2,000

Simon Wolf was one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For his 70th birthday, Wolf’s daughter created three books containing more than 400 personal messages to Wolf from local and national leaders such as this page from President Theodore Roosevelt.

Needs: Bindings are extremely fragile and require stabilization; pages require preservation scanning

Digitization Of Oral Histories - $500

From 1980-1982, the Society interviewed 25 long-term Jewish residents of Washington. The resulting oral histories provide wonderfully detailed first-hand accounts of community history and early 20th-century Jewish life

Needs: Conversion from cassette tape to digital format

Panoramic Photographs - $800

The Society’s collections include many panoramic photographs documenting Jewish communal events from the 1920s-1940s, including this Sephardim Hebrew Congregation banquet in 1936.

Needs: Photographs are tightly rolled; treatment by photo conservator, including humidification, cleaning, and preservation scanning for research purposes

Photographs of Eighth Street Temple - $800

Sponsor photography of the interior and exterior of this historic neighborhood synagogue, formerly home of the Washington Hebrew Congregation.

Needs: Professional photography for use in exhibitions, walking tours, and educational programs

Circumcision Gown - $1,500

Amnon and Sarah Behrend dressed their infant son, Rudolph, in this handmade gown for his brit (ritual circumcision) in 1877. The Behrends lived on 7th Street, NW.

Needs: Fabric is worn and extremely fragile; holes and tears need repair; needs custom made soft form for storage/display

Additional Oral Histories - $2,500

Support the collection of two oral histories of prominent members of our community (such as Frank Rich and Max Ticktin) to add to our collections.

Needs: Video recording, transcription, digitization

For information about any of the above,
please contact (202) 789-0900 or info@jhsgw.org