Miscellanies: Deputies' Records Catalogued

<plain_text><page sequence="1">Deputies' Records Catalogued In 1973 the Board of Deputies was persuaded, on the advice of Anglo-Jewish Archives, to obtain professional assistance in putting into order its important collections of archives, one of the most important in this country but then in a depressing state of confusion and disrepair. The Board engaged Miss R. A. Routledge, of Research Associates, to do the work, which was done in a most expert manner in an aston? ishingly short time. A catalogue prepared by her has now appeared under the title 'A Report on the Records of the Board of Deputies of British Jews 1839-1966, reproduced for the Board by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, 1976'. It is a thick typescript duplicated volume of 289 pages typed only on one side of the paper, and starts with an historical introduction (pp. I-XIV) and notes on the description and arrangements of classes and subdivisions, with glossary and list of abbrevia? tions (pp. XVI-XXI). It is not possible to review or even to summarise this work ade? quately here, but the main divisions are (I) Board minutes (beginning in 1760), (II) Presi? dents' and Secretaries' papers, 18 subsections, letter books, (III) Committee and Depart? mental papers (16 subdivisions), (IV) Congre? gations, (V) General correspondence, (VI) Financial papers, (VII) Publications, and (VIII) duplicate marriage registers. The files on marriage and divorce go back to 1836, minutes of the Law and Parliamentary and General Purposes Committee go back to 1859; otherwise, naturally, the great accumula? tion is from the end of the nineteenth century onwards to the present day. An enormous advance in research in modern Anglo-Jewish history is now made possible by this magnificent piece of work, on which the Board is to be congratulated for its vision in commissioning, and the author is to be applauded on her efficiency in execution. Copies of the catalogue are not widely available, but one may be consulted at the Mocatta Library in Anglo-Jewish Archives, and of course, at the Board itself. R.D.B. 253</page></plain_text>