TO COMMEMORATE THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JEWISH ORPHAN ASYLUM, DISTRICT NOS. 2, 6 AND 7, I.O.B.B. AT CLEVELAND, OHIO, JULY 15, 16, 17, 18, 1893.
Cleveland, O.: J.B. Savage, 1893. Item #42912
1st edition. Original blue pebbled cloth with ornate silver lettering, oblong 8vo, 57 pages. 17 x 22 cm. Includes 24 photos, many showing the orphans at work or play, and frontis map.
Includes 16 pages listing the name, location, and dates of approximately 500 “former inmates [sic] and approximately 250 present “inmates” [sic], boys and girls.
Also includes:
- List of Gentlemen who Acted as Trustees (40 names with dates)
- List of Ladies who Acted as Directresses (26 names with dates)
- List of Gentlemen who Acted as Directors (17 names with dates)
- Board of Trustees (with Officers) for the Twenty-Fifth Year (41 names)
for a total of almost 900 names, as well as budgets, “Statistics of Former Inmates,” etc.
Established in 1868, the Bellefaire Orphanage marks an important chapter in the history of child welfare in America. Originally founded to support Jewish children orphaned by the Civil War, it is one of the oldest orphanages in the United States.
The orphanage was established by the Midwest division of B'nai B'rith, an international Jewish social service organization. It was originally located in the former Cleveland Water Cure Establishment, constructed in 1848. This facility had previously functioned as a sanitarium and resort, gaining regional acclaim for nearly two decades before B'nai B'rith repurposed it as a haven for Jewish children, initially naming it the Jewish Orphan Asylum.The population and size of the orphanage soon changed, and between 1868 and 1918, the Jewish Orphan Asylum provided shelter and support to 3,581 children, the majority of whom were immigrant youth from Eastern Europe. The institution served those orphaned and impoverished, drawing from a wide reach that included 15 Midwestern and Southern states. Its grounds, spanning over seven acres near Fifty-fifth Street and Woodland Avenue, became a refuge during a tumultuous time in American history.In 1919, reflecting a shift toward more compassionate care, the organization was renamed the Jewish Orphan Home. This marked the beginning of a transformation that would continue into the next decade. In 1929, the orphanage relocated to a spacious 30-acre site in University Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. Here, it was redesigned into a cottage-style facility and reintroduced as Bellefaire, symbolizing a new era of nurturing for its residents.Bellefaire continued its mission as an orphanage for Jewish children until 1943, when it transitioned into a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children. (Wikipedia)
For a scholarly history of the Orphanage, see Gary Edward Polster, “Looking Out, The Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum 1868 - 1924 (Kent State University Press, 1990).
SUBJECT(S): Jewish orphanages -- Ohio -- Cleveland. Orphelinats pour Juifs. OCLC: 30119687. OCLC & Singerman together lists 9 copies worldwide (B’nai B’rith Archives, Fordham, Yale, UFL, Mid-Continent Public Lib, Cleveland Pub Lib, HUC, Western Reserve, NLI), none west of Missouri.
Light wear to boards, glossy paper and internal binding remain bright and strong, Very Good- Condition overall, nice copy, important. (AMR-68-9-'xecc).
Price: $325.00