Idisher aḳṭyoren yunyon (U.S.)

The collection of Jacob Mestel consists of the general, professional and personal correspondence of Jacob Mestel, manuscripts of plays by other authors, manuscripts of poetry, essays and plays by Jacob Mestel, translations of plays into Yiddish, production material, clippings, theater programs, personal documents, and theater photographs.

This collection contains the administrative records of the Hebrew Actors’ Union (HAU), the professional union of Yiddish theater performers, which was based in New York City. Materials include correspondence, membership materials, financial records and members’ dues information, meeting minutes, and a great deal of sheet music and play scripts of performances from the Yiddish theater. A majority of these performances were in New York City, but there are also materials from Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, and Montreal, as well as various locations in Israel and South America.

This collection contains the records of the Yidisher Teater Gezelshaft in Detroit, a theater guild which aimed to put on Yiddish plays of the highest artistic caliber for the Jewish community of Detroit. It contains correspondence, meeting minutes, financial reports, programs, mailings, and membership materials.