Judah Achilles Joffe Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 546

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Correspondence with individuals including Salo Baron, Bernard Baruch, Sidor Belarsky, Ber Borochov, Judah Leob (Leib) Cahan, Jacob de Haas, Mendl Elkin, Ben Zion Goldberg, Alexander Harkavy, Ephim Jeshurin, Yudel Mark, Kalman Marmor, Henry Morgenthau, Melech Ravitch, Zalman Reisen, Edward Sapir, Max Weinreich, Uriel Weinreich, Yehoash. Correspondence with organizations. Family correspondence. Letters from former students. Biographical materials, such as curriculum vitae, autobiographical notes, I.D. cards, letters of recommendation. Financial records. Clippings of Joffe's publications, of articles about him. Reports, minutes, plans, memoranda and correspondence relating to the Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language. Materials relating to the YIVO Institute. Notes of Executive Committee meetings. Notes on Board of Directors meetings. Materials of the Research and Training Division. Materials on YIVO Annual Conferences. Materials on the YIVO in Vilna. Materials relating to Joffe's courses and lectures: notes on Yiddish courses, Yiddish composition, phonetics, morphology, etymology. Materials relating to the following topics: dictionaries; Russian literature and linguistics; Old-Yiddish language and literature; the Bove-bukh by Elias Levita (Elia Bachur). Materials relating to music, musicians, Yiddish songs, music institutions, recordings. Folklore materials: folksongs, proverbs, anecdotes.

Dates

Creation: 1893 - 1966

Creator

Yofe, Yehudah, 1873-1966 (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Yiddish linguist, teacher, lexicographer, writer. Specialist in early Yiddish literature. Translator of more than a dozen languages. Co-editor of the Groyser verterbukh fun der yidisher shprakh (Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language). Co-founder of the American branch of YIVO. Active in the linguistics section of YIVO. Born in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Emigrated to the U.S. in 1891.

Extent

19.5 Linear Feet (25 5"ltr; 14 5"lgl)

Language of Materials

English

Yiddish

Russian

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series: I) Correspondence with Individuals (folders 1-16); II) Family Correspondence (17-29); a) Letters from Students (30); III) Biographical materials (31-48); IV) Financial Records (49-53); V) Joffe's Publications and articles about him (54-61); VI) Correspondence, Organizations (62-130); VII) Correspondence, Colleges and Universities (131-147); VIII) Correspondence, commercial book publishers and firms (148-168); IX) Joffe's courses and lectures (169-215); X) Linguistic notes and manuscripts (216-395); XI) Russian literature and linguistics (396-407); XII) Old-Yiddish literature and language (408-436); XIII) Translations from Russian by J. Joffe (437-447); XIV) Psychiatric Encyclopedia (448-454); XV) Music (455-482); XVI) Folklore (483-485); XVII) Joffe's other interests (486-492); XVIII) Publications by others with Joffe's notations (493-497); XIX) Various papers (498-506).