Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1359

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1.4 linear feet (4 boxes)

Preferred Citation:

Joseph and Yehudit Shadur papers, 1894-2002 (bulk: 1960-2002), Ms. Coll. 1359, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1894-2002 (inclusive) and 1960-2002 (bulk)

Creator:

Shadur, Yehudit and Shadur, Joseph

Form:

Manuscripts for publication, Correspondence, Research notes, Clippings (information artifacts), Books, and Writings (documents)

Abstract:

Joseph and Yehudit Shadur were pioneers of Jewish folk art and the subject of Middle Eastern studies and environmental conservation in Israel. Their collection includes two series, one of the writings, correspondence, book reviews, and research by Joseph Shadur, and the other, published works by or about Yehudit Shadur, or containing images of her paper-cuts. These documents date from 1894 to 2002, with the majority of the documents produced from 1960 to 2002.

Yehudit Shadur was born in 1928 in Wisconsin. An artist, she was well known for her printmaking, and the Jewish folk art of papercutting (Joseph and Yehudit Shadur papers, Box 4, Folder 1). She is credited in reviving the Jewish folk tradition of papercutting, an old Jewish art form that almost disappeared during the first half of the 20th century. In addition to her artwork, she published, with her husband, Joseph, multiple books on the topic of papercutting, including Jewish Papercut: A History and Guide, Jerusalem from Generation to Generation: Papercuts by Yehudit Shadur, and Traditional Jewish Papercuts: An Inner World of Art and Symbol. Yehudit Shadur passed away in 2011 (www.shadurarts.com).

Joseph Shadur was born in 1928 in Riga, Latvia. He attended the University of Minnesota for Agricultural Engineering and New York University for a M. A. in the Modern History of Israel's Government. He was a member of Kibbutz Nirim, the director of Jewish Agency of Youth and Mechalutz Department in Jerusalem, and the director of the Association of Americans and Canadians for Aliya in the U. S. and Canada. Joseph wrote and lectured on the "historical and geographical aspects of Israel and the surrounding desert regions and on nature conservation and environment problems" (Joseph and Yehudit Shadur papers, Box 4, Folder 4). He was the director for the Jerusalem Fields Studies Center of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel; and editor for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, of Israel—Land and Nature, and of "Teva ve-Aretz" (Joseph and Yehudit Shadur papers, Box 4, Folder 4). Joseph taught and wrote about Middle Eastern and Mediterranean history, including the oil business in those areas, at the Sdeh Boquer College of Negev. He researched topics of oil, Jewish architecture, Zionism, and cartography in the later years of his life. Joseph published multiple books, including Young Travelers to Jerusalem: An Annotated Survey of American and English Juvenile Literature on the Holy Land, and "A Drive to Survival: Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, 1940" (Joseph and Yehudit Shadur papers, Box 4, Folder 1), which describes his family's struggles during World War II. With the cooperation and help of his wife, Yehudith Shadur, he was the chief writer and editor of two books on Jewish papercuts, Jewish Papercuts: A History and Guide and Traditional Jewish Papercuts: An Inner World of Art and Symbol, and the catalogue Jerusalem From Generation to Generation: Papercuts by Yehudit Shadur. Regarding the production of the books, my mother's role (besides being the artist of the large body of her own Jewish papercuts) was as his partner in research, travels and discovery of historic papercuts, correspondences, ideas, and the like. Therefore they were both the authors, but as for my father's role, publishing these two books represents his biggest accomplishments as a scholar and writer and a culmination of decades of research on four continents. Joseph Shadur passed away in 2005.

The Joseph and Yehudit Shadur papers consist of published and unpublished writings by Joseph Shadur and published writings by and about Yehudit Shadur. The collection also includes Joseph's research, correspondence, and reviews of his books. These documents are dated from 1894 through 2002, though the majority of the material was produced from 1960 to 2002.

The papers consist of two series, I. Joseph Shadur material and II. Yehudit (Judith) Shadur publications containing articles by or about her or paper-cuts by her. The Joseph Shadur material consists of his published writings, essays from college and graduate school, correspondence, and book reviews. The topics of his writings include oil in the Middle East, early Zionist settlements, Germany, and the Weimar Republic. Of particular interest are two writings about the Jewish experience (and in particular, the experience of his father, Michel Shadur) during World War II, which can be found in box 1, folders 1-2. The series also includes Joseph's research on oil, Jewish architecture, and cartography.

Yehudit (Judith) Shadur publications containing articles by or about her or paper-cuts by her includes published writings, largely documenting her role in the Jewish art of papercutting. In addition to numerous articles about her and publications which used her paper-cut illustrations inside or on the cover, researchers will find the published book Jerusalem from Generation to Generation: Papercuts by Yehudit Shadur as well as an article about papercutting by Yehudit Shadur.

This collection documents an academic's and an artist's views on Jewish heritage. Joseph Shadur's material documents the historical, political, and social changes experience by Jews through the late 19th and 20th centuries as well as how imperialism and the oil industry affected the Middle East. Yehudit Shadur's material provided evidence of the importance of papercutting in Jewish culture and heritage.