Dropsie, Moses Aaron (1821-1905). Four personal and family documents. Texts in Dutch, English and Hebrew.

AUCTION 80 | Thursday, March 28th, 2019 at 1:00 PM
The Valmadonna Trust Library: Further Selections from the Historic Collection. * Hebrew Printing in America. * Graphic & Ceremonial Art

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Lot 119
(AMERICAN JUDAICA)

Dropsie, Moses Aaron (1821-1905). Four personal and family documents. Texts in Dutch, English and Hebrew.

Includes two Dutch letters (dated 1819); American citizenship certificate (1828) of Aaron Moses Dropsie (1794-1839); document showing Moses Aaron’s ownership of Seat 222 in K’K Mikveh Israel, Philadelphia (1862).

v.p: v.d

Est: $1,000 - $1,500
PRICE REALIZED $850
Moses Aaron Dropsie was born in Philadelphia, the son of a Dutch Jewish immigrant father and an American Christian mother. He underwent a halachic conversion aged 14 and cultivated a lifelong interest in Judaism, actively seeking to further its interests. Successful in business, Dropsie utilized his wealth to singular philanthropic effect. An ally and admirer of Isaac Leeser, Dropsie involved himself in all manner of Philadelphia’s Jewish communal and educational pursuits. Following his death, Dropsie’s estate provided funds for the creation of The Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, an institution that made a substantial imprint upon American-Jewish scholarship well into the 20th-century.