(AMERICAN JUDAICA).

<<Extremely rare periodicals of the Kosher meat and poultry industry in New York preceding and through World War II. Highly uncommon to appear for auction sale.>> “The Voice” began as the official paper of the American Federation of Retail Butchers. “American Kosher Butcher Weekly” began representing the Federation after a leadership scuffle between Isidore Present, who had been heading “The Voice” and other members of the organization over finances, which is luridly detailed in the later paper. “The Kosher Butcher News” began as independent, but within 16 issues became the official paper of a new organization, the Federation of Kosher Butchers of Greater New York, and within another four issues, was headed by Isidore Present again, along with Philip Greenberg. In the mid-1930’s, New York City’s Kosher butchers were caught in the economic confluence of Midwestern agricultural failures which drove meat prices up and increased organization by the local Kosher consumers. Boycotts were regularly called by shoppers when meat prices were perceived to be too high - famously in May of 1935 - and thus, the Federation of Kosher Butchers challenged their members to similarly organize to the benefit of their own interests. The vehicle for such messages were these trade weeklies which first began publication in August of 1935. Many articles concern themselves with labor organization: Suggested strikes against particular slaughterhouses, aspects of advertising, and overall, information about the latest developments in the meat industry. Each issue contains a chart in English and Yiddish, of prices per pound for different grades and cuts of meat and poultry. Also discussed in almost every issue are concerns over fraud. New York State’s Kosher laws of the time permitted the government to enforce the rules of Orthodox supervision of meat, and regularly reported here are accounts of butchers caught deceiving customers with non-Kosher meat marketed as Kosher. These are of course, Jewish newspapers, dealing with the Jewish community, and so the Yiddish section regularly contains original songs and poems about Jewish themes. Social and community events are announced - especially Bar Mitzvahs, and frequently articles of general Jewish thought appear. These include topics as varied as an essay on Jews and meat through history, Torah insights for upcoming Festivals, Rosh Hashanah and Passover greetings from community leaders, and discussions regarding supervisory (hechsher) disputes. During World War II, the trade weekly continued to be a resource for Kosher butchers, offering, in addition to news about wartime meat distribution, instructions for the retailer how to use ration stamps and tokens and methods to save fats for military collection. Published at a critical time for growth in the American food industry, these periodicals regularly report government interventions, such as New Deal price-setting, nutritionists promoting meat as a health food and efforts to regulate feedlot production to match national demand. New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, whose tenure nearly matched the entire span of the periodicals, is a frequent subject as he deals with labor and fraud concerns, and occasionally provides a column or Rosh Hashanah greeting. New York’s Commissioner of Public Markets, William Fellowes Morgan, Jr. is also a frequent subject. The papers frequently bemoan the statistic that only 40% of New York City’s Jews observe a Kosher diet, and so included is much advice for reaching out to new consumers, such as keeping one’s shop broom clean, encouraging customers trust in the sanitary benefits of Kosher meat, and keeping prices stable during the holiday seasons and not take unscrupulous advantage of the high demand for Kosher meat. <<Only one institutional library (NYPL) possesses all three of these fascinating Kosher trade runs.>>