Archived Affections: Love Letters in the Collections

February 14, 2024

by Tamar Zeffren

Emotions can run high in the archives. So many traces of human experiences and interactions are preserved in AJHS’s collections—and romance is no exception. Our holdings at AJHS yield some very heartfelt histories.

The Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers detail four generations of an American Jewish family, primarily through the personal records of four women. Freda Moritz, born on November 4, 1886 in Chicago, married Harold Jacobi in 1910 in New York. They were married for 28 years and had three children. Alongside other correspondence, photographs, and memos in the collection depicting Freda and Harold’s lives, their tokens of affection for each other endure.

Text reads: “Valentine Greetings To My Hubby and Only Boss.” *From the Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers P-705*.

Text reads: “To the dearest of hubbies, who patiently pays…and pays…and pays in many ways; Who is always the same, and who never gets cross…still remains…bless his heart…my most LOVABLE Boss.” *From the Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers P-705*.

Inside the store-bought card is a small handwritten note from Freda to Harold, adding a more personal and tender touch: “Ha Ha Ha. -Freda”. Poignantly. Freda and Harold passed away in the same month, January 1939.

Soft-hearted correspondence also make their mark in some of AJHS’s institutional records. The National Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB) Bureau of War Records holds two different examples of Valentine’s Day cards. The NJWB was founded in 1917 to support and to document the service of Jewish people in the Armed Forces. Subsequently, it evolved into a national federation of local agencies and social welfare institutions designed to address a range of needs for the American Jewish community.

Here, the Milwaukee Army and Navy Committee of the NJWB dispatches some whimsical romantic rhymes to raise the spirits—near-literally—of Jews on the front lines:

Text reads: “A Bubbling Valentine to You.” *From the National Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB) Bureau of War Records I-52*.

Text reads: “To you we send a Valentine, a token of our love, to let you know that all the time, it’s you we’re thinking of. We also send a book of soap, to make you rise and shine. Don’t think we’re all washed up with you, ’cause you’re our Valentine!” *From the National Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB) Bureau of War Records I-52*.

Book of Lather Leaves soap sheets included in the “Bubbling Valentine” card. *Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB) Bureau of War Records I-52*.

*From the National Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB) Bureau of War Records I-52*.

Text reads: “When a GI starts a-dreaming, of things he used to do, he usually dreams of girls and boys, and – of pitching woo. But today he dreams of a special time, that rolls around each year, he dreams a dream with perfect rhyme, he’s dreaming of his Valentine.” *From the National Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB) Bureau of War Records I-52*.

Tamar Zeffren

Tamar Zeffren is the Director of Archival Partnerships at the American Jewish Historical Society. She received a BA in English literature and medieval history from Barnard and a MA in archival management from New York University, and is certified as a Digital Archives Specialist by the Society of American Archivists. She has also worked at JDC, the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, the Center for Jewish History, and the International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership. She consults locally and internationally and volunteers with a number of professional associations.