Hello, Veronica-- Your collection sounds fascinating. I'm glad you have David Goldenberg there to advise you. He was my Ph.D. advisor at Dropsie College in the 1980's. Do greet him for me. Having seen a lot of the sort of material you describe (not the least of it here at HUC, as you may suspect), I believe he has "hit the nail on the head" in saying that the collection contains not too much of commercial value, but lots of special interest. I am glad you have been cautious about deciding what to do with it. I personally see burial as only the very last option one should undertake in such matters. I would look for marks of ownership on the books. Even people who are not interested in the books for their intended purpose may be attracted to them for genealogical reasons. Also many books that have become too fragile for use in a library where they may get a lot of handling can still serve very well in private hands assuming they find a good home. You mention Roedelheim prayer books. Depending on their age, I believe some of them are cosidered quite collectible. I know none of this is a direct answer to your question, but I want to encourage you to persevere in the approach you have been taking. This material is very much worth the time and effort, and due a lot of respect in view of those who brought it South Africa and under what conditions.
Yours sincerely, Dan Daniel J. Rettberg Rare Book and Manuscript Bibliographer Klau Library Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Cincinnati, OH 45220 U.S.A. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org