From: Rare book and manuscripts On Behalf Of White, Eric Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 9:54 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [EXLIBRIS-L] obit
Michael Pollak (1918-2008) was a good friend of Bridwell Library, a skilled bibliographer (with several articles on early printing in Gutenberg Jahrbuch, etc.), and the discoverer of the Kaifeng Torah Scroll (17th-cent. China) at SMU. (from the Dallas Morning News): POLLAK, MICHAEL, Born in New York City January 5, 1918, died in Dallas, Texas on February 27, 2008, leaving as survivors his children Julia, Nancy, Mark, and Susan, their spouses, and eight grandchildren. A graduate of City College of NY, he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He and his late wife Barbara moved to Dallas in 1947. In 1955 he established Wayside Press, Inc., a publishing and printing firm that he operated until his retirement in 1986. Beginning in the late 1960s. He wrote a series of studies for various scholarly journals concerning the technology and productivity of the early wooden printing press. In the early 1970s he identified a Torah scroll of unknown origin belonging to Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist. University, as having been written in 1663 in the Chinese city of Kaifeng for the use of a synagogue that had been established by its Jewish community 500 years earlier. He subsequently wrote several books, and numerous academic and popular papers dealing with the Jews of old China, a museum catalogue, an assortment of research documents in other scholarly disciplines, and many book reviews. He also lectured widely. In 1985 he participated in the founding of the Sino-Judaic Institute, holding the position of vice president from the time of its inception until 2007. Graveside services will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 2:00pm, in the Mausoleum Chapel at Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, 3430 Howell Street, Dallas, TX 75204, with Rabbi David Stern officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Jewish Family Service, 5402 Arapaho Road, Dallas, TX 75248. Forest Lawn Funeral Home Family Owned and Operated (214) 953-0363 www.dallasforestlawn.com Serving our families through North Dallas Funeral Home Obituaries, Notices Published in the Dallas Morning News on 2/29/2008. 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
