Skip to content

Subject: Asylums


Boston Commercial Gazette, February 3, 1820: Article on Mordecai Manuel Noah's Grand Island Asylum Project Boston Commercial Gazette, February 3, 1820: Article on Mordecai Manuel Noah's Grand Island Asylum Project

Newspaper clipping from the *Boston Commercial Gazette*, dated February 3, 1820, featuring an early report on Mordecai Manuel Noah's efforts to establish a Jewish asylum on Grand Island, near Buffalo, New York. The article details Noah's proposal to the New York State Legislature, including his offer to pay one-eighth of the cost and subsequent installments. It mentions the laying of the cornerstone of the asylum, later named "Ararat," in 1825 with much ceremony. The clipping is from Volume B, Page 15 of the archive.

Trade Card for Isaac Benselum Trade Card for Isaac Benselum

This is a trade card for Isaac Benselum, a minister at the Lunatic Asylum and Civil Prison Hebrew Department. The front of the card contains a handwritten English greeting as well as a Hebrew greeting for the new year. This card was found in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card is printed on thin paper and has a blue border.

Trade Card: Freeman, circa 1885 Trade Card: Freeman, circa 1885

Trade card depicting an Oriental woman with a black fan and yellow dress. The card also includes the numbers 14, 16, and 18, possibly referencing an asylum. The card is part of Volume 9, Page 27 of Arc.MS.56. The imagery suggests a mercantile context, given the presence of advertising on the card. This item dates from circa 1885.