| StorageSite | UCL Special Collections |
| Level | SubSeries |
| Reference Number | GASTER/1/A/1 |
| Title | Visiting cards and other miniature cards |
| Date | c1862-c1938 |
| Description | Miniature cards accumulated by Moses Gaster, given to him by friends and members of his congregation. These consist mainly of visiting cards, business cards, small greeting cards, invitations to Bar Mitvahs, and invitations to visit people 'At Home'.
Regarding these 'At Home' visits and visiting cards, Vivian Gaster has written the following passage in a draft article about his father (see GASTER/1/P):
"But of course he and Mother carried out all the necessary social duties of his office. Up till 1914 (though the custom was beginning to die out), every married woman had he 'at home' days, e.g. first Tuesday and third Wednesday in the month, and a careful note had to be kept of the "days" of one's friends. It was an insult not to visit on one of these days at reasonable intervals, but often it was enough to go to the door, enquire if everyone was well and leave 'cards'." |
| Extent | 4 boxes (2879 cards) |
| Arrangement | These cards have been arranged alphabetically, by surname. Some of these cards have been catalogued individually, but most of the cards have not. If a card has been individually catalogued then it will have its own individual Reference Number in the online catalogue, for example GASTER/1/A/1/25. All of the cards which have an individual entry are also available to view online through our Digital Collections website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/collections/ucl-digital-collections/browse-collections/jewish-collections
Alternatively, if you would like to browse these cards using the alphabetical sequence, then let us know which box(es) you would like to see. Here are the alphabetical ranges in each box:
Box 1: Surnames beginning 'A' to 'FINF' (GASTER/1/A/1/1 to /750).
Box 2: Surnames 'FINN' to 'LEVOVNA' (GASTER/1/A/1/751 to /1496).
Box 3: Surnames 'LEVY' to 'PYKE' (GASTER/1/A/1/1497 to /2192).
Box 4: Surnames beginning 'R' to 'Z' (GASTER/1/A/1/2193 to /2879). |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| AccessConditions | The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Registration Form.
Many of the items in this subseries are also available to view online through our Digital Collections website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/collections/ucl-digital-collections/browse-collections/jewish-collections |