“On the Shelf”: Main Library’s William Margulies Yiddish Library

“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL’s library collections” is the 2026 Main Library Exhibition. It focuses on eight different collections across UCL’s libraries. In this post, Vanessa Freedman writes about the William Marguiles Yiddish Library.

When Yiddish teaching began at UCL in 1989, the library held fewer than thirty Yiddish books. Two decades later, it had one of the foremost Yiddish collections in Europe. This transformation was led by Yiddish lecturer Hugh Denman and Hebrew and Jewish Studies librarian Dalia Tracz, with generous support from William Margulies—a retired publisher and passionate advocate for Yiddish culture. Together, they built the collection through donations, transfers, antiquarian purchases, and new publications. Today, UCL continues to develop the collection, acquiring contemporary works and filling historical gaps, ensuring that Yiddish language and culture remain accessible to future generations.

Items on display:

Annotated list of Yiddish acquisitions recommended for the William Margulies Yiddish Library

Hugh Denman diligently compiled lists of new publications in or about Yiddish, as well as suggesting purchases from antiquarian booksellers to fill gaps in the collection. He continued to do this long after his retirement.

Paris un Viene

One of the first additions to the new collection, Pariz un Viene is a Yiddish epic love poem attributed to Elijah Levita. This is a facsimile of the 1594 edition published in Verona, with an added introduction in French and Italian.

Brilianṭn

Esther Kreitman (1891-1954) was a Yiddish novelist and elder sister of the famous Yiddish writers Israel Joshua and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Her novel Brilianṭn (Diamonds) is a family saga set in Antwerp and London. This copy is one of the few Yiddish books already in the UCL library before the development of the separate Yiddish collection. It came from the personal library of Sir Montague Burton (1885–1952), founder of Burton Menswear.

In ṿeldl

A play for children by Mikhl Davidzon (1883-1941), illustrated by printmaker Todros Geller (1889-1949). One of the many books donated by William Margulies from his own library.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Yiddish

Arun Schaechter Viswanath’s 2024 translation of JK Rowling’s second Harry Potter book. The publisher, Olniansky Tekst, is a small Yiddish press based in Sweden where Yiddish is a national minority language. The publication was supported by the Swedish government.