Abraham Bornstein was born in Russia, and immigrated to the United States as a child. He was a well known publisher and collector of art and art books.
In 1923, Bornstein founded the Boston Book and Art Shop, formerly located on Boylston Street between Dartmouth and Exeter Streets, which distributed art books from leading publishers of Europe, as well as published books, portfolios and monographs. Abraham and his wife, Rachel, used their publishing house to help encourage and promote many Jewish artists and writers in the United States, among them, Chaim Grade, a Yiddish poet.
The Bornsteins donated their collection to many well known institutions, including the Bezalel Library, the Israel Museum, the Jewish National and University Library and YIVO. According to the inventory of the collection donated to the Jewish National and University Library and YIVO, in addition to books on art, Bornstein also donated his personal collection of Japanese prints and ikons, and rare prints of Jewish books of the 16th-18th centuries.
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Footnotes
- 1 Historical Note based on documents found in the Abraham Bornstein Papers.
From the guide to the Abraham Bornstein, Papers, undated, 1914-1992, (American Jewish Historical Society)
