Jacobs, Joseph
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Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian-born folklorist, literary critic and historian who became a notable collector and publisher of
English folklore English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the region's Legendary creature, mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, Folk dance, dance, balladry, and Folklore, folktales tha ...
. Born in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
to a Jewish family, his work went on to popularise some of the world's best known versions of English fairy tales including "
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...
", "
Goldilocks and the Three Bears "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while th ...
", "
The Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build their houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which are made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's ho ...
", "
Jack the Giant Killer "Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a man who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklore, Breto ...
" and " The History of Tom Thumb". He published his English fairy tale collections ''English Fairy Tales'' in 1890 and ''More English Fairy Tales'' in 1893. He published European, Jewish, Celtic, and Indian fairy tales, which made him one of the most popular English-language fairy tale writers. Jacobs was also an editor for journals and books on the subject of
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
which included editing the Fables of Bidpai and the Fables of Aesop, as well as articles on the migration of Jewish folklore. He also edited editions of ''
The Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...
''. He went on to join
The Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. It w ...
in England and became an editor of the society journal ''Folklore''. Joseph Jacobs also contributed to ''
The Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...
''. During his lifetime, Jacobs came to be regarded as one of the foremost experts on English folklore.


Biography


Early life

Jacobs was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 29 August 1854. He was the sixth surviving son of John Jacobs, a
publican The (Latin ; Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'') were public contractors in the Roman Republic and Empire. In their official capacity, they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw pub ...
who had emigrated from London in around 1837, and his wife Sarah, ''née'' Myers.G. F. J. Bergman,
Jacobs, Joseph (1854–1916)
, ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', Volume 9, MUP, 1983, pp. 460–461. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
Jacobs was educated at
Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...
and at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, to which he won a scholarship for classics, mathematics and chemistry. He did not complete his studies in Sydney, but left for Britain at the age of 18. He then studied at
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
, where he gained a BA in 1876. At university he demonstrated a particular interest in mathematics, philosophy, literature, history, and anthropology. While he was in Britain Jacobs became aware of widespread
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
; to counter this he wrote an essay, "Mordecai", which was published in ''
Macmillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine published 1859 to 1907 by Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works primarily by British authors. Thomas Hughes convinced Mac ...
'' in June 1877 Later in 1877 he moved to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to study Jewish literature and bibliography under
Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...
, and Jewish philosophy and ethnology under
Moritz Lazarus Moritz Lazarus (15 September 1824 – 13 April 1903), born at Filehne, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, was a German-Jewish philosopher, psychologist, and a vocal opponent of the antisemitism of his time. Life and education He was born at ...
. Jacobs then returned to Britain and studied anthropology under
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...
. At this point he began to further develop his interest in folklore. From 1878 to 1884 he served as secretary of the Society of Hebrew Literature. He was concerned by the anti-Semitic pogroms in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
and in January 1882 wrote letters on the subject to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' of London. This helped to raise public attention to the issue, resulting in the formation of the Mansion House Fund and Committee, of which he was secretary from 1882 to 1900. He was the honorary secretary of the literature and art committee of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition held in the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
in London in 1887, and with
Lucien Wolf Lucien Wolf (20 January 1857 in London23 August 1930) was an English Jewish journalist, diplomat, historian, and advocate of rights for Jews and other minorities. While Wolf was devoted to minority rights, he opposed Jewish nationalism as expres ...
he compiled the exhibition catalogue. In 1888 Jacobs visited Spain to examine old Jewish manuscripts there. The Royal Academy of History at Madrid elected him a corresponding member. In 1891 he returned to the theme of Russian anti-Semitism in a short book, ''The Persecution of the Jews in Russia'', which was published first in London and then in the United States by the
Jewish Publication Society of America The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...
. In 1896 Jacobs began publication of the annual ''Jewish Year Book'', continuing the series until 1899, after which it was continued by others. He was also President of the
Jewish Historical Society The Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE) was founded in 1893 by several Anglo-Jewish scholars, including Lucien Wolf, who became the society's first president. Early presidents of the JHSE included Hermann Adler, Michael Adler, Joseph Jacobs ...
.


Later life

In 1896 Jacobs visited the United States to deliver lectures on "The Philosophy of Jewish History" at
Gratz College Gratz College is a private Jewish college in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origins to 1856 when banker, philanthropist, and communal leader Hyman Gratz and the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia (es ...
in Philadelphia, as well as to groups of the Council of Jewish Women in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 1900 he was invited to serve as revising editor for the ''
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...
'', which included entries from 600 contributors. He moved to the United States to take on this task. He also involved himself in the
American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...
, became a working member of the
Jewish Publication Society The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...
's publication committee. and taught at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism as well as a hub for academic scholarship in Jewish studies ...
. Jacobs married Georgina Horne, and fathered two sons and a daughter. In 1900, when he became revising editor of the ''
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...
'', based in New York, he settled permanently in the United States. He died on 30 January 1916 at his home in
Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
, aged 62.


Career

Jacobs was a student of anthropology at the Statistical Laboratory at University College London in the 1880s under
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...
. His ''Studies in Jewish Statistics: Social, Vital and Anthropometric'' (1891) made his reputation as the first proponent of what was then called "Jewish race science". In 1908 he was appointed a member of the board of seven editors that made a new English translation of the Bible for the
Jewish Publication Society The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...
of America. In 1913 he resigned his positions at the seminary to become editor of the '' American Hebrew''. In 1920 Book I of his ''Jewish Contributions to Civilization'', which was practically finished at the time of his death, was published in Philadelphia. In addition to the books already mentioned, Jacobs edited ''The Fables of Aesop as First Printed by Caxton'' (1889), '' Painter's Palace of Pleasure'' (1890), ''Baltaser Gracian's Art of Worldly Wisdom'' (1892), ''Howell's Letters'' (1892), ''Barlaam and Josaphat'' (1896), ''The Thousand and One Nights'' (6 vols, 1896), and others. Jacobs was also a contributor to the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
'', and to
James Hastings James Hastings (26 March 1852 – 15 October 1922) was a Scottish United Free Church minister and biblical scholar. He is best known for producing major reference works, including a 5-volume '' Dictionary of the Bible'' and a 13-volume '' Enc ...
's '' Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics''.


Folklore

Jacobs edited the journal ''
Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
'' from 1899 to 1900 and from 1890 to 1916 he edited multiple collections of fairy tales that were published with illustrations by John Dickson Batten: ''English Fairy Tales'', ''Celtic Fairy Tales'', ''Indian Fairy Tales'', ''More English Fairy Tales'', ''More Celtic Fairy Tales'' (all 1890 to 1895) and ''Europa's Fairy Book'' (also issued as ''European Folk and Fairy Tales'') in 1916. He was inspired in this by the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...
and the
romantic nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
common in folklorists of his age; he wished English children to have access to English fairy tales, whereas they were chiefly reading French and German tales; in his own words, "What Perrault began, the Grimms completed." Although he collected many tales under the name of
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s, many of them are unusual sorts of tales. Binnorie (in ''English Fairy Tales'') and Tamlane (in ''More English Fairy Tales'') are prose versions of
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s, The Old Woman and Her Pig (in ''English Fairy Tales'') is a
nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...
,
Henny Penny "Henny Penny", more commonly known in the United States as "Chicken Little" and sometimes as "Chicken Licken", is a European Folklore, folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes that the world is coming ...
(in ''English Fairy Tales'') is a
fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...
, and The Buried Moon (in ''More English Fairy Tales'') has mythic overtones to an extent unusual in fairy tales. According to his own analysis of ''English Fairy Tales'', "Of the eighty-seven tales contained in my two volumes, thirty-eight are Märchen proper, ten
saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...
s or
legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
s, nineteen
droll A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabe ...
s, four cumulative stories, six beast tales, and ten nonsense stories."


Reception and legacy

During his lifetime Jacobs came to be regarded as "one of the leading English authorities" on folklore, and "the leading authority on fairy tales and the migration of fables". Writing in 1954, O. Somech Philips stated that, while Jacobs accomplished many things in his life, it was as a folklorist that "people remember him best". Writing Jacobs's obituary for '' The American Jewish Year Book'', Mayer Sulzberger characterised him as "one of the important figures in the Jewry of our age", adding that he was "in himself a type of the humanity and universality of the Jewish people". Sulzberger praised Jacobs's literary style, commenting that he "wrote with ease and grace", and "might have attained a high place in the illustrious roll of honor of Britain's literary worthies" if he had pursued a career in literature. Sulzberger described him as having "a noble nature, incapable of envy", as well an "insatiable thirst for knowledge"; he was "always ready to welcome a fellow-inquirer." After his death his stories were republished, including in the 1918 book '' English fairy tales'' by
Flora Annie Steel Flora Annie Steel (2 April 1847 – 12 April 1929) was a writer who lived in British India for 22 years. She was noted especially for books set in the Indian subcontinent or connected with it. Her novel '' On the Face of the Waters'' (1896) desc ...
with illustrations from
Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...
.


Works

Sulzberger included a list of his books in his obituary:


Jewish and Biblical studies

* * * * * * * * ''
The Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...
'', from 1900, as a contributor *


Literary criticism and studies

* * *


Fables, Folk and Fairy Tales

:As editor * , reprint of
Thomas North Sir Thomas North (28 May 1535c. 1604) was an English translator, military officer, lawyer, and justice of the peace. His translation into English of Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives'' is notable for being the main source text used by William Sh ...
's ''The Morall Philosophie of Doni'' * ''Fables of Aesop as first printed by William Caxton in 1484 with those of Avian, Alfonso and Poggio'',
David Nutt David John Nutt (born 16 April 1951) is an English neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety, and sleep. He is the chairman of Drug Science, a non-profit ...
, 1889
Vol. 1Vol. 2
* † * † * † * † * † * , illustrated by Richard Heighway * , illustrated by W. Frank Calderon * † * † – also known as ''European Folk and Fairy Tales'' :† Illustrated by
John D. Batten John Dickson Batten (8 October 1860 – 5 August 1932), born in Plymouth, Devon, was an English painter of figures in oils, tempera and fresco and a book illustrator and printmaker. He was an active member of the Society of Painters in Tempera, ...
;Other *


Notes


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links

* * * *
works by Joseph Jacobs
at The Baldwin Online Children's Project

* * (including 24 "from old catalog") {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Joseph 1854 births 1916 deaths Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club Australian encyclopedists English folklorists Jewish English writers Jewish Australian writers Jewish historians American Jews Collectors of fairy tales Contributors to the Jewish Encyclopedia Jewish encyclopedists People educated at Sydney Grammar School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Panchatantra