Here's a photo of the great man himself:
The person who sent it to me was surprised that Steinschneider was wearing a - let's call it a yarmulke - I was as well. So was everyone, probably, when the picture was making the email rounds. To give credit as far back as I can, the picture was distributed by Professor Menachem Kellner, who said that this was taken at the Royal Library in Berlin.
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James Murray also wore a "yarmulka" at work, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:James-Murray.jpg
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was intended to keep dust out of the hair?
Several Victorian types look stereotypically rebbeish, with house caps and long, wild beards. Still, this looks more like a litvishe cap than a German smoking cap to me.
ReplyDeleteSimon, it's possible that this was Steinschneider's motivation, except that he had no hair and this looks much more like a typical "yarmulke" of the time. Murray's cap is different.
ReplyDeleteI really like this picture.
ReplyDeleteMurray's colleague, the homicidal maniac William Chester Minor, also wore a "yarmulke".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/home/history/william-chester-minor-1
I do