![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAiBJ33r9cynGs4fyOLpmlBNKuwCE0hyphenhyphengaNiRepjk69ueWPqwwZTnBfIzBhC53LhM1JSltyZGgtJsEEyiUFmYjw2synhNcBjhm2obonerZrtbD7hgwZz4Aw3eIfxSxQm01OHN/s400/Steinschneider_at_work1.jpg)
Here's a photo of the great man himself:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kqaESh3ehNOig_cmNK41XNrqqx62vWBd0y-q5wUGwPjbp7mmLY7nP7hn63mUm7Hej-HPq2qyY5zDYLzDJIXcBopFWlCbaAbUhKxJsfvmN5oxXTLRDlET8cSohSlvZDH1X0FU/s1600/Steinschneider_at_work.jpg)
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.
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