Creator Bio

Aaron Isaac

1730–1817

Born to a Yiddish-speaking family in Brandenburg, Aaron Isaac (Aron Isak; Arn Yitskhok) was a seal engraver and merchant invited to settle in Sweden by King Gustav III. Relocating to Stockholm in 1774, Isaac and his family, through the economic benefit their skills brought to Sweden, became the conduit through which Jews settled in the kingdom on a large scale. His memoirs depict a period of transition for Jews in Sweden, from a persecuted minority with few rights to a burgeoning community with an established place in the country’s commerce, crafts, and trade.

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

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Autobiography

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When the Seven Years War broke out in 1756, I was the father of four children, and the cost of living was high. I had tried to make my way in the world like an honourable man. When the enemy Prussians…
Manuscript page with two columns of writing in Yiddish and Hebrew and a decorated border.
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Related Guide

Life Writing: Biography, Autobiography, and Ego Documents, 1750–1880

The famous and the obscure, women and men, in epitaphs and private letters, ethical wills, cookbooks, and religious reflections, all reflect aspects of Jewish life in a period of great transition.