The Breman Presents ‘Treasures & Tchotchkes’

The Breman, on Aug. 9, opened its latest exhibition, “Treasures & Tchotchkes,” a particularly personal exhibition drawn from The Breman’s Cuba Family Archives. The premise is that seemingly ordinary objects, what might look like “tchotchkes,” can carry personal and historical meaning.

Everything in this collection was saved by someone Jewish with a story to tell. These objects are testaments to people’s lives, careers, and parallel moments in history and queries why we decide on which things to hold onto. Family memories, immigration, Jewish celebrations, items of clothing, tools, and gadgets are nostalgic in ascribing emotional value to ordinary objects like a shoe button hook.

One would not label a gold watch or a fine string of pearls a “tchotchke.” A tchotchke could be dismissed as clutter: something sitting on a shelf, gathering dust, maybe passed from one generation to another without remembering the origin. Place that same object inside a museum case with context and it takes on a new life, maybe evidence of a childhood, a reminder of a journey, connection to a grandparent, a marker of a celebration or a difficult period. It also tells us how far we have come in such short periods of time — like Grady Hospital intern Dr. Herbert Rosenzweig’s primitive blood pressure cuff from 1902.

Museum visitor Marty Rotter was studying a shochet’s (butcher) knife from 1946 used to “kasher” cattle and poultry on Washington Street. Then there was a pinwheel, nine-lever calculator from Rich’s Department Store from the 1970s used “on the spot” to assess vendor activity.

Morris Maslia was focused on a 1920 shoe repair exhibit near the panel, sharing why Sephardic men from the Isle of Rhodes took up shoe repair because of their poor facility with English. Then, there’s a 1911 ordinary wedding cotton sock from Hortense Steinhenor; can’t miss the ivory lace wedding gown from Josephine Joel Heyman, who was in “high society” as a member of League of Women after graduating Smith College. Strolling the exhibit was Ahavath Achim historian Doris Goldstein, pointing out familiar faces in photographs like those of the late Dr. Herb Karp, and Shirley Brickman as a young ingénue.

Former executive director of The Breman Museum, Jane Leavey, worked as an independent contractor for six months to curate this exhibit. She shared, “I was delighted to put this all together from archives to tell these stories because these displays are small parts that have never been shown. This exhibit gives visitors a peak behind the scenes.”

Leavey retired in 2011 and labeled herself “recycled” for this project.

With the simple premise, “Why do people even save things?” the exhibition suggests that it is rarely because of the monetary value. That approach also reflects what makes The Breman’s collection compelling in its mission to extend beyond displaying important historical artifacts. Though small, this collection wrapped around a circular display documents the lived experience of Jewish communities in Atlanta and throughout the South, showcasing the details of everyday lives alongside the major events of history.

“Treasures & Tchotchkes” provides a different way of examining a slice of society. Instead of asking, “What is this?” pose, “Who kept this and why?” An exhibit like this makes us think, “What will we save for others to understand our existence?”

The exhibit is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.