The Dropsie College Isaac Leeser Collection spans the years 1822 through 1868, with the bulk of the collection concentrated between the years 1848 and 1867. Categories of documents to be found include correspondence, literary productions, financial records--largely relating to The Occident, and legal and printed materials.
This collection, the gift of Linda and Michael Jesselson in December 2017, comprises letters largely written to Isaac Leeser from a variety of well-known Jewish literary figures and community leaders. There are a few letters authored by Leeser and a small number of letters that were neither written to nor from Leeser. Overall, these letters bear witness to Leeser's efforts to build the infrastructure of organized Jewish life in an English-speaking environment.