Abraham Joseph Stybel, outstanding patron of Hebrew literature who financed the publication of more than 1,000 Hebrew books and aided many prominent Hebrew writers financially, enabling them to devote themselves to their literary work, died here today at the age of 62. His funeral will be held here tomorrow.
He was the publisher of the “Hatekufah,” a Hebrew quarterly, the publication of which he started in Moscow in 1918 and transferred later to Warsaw. Following the outbreak of the war he moved to New York, where he resumed the publication of the “Hatekufah” last year. It is estimated that he spent approximately $2,000,000 of his personal fortune promoting Hebrew literature.
Born in Poland, he studied in Yeshivahs in various Polish cities, but later entered the commercial field as a leather merchant. But his desire to see modern Hebrew literature disseminated prompted him to establish the Stybel Publishing Company, whose aim was to publish new original works by Hebrew authors and Hebrew translations of the classics.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
