03/09/2022
We want to acknowledge and express our gratitude to the women who played pivotal roles in the story recounted below. Without you, Gomez Mill House would not have acquired this important piece of our history.
In April 1706 Queen Anne of England made Luis Moses Gomez a British subject by way of an Act of Denization. Thanks to Erica Jesselson and her son Michael, who purchased the Act at auction in June, 1998, this unique document became part of our permanent collection.
The story is dramatic: Asher Lewis Shane (1911-1991 ), an Englishman, was a collector whose interests focused on the history of European Jewry, especially in England. When his collection was put up for auction at Christie’s, rare book dealer David Block notified Gomez Mill House board member Barbara Tamerin. Our executive board, scattered in Washington, Westport, Rome and New York, immediately agreed to “go for it.”
Phone calls brought the Jesselsons, Frances Low, Barbara Tamerin and Herbert Robinson to the auction. Competitive bidding commenced. When Mrs. Jesselson’s bidder raised her bid repeatedly above all others, the room fell silent. The Jesselsons and Gomez Mill House had won. The Act was ours. See the link in our bio for more information.
