3-074-679 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart. from a photograph by Messrs. Elliott and Fry, 1883. 'Sir Moses Montefiore is recognised as a great Englishman, not less than as one of the greatest of modern Jews...As a Jew, Sir Moses is probably to be esteemed the best example, in our age, at least in our own country, of that type of character, devout and strict in the observances of ancestral piety, but essentially humane, liberal, and benevolent, with the practical sagacity of an upright man of the world, and with conspicuous integrity in private and public conduct, which is fostered by Hebrew moral teachings...In 1812 he married Miss Judith Cohen, daughter of a prosperous Jewish merchant, and connected by marriage with the Rothschilds...He retired from the Stock Exchange soon after founding the Alliance Insurance Company, and other successful joint-stock undertakings, over which he has continued to preside...In 1837 Mr. Montefiore served as Sheriff of London and Middlesex, and was knighted by the young Queen Victoria, upon the occasion of her accession to the throne...To recount his numerous large donations for various charitable purposes would occupy too much space'. From "Illustrated London News", 1883.