The Edelstein Center and Edelstein
Library at The Hebrew University together constitute the
ongoing legacy of Dr. Sidney M. Edelstein (1912-1994). Dr.
Edelstein was founder, in 1945, of Dexter Chemical
Corporation, New York. His great dedication to the
preservation and recording of the history and philosophy of
science, technology, and medicine led him to play key roles
in the promotion of excellence in academic historical
study. This is continued, in addition to the activities of
the Edelstein Center, through the annual Edelstein Prize,
administered by the Society for the History of Technology,
and the Edelstein Award of the History of Chemistry
Division of the American Chemical Society, etc.
As an active historian for
almost half a century, Dr. Edelstein produced many of the
earliest modern reviews of dyestuff technologies and
related sciences, some based on original analysis of
ancient colorants, such as the molluscs that afforded the
Biblical blue and Roman purple. Such is their authority
that these publications continue to be cited by modern
historians. Such is the richness of Dr. Edelstein’s
collections that they continue to be principal sources for
serious academic study in particular fields of history of
science. The Edelstein Center and Library remain preeminent
in their fields, and together comprise an important and
widely recognised resource, unique in the Middle East, that
attracts scholars from all over the world.
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