In February of 1988, the Library Columns, the publication of the Columbia University Libraries, had a note about a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Schaefler.  The donation described, among other items, "…fourteenth-century documents pertaining to commercial transactions of the Jewish community at Apt in Provence, France."  Six of these manuscripts have been digitized, and are now part of the Digital Scriptorium, a database of medieval and renaissance manuscripts from around the world.

This group of manuscripts was cataloged as Western MS 41A-F.

A month ago, thanks to the Alexander Foundation, the library was able to acquire six more "notarial documents relating to fourteenth century Jews of Apt, in Provence, France."  These documents have been added to the original group.

The new documents describe loans owed to specific Jews between 1382 and 1445.  These are important records for the economic interactions between Jews and Christians in Provence during this period.