Jeremiah Idelson was a musician, born in Libau, Latvia. He came to South Africa in 1912 and founded and was chairman of several musical societies, including the A.Z.Idelson Group and the Society of South African Composers. A revisionist and a Freemason, a mountaineer and a Hebraist, a musician, a religious reformer and vegetarian. He was a pioneer of broadcasting in South Africa. He also founded and was the first chairman of the Transvaal Mountain Club and life member of the Mountain Club of South Africa, and founder of the Johannesburg Vegetarian Society. He was also founder of the Bohemian RAC. He conducted many concerts of his compositions, some published in South Africa and overseas.

He married Miss Anne Sacks, the well-known concert violiniste, 15 December 1940. His recreations were swimming and mountaineering. He died in June 1974 and his widow, Mrs A.Idelson, transferred his papers to the Library, University of the Witwatersrand.

The papers are of interest to the historian of music in South Africa and illustrate the part played by the Jewish community in fostering the arts. There are boxes of papers, spanning the years 1906-1974 and include minutes of musical societies, correspondence, printed items, press clippings and musical scores.