Artists and Musicians | Untold Stories

Goodman, born in the Strand, London, was a prolific and much sought-after portrait painter. In the 1830s she was living in Islington whilst she attended Sass’s Drawing Academy, a highly regarded art school. After she married and started a family she lived for several years at 15 Claremont Square. She estimated in later life that she had painted about a thousand portraits.

Haes was born in Camberwell, south London. After acquiring a camera in his late teens, his work was exhibited by the Photographic (later Royal Photographic) Society. He became best known for images of animals at London Zoo and created an important portfolio of wildlife in Australia. He also served as secretary and treasurer to the Jewish Historical Society of England.

Wasserzug was a chazan (cantor) and composer of liturgical music, which can still be heard today. Born in Sieradz, Poland, his talents were recognised early. He was a cantor of the Great Synagogue in Vilna until 1863, when the establishment of the North London Synagogue in Lofting Road, Barnsbury, gave him the opportunity to come to Britain.

Braham, a tenor, was one of Europe's leading opera stars, known for the sweetness of his voice, and sang in all the major opera houses of Europe. Orphaned at an early age, he became a meshorrer (descant singer) at the Great Synagogue. One of his first performances was at Sadlers Wells on Rosebery Avenue under the name Mater Abrahams.

Tuck, founder of the greetings card empire that bore his name, was born in Poznań, Poland, and migrated to London in the 1860s. An accomplished Talmudic scholar, he became a stalwart of the North London Synagogue. He lived with his family at 177 City Road, then at 140 Hemingford Road and later at 19 Balfour Road.