"A song of ascents. When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion…" (Hebrew). Large poster. Without imprint [probably Jerusalem, ca. late 19th century / 1900]. Lithographic print.
Large sheet, featuring a hagiographic map of the holy sites and Gravesites in Eretz Israel, sent to philanthropists, as means of raising funds for the benefit of the Jewish settlers in the Holy Land; a dedicatory inscription is printed in the lower margin.
The center of the poster features schematic illustrations of the western wall, "Midrash Shlomo" and "Beit HaMikdash" (Dome of the Rock), encircled by illustrations of dozens of holy sites in Eretz Israel: the gravesites of the patriarchs, prophets, Tannaim and Amoraim, the synagogues of Safed, and other holy sites.
This version of the holy sites in Eretz Israel wall plaque is somewhat different than other documented versions.
The identity of the printer is not mentioned in the present version; the opening lines of the heading – A song of ascents…" (Hebrew) – do not appear in other, earlier versions. The present version is apparently based on plaques printed in Thessaloniki (by Haim Ze'ev Ashkenazi, see previous item) and Algeria (by Reuven Gabay). Presumably, this version was printed in Jerusalem ca. late 19th century / 1900, its illustrations (mainly those appearing at the center of the plaque), and typography, bear a resemblance to early works by Moshe Shah Mizrahi, who immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1890. Nevertheless, the plaque might also have been printed in Algeria, or elsewhere in North Africa.

41.5X52.5 cm. Good–fair condition. Some open tears, with slight damage to text and illustrations, professionally and artfully restored. Tears and old restoration marks.

See:

• Sacred places: Pilgrimages in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Kontich: BAI for the Museum aan de Stroom, 2014, no. 69 (photographed on pp. 160 and 176).

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 079.011.007.