An extensive, rare and valuable collection of approximately 1,280 Jewish Ex-Libris bookplates.
The collection includes numerous bookplates designed by leading Jewish artists, including Hermann Struck, Joseph Budko, Ephraim Moshe Lilien, Arthur Szyk, Zeev Raban, Meir Gur-Aryeh, Jacob Starck, Miron Sima and others. Some are original etchings and prints, signed in pencil by the artist; amongst them is an original sketch.
The collection encompasses a wide variety of bookplates designed by the above-mentioned artists. Many feature iconic creations by the artists, which over the years have become recognized symbols of their respective oeuvres. Also present are numerous bookplates designed for famous people.
The main part of the collection consists of private bookplates, both Israeli and European, but it includes also dozens of Jewish institutional bookplates, including from research institutes, libraries and university collections.
The collection, arranged in three albums, belonged to a private collector who assembled the bookplates tirelessly, one by one, for many years, succeeding thus in creating a rare collection in respect to its scope, scarcity and quality. (Some of the bookplates appear in multiple copies.)