Еврейский погром [Pogrom against Jews], illustrated poster printed for the 20th anniversary of the 1905 Revolution, Moscow, 1925. Design: Vasili Semenovich Svarog (Василий Семёнович Сварог).
Soviet propaganda poster marking the 20th anniversary of the 1905 Revolution, the attempt to bring down tsar Nikolai II's regime. The illustration by Russian artist Vasili Semenovich Svarog (1883-1946) depicts a pogrom. The poster quotes an article by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin denouncing the Kishinev Pogrom (the article was published in June 1903, shortly after the pogrom): "The reactionists […] quite knowingly, out of cold calculation, are inflaming a tribal religious struggle in order to distract the masses from a social and political protest". The quote, titled "Pogrom against the Jews", was printed in six languages – Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Armenian, Georgian and Persian.
95X61 cm (illustration and text printed on two conjoined sheets). Good condition. Minor stains. Several closed and open tears (restored). Linen-backed for display and preservation.

Ударники заводов и полей! в ряды озета, propaganda poster issued by the OZET organization. Moscow: "Emes", 1932. Russian. Design: Mark Epstein.
Propaganda poster issued by the OZET organization (Society for Settling Toiling Jews on the Land). The poster depicts workers and reads, "Udarniks from the factories and fields! To the lines of the OZET, for the struggle for international solidarity among workers" (Russian) ["Udarnik" is a Soviet concept describing highly productive workers].
The poster was designed by Mark Epstein (1897-1949), a graphic artist, painter, sculptor and stage designer, born in Bobruisk. He was educated in a 'cheder' and later studied at the Kiev School of Art. In 1918, he studied in the studio of Alexandra Ekster. In the same year, he participated in an exhibition of Jewish artists in Moscow and was one of the founders of the art section of Kultur Lige. Epstein continued to work in Kiev even after the establishment of the Soviet government and the communization of the Kultur Lige organizations, while his partners in the art section had chosen to leave the city. During the years 1923-1931, he managed the Jewish Arts and Trades School in Kiev (the renamed Art Section of Kultur Lige under communist management). At the same time, he worked as a stage and costume designer for theaters in Kiev and Kharkiv.
In 1932, after the Jewish Arts and Trades School shut down together with the remaining Kultur Lige organizations, he had to leave Kiev and moved to Moscow. During the years 1934-1935, he was sent by the OZET to visit the Jewish agricultural settlements in Crimea (his works from this period were displayed in an exhibition held in Moscow in 1936). In his last years, he did not participate in exhibitions.
Approx. 67.5X46 cm. Good-fair condition. Closed and open tears, slightly affecting illustration and text (some restored). A few stains. Mounted on thick paper.

"Purim, traditional masquerade ball organized by B. Agadati" (Hebrew). A lithographic poster printed by Berson and Kaufman, Tel-Aviv, [1925]. [Design: Aryeh Elhanani and Israel Paldi (Feldman)].
An advertising poster for Baruch Agadati's Purim ball, for invited guests only, which was held in the Girls' School hall. Of Modernist Avant-garde design, with the central illustration surrounded by sponsors' names (businesses in Tel-Aviv), prize donors' names and the program.
The painters Feldman (Israel Paldi) and Sapoznikof (Aryeh Elhanani / el-Hanani / Sapoznikov) are listed on the poster as decorators; the "Agadati – The Pioneer of Modern Dance in Palestine" catalogue (Editor: Giora Manor, Tel-Aviv: "Sifriyat HaPoalim" and Dance Library of Israel, 1968) notes that this poster was designed by Aryeh Elhanani and Israel Paldi, but it may have been designed by Agadati himself, who was also a painter.
100X71.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Fold lines and creases. Stains. Closed tears and a few open tears (some affecting the illustration), restored. The entire poster is mounted on thin acid free paper.

Advertising poster for the film "Land of Promise" produced by Keren HaYesod. Printed on two conjoined sheets of paper. Jerusalem: Monsohn Lithographic Press, [1935]. Design: Otte Wallish (signed in the plate in upper left corner: "M/W Wallish").
A poster designed by Otte Wallish for the Keren HaYesod's propaganda film "Land of Promise". The film was produced by the "Urim" company managed by Leo Herman and was directed and edited by Yehuda Lehman. Lyrics were written by Nathan Alterman and the music composed by Daniel Sambursky. The film premiered in Berlin, in May 1935, and was later screened in the USA, Palestine and Britain. In August 1935, the film won first prize for documentary films at the international film festival in Venice. The film continued to be used by Keren HaYesod to raise funds for the settlement of Palestine until the 1950s.
The poster consists of two parts. The top part features a fine color illustration of a pioneer sowing the land, with musical notes on top.
The lower part indicates the name of the film and the names of its creators, followed by the showtimes at the "Zion" cinema in Jerusalem in late October 1935 (printed in Hebrew and English, within a black frame; printer's name in the corner of the black frame – "Azriel Press". See another version of lower part of the poster, printed for the screening of the film at the "Armon Theater" in Haifa, in Kedem catalog 52, item no. 261).
There is another version of this poster, also consisting of two parts, the lower of which reads "Keren HaYesod Sows – the Hebrew People Reap" (Hebrew; see: "Keren HaYesod Sows – the Hebrew People Reap, Keren HaYesod Posters 1920-2010", Keren Hayesod publishing, 2010, p. 22).
194X64 cm (two conjoined sheets of paper). Good condition. Fold lines and creases. Stains (mostly to verso). Minor blemishes. Tears, mainly to edges; one tear reinforced with tape on verso.