Auction 86 - Part I - Rare & Important Items
Collection of 265 postcards commemorating the official visit of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to the Holy Land. Various publishers, Germany, Palestine, Paris, Constantinople, and elsewhere, ca. 1898.
The official visit of the German Kaiser in the months of October-November 1898, to the Holy Land and to cities in other parts of the Ottoman Empire was regarded as one of the most salient and pivotal events in relations between the two powers. Because of the great import attributed to the event, it was commemorated in a number of different ways, most notably by means of illustrated postcards, a relatively new mode of correspondence at the time, having first appeared in the second half of the 19th century.
The present collection is particularly large and distinguished. Many of the postcards in it were printed during the lead-up to the visit and in the course of it, although a number were produced in its wake. Various publishers were involved, including Hermann Vogel (Berlin), Alfred Silbermann (Berlin), Knackstedt & Näther (Hamburg), Jos. Karmy (Jerusalem), Verlag des Syrischen Waisenhaues (Jerusalem), and many others. Most of the postcards have undivided backs. By means of illustrations – in both color and black-and-white – and photographs, they document important landmarks in the course of the journey, in particular the various sites visited by the Kaiser. Many of the postcards are devoted to sites in the Holy Land, and in particular Jerusalem.
Some of the postcards were mailed, and consequently bear postage stamps and postmarks (most dated 1898). A number of them specifically bear postmarks dated October 31, 1898, the day Kaiser Wilhelm II personally dedicated the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. Ten of the postcards in the collection are marked on the back with the rare inked stamp "Camp Imperial Jerusalem" (in both Latin and Arabic letters).
Four of the postcards are in large format (approx. 22X15 cm). Some appear in duplicate copies (mostly with slight variations). A handful of them were not printed specially in honor of the Kaiser's journey, but nevertheless either feature sites visited by the Kaiser at the time, or depict German passenger ships, including the imperial yacht Hohenzollern and the two accompanying ships, the SMS "Hertha" and SMS "Hela, " that serviced the Kaiser's entourage.
More than 30 of the postcards are undocumented by Ralph Perry and David Pearlman.
Kaiser Wilhelm II's Journey to the Levant
Through the months of October-November 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and his wife, the Empress Augusta Victoria, toured some of the major cities of the Ottoman Empire, with Jerusalem being the most important of the destinations. The journey took place at a time when the impending and anticipated disintegration of the Ottoman Empire was hovering in the background, and a struggle between the European powers over the "spoils" – the assets of the so-called "Sick Man of Europe" – appeared likely to ensue in the near future. The journey went on for more than a month. Chief among its goals were the strengthening of ties between the German and Ottoman empires and the encouragement of Christian settlement in the Holy Land. Among the places visited by the Kaiser and his entourage were, in addition to Jerusalem, Athens, Constantinople, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramle, and Cairo.
Preparations for the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem had already begun in the summer of 1898. These included a massive municipal clean-up, the improvement and overhaul of infrastructure, the laying of a telegraph line, and other operations. In time for the Kaiser's arrival in Jerusalem, a number of municipal roads were widened. The authorities went as far as breaching a gap in Jerusalem's Old City Wall, adjacent to Jaffa Gate, to enable the smooth passage of the Kaiser's opulent carriage. In addition, the city streets – most notably HaNevi'im Street, where a special tent camp for the Kaiser and his entourage, the so-called "Camp Imperial, " was to be temporarily constructed – were adorned with the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire, and with makeshift gates of honor.
One of the main highlights of the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem – well-documented in many of the postcards in this collection – was the opening ceremony of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. But the Kaiser also visited the German Colony, the Mt. of Olives, City Hall, and other sites. From a Jewish standpoint, undoubtedly the most historically important event in the Kaiser's itinerary was his meeting with Theodor Herzl.
Throughout their visit, Wilhelm and the empress were accompanied by a small entourage. The Kaiser rode either on horseback or in the imperial carriage. Following in the footsteps of his immediate entourage in Jerusalem was a parade of lesser-ranked officials, accompanied by cavalry regiments and "kawas" officials – ceremonial Ottoman-Empire bodyguards.
The Kaiser's mission was documented in its time in hundreds of books and articles, and commemorated on playing cards, board games, and souvenir cards – collector's items – featuring Holy Land landscapes. But beyond a doubt, the quintessential commemorative souvenirs of the visit were the numerous different postcards, many of excellent quality, printed specially for the occasion; an astounding number of publishers – some 350 of them, from Germany and other countries – began publishing postcards commemorating the journey on a historically unprecedented scale. Major publishers such as Vogel, Silbermann, and Knackstedt-Näther went as far as presenting stamp and postcard collectors with a special offer; in exchange for a fixed fee, subscribers would be rewarded with postcards from cities the Kaiser visited, postmarked and mailed on the very day the Kaiser actually made his presence in the city in question.
Enclosed: Seven color collector's cards, six of them advertising Vitello margarine, produced by the margarine manufacturer Van den Bergh; and the remaining one produced by the food manufacturer Fritz Homann. These colorful cards feature pictures of sites and other things associated with the Kaiser's visit to the Holy Land.
265 postcards, approx. 14X9 cm (four of them in large format, approx. 22X15 cm). Condition varies; overall good condition.
A list of the postcards will be mailed upon request.
Reference: Ralph Perry and David Pearlman, "Postcards commemorating the 1898 journey of the German imperial couple to the Orient, " Stuttgart, 2019.
24 large photogravures after photographs by Leo Kann, depicting views and sites in Palestine as well as the daily life of its Jewish inhabitants. Vienna: Jüdische Zeitung, [1912].
A complete, rare series of large photogravures after photographs taken by Leo Kann during his trip to Palestine in 1912. Including photos of Jaffa, Jerusalem, Rosh Pina, Kinneret, Zichron Yaakov, Petach Tikvah and Rechovot; photos of notable sites in Palestine, such as the lake of Galilee, Herzl's cypress nearby Motza, the Kidron Valley and Temple Mount; and photos of Jewish men, women and children. Of special note is a photo of Yemenite silversmiths at work in the Bezalel workshop. Kann paid special attention to the Yemenite community, possibly at the request of the JNF and the Jüdische Zeitung, both of which sponsored his trip.
Leo Kann (1885-?), Austrian-Jewish advocate and photographer, visited Palestine only once, in 1912. As a student, he wished to travel the land and witness the achievements of the Zionist project, which drew much attention at the time. His friend, journalist Robert Stricker (1879-1944), suggested that he publish an article about his journey in the Jüdische Zeitung, which Stricker edited, and hold a lecture upon his return to Vienna. During his months-long journey, Kann recorded his impressions and took 400 photographs; after returning to Vienna, he held a lecture which he illustrated with slides. Shortly after his return, 180 of his photographs were published in three albums, titled "Palästina im Bild" (Palestine in Pictures). Kann also published a postcard series, and the present, rare series of 24 large photogravures featuring selected photographs. The series was offered at an affordable price in order to allow every Jewish household to own and display photographs of the Holy Land.
Kann was the first to create a comprehensive photographic documentation of early 20th century Palestine, shortly before WWI which radically changed its character and demography. His realistic portrayals of Arab and Jewish life and the local landscapes widely served the effort of the emerging Zionist movement in Europe in gaining the people's support. The photographs emphasize the Yishuv's human fragility and the magic of "primeval" Holy Land views, in line with the European Zionist gaze on Palestine. Despite the importance of his work and its mark on Zionist history, Kann's name was mostly forgotten. He is believed to have immigrated to London in 1939, on the eve of WWII, where he disappeared from the public eye.
24 photogravure plates (22 black monotone, 2 blue monotone), 58X47 cm (photograph size: 39.5X29.5 cm). Good condition. Minor blemishes and repaired tears to edges of several plates (not affecting prints). Foxing to several plates, mostly to margins, with generally clean prints. Elegant folder, stained, with bookplate to inner side.
References:
• Guy Raz, Photographers of Palestine. Tel Aviv: Map and Hakkibutz Hameuchad, 2003. P. 48.
• Elli Schiller and Menahem Levin, Tzilume Eretz Israel Ha-Rishonim. Vol 66-67. Jerusalem: Ariel, 1989. P. 165.
• Vivienne Silver-Brody, Documentors of the Dream: Pioneer Jewish Photographers in the Land of Israel, 1890-1933. Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1998. Pp. 165-175.
Lot 119 German Imperial Flag – WWI Field Hospital in the Augusta Victoria Compound – Jerusalem, 1917
Flag in the colors black-white-red. In margins, the inscription (German) "Augusta Victoria Feld-Lzt [Field Hospital] Jerusalem, 1917," the mark "Militär-Mission Konstantinopel" (German Military Mission, Istanbul), Ottoman tughra (of Sultan Mehmed V?), and an official Ottoman inscription.
The decision to establish the Augusta Victoria Compound on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem was originally made at the time of the celebrated official visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his wife, the Empress Augusta Victoria, to the Holy Land in 1898. "A mission including representatives of all the German communities in the Holy Land arrived at the time at the Imperial Tent Camp located on the Street of Prophets [Rehov HaNevi'im]. Among the requests submitted to the Kaiser was one for assistance in the establishment of a ‘meeting place and convalescent home' for the Germans in the Holy Land, that would serve for local social gatherings as well functioning as a guesthouse for Jerusalem's incoming German visitors, and would be located at a distance from the hustle and bustle of the city's center. The imperial couple looked favorably upon the request, and when the empress visited the Mt. of Olives and gazed down and absorbed the panorama of the Old City that unfolds from there, she insisted that ‘this is the place to establish a home for our German activists in the Holy Land'" (Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, "Ir BiRe'i Tekufah, " Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, 1979, Hebrew, p. 468). In the wake of the visit, following the empress's return to Germany, the "Association for the Mt. of Olives" (Ölberg Verein) was established under her sponsorship, and this body raised the funds needed for the building of the compound. The Ottoman Turkish government assisted in the acquisition and purchase of the land. The compound, built to look like a medieval fortress, was designed by the architect Robert Leibniz (1863-1929) and officially inaugurated in April 1910. In addition to the guesthouse and sanatorium, the compound included a large church, a conference hall, and a spacious, beautifully cultivated garden.
It is generally assumed that in addition to its civilian uses, the compound was intended from the outset to serve military purposes. And in fact, at the time of the First World War it housed an Ottoman military command base, and for a brief period it served as the headquarters of the Turkish-German General Staff under the German commanding officer of the Palestine Front, Field Marshal Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) and the Turkish civilian governor and commander of the Ottoman Fourth Army, Ahmed Cemal Paşa (1872-1922). The compound also housed a military field hospital that cared for the fighting units serving in the Jerusalem district. Following the British conquest of Jerusalem in December, 1917, the Augusta Victoria Compound became the headquarters of the British armed forces in Palestine. It subsequently served as the official residence of the British High Commissioner of Palestine. Eventually it was converted into the full-fledged hospital that functions till this day.
As early as the second half of the 19th century, the Black-White-Red flag was flown by both the mercantile and naval fleets of the North German Confederation. It was originally meant to represent a combination of the black-and-white colors of the Kingdom of Prussia and the red-and-white of the Hanseatic League. From 1871 to 1919, it served as the flag of the German Empire – also known as the Second Reich – which ceased to exist following WWI. The subsequent, short-lived Weimar Republic replaced this flag with one bearing the colors black, red, and gold – similar to the flag of present-day Germany. The Black-White-Red was restored as Germany's national flag shortly after the rise of the Nazis and the onset of the Third Reich, but was replaced by the well-known Nazi flag, emblazoned with the Swastika, in September 1935.
Approx. 58.5X90 cm. With loop and halyard. Good condition. Stains.
Large collection comprising 41 "fire marks" – signs made of sheet metal, enamel, and ceramic, used by insurance companies to mark insured houses. [Palestine, 19th through mid-20th centuries].
Signs referred to as "fire marks" began to appear in London in the 17th century. Such signs were used by insurance companies to mark houses insured by those companies against fire damage. They would be emblazoned with the name of the company and its emblem. Naturally, the emblems would often relate to the theme of fire, featuring such symbols as the dragon, the phoenix, and the salamander. Typically, the home's insurance policy number would appear on the sign as evidence that the insurance premium had in fact been paid; if and when the premium was not paid on time, the fire mark would be removed by the company. Since they were boldly displayed on the facades of buildings, the fire marks served as an effective means of self-advertisement for the insurance companies in question.
The present collection features a diverse array of the types of "fire marks" used in Palestine. Some are labeled in Hebrew. Included among the items: a particularly rare sign belonging to the Palestine General Insurance Company Ltd; a sign representing the Menorah insurance company; another sign, designed by the renowned Bezalel School artist Ze'ev Raban, representing HaSneh; a number of signs put up by Migdal insurance; two signs in Hebrew and one in English belonging to the Baloise Fire Insurance Company; a sign in Hebrew for Union Genève; and more. The collection also includes fire marks belonging to various international insurance companies, such as Generali (translated into Hebrew as the "Ahrayut Klalit" company), Guardian Eastern, Liverpool & London & Globe, Allianz und Stuttgarter, and the Phenix Assurances company of Paris. Many of the fire marks in the collection are documented in the catalogue titled "Footprints of Assurance" (see below); some are not.
This collection was assembled over many years in an effort to rescue and preserve, to as great an extent as possible, what little remained of the once common but now exceedingly rare fire marks that once existed in Palestine. Most of the signs in the collection were removed from abandoned buildings in Tel Aviv and other cities by attorney Uzi Zack, a member of the British association of fire mark collectors known as the "Fire Mark Circle, " and his colleague, the insurance agent Claude Hasin. Most of them underwent a restoration process involving thorough cleaning and professional repainting, for the most part adhering to the original color scheme.
Some of the fire marks in this collection were presented in 2009 at the exhibition entitled (in Hebrew) "Fire Mark: The Uzi Zack Collection, " curated by Inbal Wasserman, at the Herzlilienblum Museum of Tel Avivian Banking and Nostalgia.
Fire Marks
The first insurance companies to offer protection against fire damage were established in the wake of the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was a conflagration that caused extensive loss of life and incalculable property damage, and left many thousands of London's residents penniless insofar as they did not receive any form of monetary compensation. Back then there was no such thing as a public fire brigade; to deal with the threat of fire, the newly established insurance companies set up private firefighting teams composed mostly of firefighters enlisted from among the sailors and fishermen who navigated the River Thames. Very quickly, the insurance companies began posting "fire marks" on the facades of London's buildings. These were signs made of lead, copper, brass, and tin sheet (and at a later stage, enamel, porcelain, and other durable materials). They were put up by the insurance companies as a means of identifying the houses they had insured against fire. The fire mark would in effect serve as a building's actual insurance policy. If a fire were to break out, firefighters would be sent to extinguish the flames, but these men would tend only to those buildings protected by the insurance company that employed them.
As was the case with insurance companies in general, the use of "fire marks" quickly spread from London to other parts of England, and from there, to the world at large. Over time, fire marks gradually ceased functioning as a means of identifying buildings for firefighters, and eventually stopped serving as insurance policies altogether. They did, however, persist as a method of advertisement. They were designed to be colorful and attractive, in ways that would clearly distinguish one insurance company from the other. As time went by, they developed into exclusive collector's items.
Fire Marks in Palestine
In the course of the 19th century, European insurance companies began searching for new and novel advertising platforms, such as newspapers and billboards, and as a result, the use of fire marks for this purpose gradually declined. Oddly enough, however, in the overseas colonies and in developing countries – where the concept of mass media had yet to take hold – the opposite happened, and there was actually something of a resurgence in the employment of fire marks. Thus, in Palestine, facades of buildings began displaying fire marks, which, at times, appeared in their original form, imported from their mother countries, and at times assumed tailor-made local incarnations with Hebrew inscriptions. From 1880 to 1948, over 50 different local and international insurance companies operated in the country – an astoundingly large number considering how sparsely populated Palestine was at the time. As a consequence of this proliferation, the diversity of fire marks in Palestine was particularly rich, at least for a while. Here again however, the use of these signs gradually abated, until, by the second half of the 20th century, it ceased entirely. With time, most of these signs disappeared; owing to a lack of awareness of their existence and a lack of appreciation for their uniqueness, many of them were simply thrown out when the buildings they adorned were renovated or demolished. Those that did survive were, more often than not, painted or plastered over, and not properly preserved.
41 signs. Size and condition vary. Many of the signs have been meticulously restored and repainted. Overall good condition.
A list of the fire marks is available upon request.
• Enclosed: A fire mark of the Sun Fire Office, one of the world's oldest documented insurance companies. See: Brian Wright et al., "The British Fire Mark, 1680-1879," 1982, p. 51. The insurance policy number indicated on the sign – 173438 – corresponds to a policy issued to John Stallon of Feltwell, Norfolk, England in 1761. Enclosed in addition is a photocopy of the official document representing this policy.
For further information, see the slide presentation put together by Henya Melichson, (stored on a flash drive, enclosed).
Also enclosed with the collection are a number of reference books and catalogues, and additional printed material, including:
• Alwin. E. Bulau, "Footprints of Assurance, " Macmillan, New York, 1945.
• John L. Kirk, ed., "History of Fire Fighting, " Castle Museum, York, 1960.
• John Vince, "Fire-marks, " Shire Publications, Aylesbury, 1973.
• Brian Wright, Brian Henham, and Brian Sharp, "The British Fire Mark, 1680-1879," Woodhead-Faulkner, Cambridge, 1982.
• "Firemarks and Fire Memorabilia from the E. Nugent Linaker Collection and Other Properties, " Phillips Auction Catalogue, November 17th, 1986.