Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
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Following the wave of pogroms known as the "Storms in the Negev, " a movement bearing the Hebrew-Yiddish name "Am Oylam" was established in Odessa. The movement dedicated itself to the goal of promoting a new, agricultural, Jewish way of life on American soil. The settlement of Woodbine was to serve as the movement's flagship project. It was founded in 1891 on a 21-square-kilometer tract of old-growth forest in the State of New Jersey. In just a few years, Woodbine blossomed into a thriving agricultural community. Among other achievements, Woodbine was awarded medals for its produce at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900 and the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. The present album was given as a gift from a number of Woodbine's pioneering settlers to Hirsch Loeb Sabsovich, a leader of the "Am Oylam" movement and Woodbine's first mayor, on the occasion of his 25th wedding anniversary, and as a token of recognition for all his efforts on their behalf.
The album opens with a beautiful, handwritten title page bearing a brief dedication encircled by a wreath; three Biblical verses in Hebrew, "A good name is better than precious oil" (Ecclesiastes 7:1), "Enjoy life with the wife whom you love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9), and "Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates" (Proverbs 31:31); and the hand signatures of the ten people responsible for the gift, all of them from among the founding settlers of the Woodbine community, including Herman Rosenfeld, William Leo Lipman, Michael Goodale Lipman, Joseph William Pincus, and others.
The title page is followed by a lengthy, four-page dedication, beautifully handwritten, relating the history of the Jewish Borough: " It is pleasant to recount the great and earnest efforts you made to build up a community out of down trodden, spiritless refugees […] In 1891 a foundation was laid for a new land, where members of a suffering race could live […] Starting with thirty emaciated, bloodless, little creatures you enjoy now the sight of 560 healthy, cheerful, lively little Americans."
The remainder of the album contains 44 photographs, each pasted onto a separate page, with handwritten titles. They document the milestones and daily life of the Woodbine community in its early years: the laying of a cornerstone for the agricultural school; the synagogue; the local Borough Council and Board of Education in session (with the American flag and a portrait of George Washington hanging on the wall above them); Woodbine's volunteer firefighters; the Simchat Torah holiday; the local railway station; children of the kindergarten and school; settlers and their homes; and more. A portrait picture of Hirsch Loeb Sabsovich is pasted onto the back of the final leaf of the four-page handwritten dedication.
A heart-shaped silver plaque engraved with the monogram "HLS" is embedded in the front board.
[5] ff. (title page and dedication) and 44 photographs (pasted onto the leaves of the album, each photo on a separate leaf). Photographs of varying size, most approx. 24X19 cm. Album: approx. 37X28 cm. Photographs in overall good condition, with minor silvering and minor blemishes (open tear to corner of one photograph). Five photographs missing. Album in good-fair condition, with stains (mostly to edges of handwritten leaves), and several tears, including open tears (small, to edges). Binding worn and blemished, with tears. Front board, front flyleaf, and first leaf all detached. Leather cover of back board detached.
Collection of color posters intended to appear on school classroom walls. Each poster is devoted to a particular subject area: the different rooms that comprise a typical home, articles of clothing, nature and agriculture, professions, animals, the human body, and more. All the many various items and objects in each illustration are assigned numbers, and a legend at the bottom gives their Hebrew names. One particular poster presents the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with each letter accompanied by an appropriate illustration.
The Hebrew publishing house Menorah was established in Vienna toward the end of the First World War. It specialized in Jewish books – in Hebrew and German – and Hebrew books in general.
The publishing house's founder, Rabbi Moses David Gross (1882-1966), a native of Hungary, served as a rabbi in Hungary and in Lucerne, Switzerland, and as a school principal in Bukovina. In 1913 he immigrated to Palestine, where he taught at the teachers' seminary run by Ezra (also known as the Relief Organization of German Jews). He left Palestine at the end of the First World War and moved to Vienna. There he founded the publishing house Menorah, whose bookstore would become a meeting place for Jewish intellectuals, in particular members of the Mizrachi and Agudath Israel movements. Gross moved back to Palestine in 1930 and began working for the Jewish National Fund, functioning at the same time as an activist on behalf of the Mizrachi movement. Among his best known (Hebrew) books are "Know What to Answer, " "The Complete [Hebrew-German] Dictionary, " and "The Aggadah Treasury." Passed away in Tel Aviv.
[21] posters, approx. 94X63.5 cm (several posters slightly larger). Condition varies. Stains to some posters. Creases. Tears, including open tears, to edges (mostly not affecting text or illustrations).
Map of Palestine and Transjordan, printed on four large sheets of paper, and marking Jewish National Fund lands, Jewish settlements, ruins, railway lines, and ports. Two small inset maps appear in the margins, one of Jerusalem and the other of the Land of Canaan apportioned to the twelve tribes of Israel.
This map is based on a German map, aimed at schoolchildren, charted by Johann Georg Rothaug and Friedrich Umlauft and published in a number of editions dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Shemuel Klein, editor of the Hebrew edition, translated the names of the dozens of settlements and sites that appeared on the original German map, and added markings to indicate lands purchased by the Zionist enterprise in the early years of the British Mandate ("according to the situation toward the end of [Hebrew year] 5681" [1921]).
The publication details have been printed onto a strip of paper pasted onto the map so as to cover up the name of the original German publisher, "Freitag und Brandt." A copy of this map appears in the National Library of Israel (NLI), but without the Menorah Hebrew Publications sticker.
4 sheets, approx. 94.5X63 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and creases (mostly minor, to margins). Tears, holes, and open tears to margins.
Lot 148 Carmel Oriental Winery – Advertisement Designed by Ze'ev Raban and Meir Gur-Aryeh – Tin Sign
Printed tin sign, advertisement for the quinine drink "Ferro-Quina Wine of Rishon Le Zion, " produced by the Rishon LeZion wineries of Carmel Oriental ("Carmel Mizrachi"). Designed in the studio workshop of Ze'ev Raban and Meir Gur-Aryeh. Produced by Alfred Salzmann, Jerusalem, [1920s or 1930s?]. English and Arabic.
Color advertisement sign. The illustration shows a bottle of "Ferro-Quina" on the background of the sun rising above industrial buildings (a possible allusion to the Carmel Mizrachi Wineries of Rishon LeZion, with their triangular rooftops). At the bottom of the sign is the following inscription, in Arabic and English: "Ferro Quina Wine \ of Rishon LeZion \ Tonic Envigorator \ Recommended by Medical Authorities."
The sign was designed in Ze'ev Raban and Meir Gur-Aryeh's workshop studio known as the "Industrial Art Workshop." See Kedem Auction No. 80, Part I, Item No. 301, featuring a sketch for an advertisement for Carmel Mizrachi Wineries, strikingly similar to the one appearing on the present sign, marked with the stamp of Raban and Gur-Aryeh's workshop studio.
Carmel Mizrachi
The winery established by the earliest settlers of the moshava Rishon LeZion – with the financial support of the Baron Edmond James de Rothschild and the guidance of his administrators – began producing wine in 1890. An additional winery was founded in Zikhron Yaakov. Insofar as the local market for wine at the time was quite limited, a company was set up in 1896 for the purpose of exporting the wines to various parts of the world. The first export destination was Warsaw, where a shareholding company named "Carmel" was established. In time, branches were opened in Odessa, Hamburg, and New York, alongside branch offices in Berlin, Vienna, and London. For reasons of kashrut, the bottles were shipped overseas completely sealed, and the distribution companies in the various cities retained the services of local rabbis who were responsible for kashrut supervision.
A few years later, the company also began marketing the wines throughout the Ottoman Empire, under the label "Carmel Oriental, " and the wineries in Rishon LeZion and Zikhron Yaakov became known in Hebrew as "Carmel Mizrachi." The company proceeded to establish branches in the main cities of the Ottoman Empire, including Jaffa, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beirut, Damascus, Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, and other cities. In addition to producing and marketing kosher wine, the company also marketed brandy, various liqueurs, and soft drinks such as tonic water.
Alfred Salzmann, one of the earliest Jewish settlers in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Bak'a ("Geulim"). Immigrated to Palestine from Austria in 1921. Served as a teacher at the Bezalel School. Established a workshop in Bak'a for producing various metal products, including "tzedakah" alms boxes, and collection boxes for donations to the Jewish National Fund; sealed metal containers for medications and bandages; boxes for biscuits and cookies (for the locally renowned Froumine and Hadar brands); and advertisement signs such as the one presented here.
46.5X34.5 cm. Good condition. Scratches and abrasions, with minor damage to print. Minor rust stains and blemishes, mostly to edges, causing minor damage to text on bottom. Four small suspension holes at corners.
Poster calling for enlistment in the Notrim [Jewish Auxiliaries] Corps. The illustration presents three notrim, each wearing a different style of hat: a broad-rimmed hat, an army beret, and a "kolpak" hat. Slogans in red and black.
The Notrim Corps was a Jewish police force that operated under the auspices of the British Mandatory authorities in Palestine and served to protect the country's Jewish settlements. In order to distinguish its members from regular British police officers, the various Notrim units were given special, distinctive uniforms and hats. The majority of Notrim members actually functioned covertly as Haganah operatives, and collaborated with the Jewish underground by smuggling arms, providing training in self-defense, and helping establish new settlements.
Approx. 48X35.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines, creases, and some stains. Minor browning to paper. Tears (mostly minor) to edges. Closed tear to center and pinholes in corners. Small, round pieces of paper glued to both upper corners.
Color illustration of the (biblical) Seven Species over the backdrop of endless desert, partly desolate and partly cultivated. At the bottom of the poster is a quote from Menachem Ussishkin, "Do not say 'we shall redeem tomorrow, ' lest by then it'll be too late, " alongside a well-known quote from the Bible, "A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; " (Deuteronomy 8:8).
Approx. 33X45.5 cm. Good condition. Horizontal fold line. Creases. Minor tears to edges. Minute open tear at center.
Three iconic photographs by Israeli photographer David Rubinger (1924-2017). Large prints; hand signed by the photographer, along with handwritten dedications.
1. Paratroopers at the Western Wall. David Rubinger's signature and handwritten dedication at bottom.
39X29.5 cm.
2. Rabbi Shlomo Goren at the Western Wall. Rubinger's signature in lower left corner; handwritten dedication in upper section.
45.5X29.5 cm.
3. Menachem and Aliza Begin on board a plane, with Menachem Begin seen assisting his wife as she puts on a shoe. Rubinger's signature in upper left corner; handwritten dedication on verso.
43.5X29.5 cm.
Good condition. David Rubinger's copyright stickers (in English) on verso of all three photographs.
David Rubinger (1924-2017), among Israel's foremost journalistic photographers, laureate of the Israel Prize in Communications. In the course of his lengthy journalistic career, spanning over seven decades, he worked for both Israeli and international media organizations, including HaOlam Hazeh, Yedioth Ahronoth, and the American magazines Time and Life. Produced approximately half a million photographs, documenting historical developments in the history of the State of Israel in its formative years.
Alongside his regular photojournalistic work, documenting current events, Rubinger was known for his photo portraits; by building close personal relationships with his photographic subjects and cultivating their trust, he succeeded in capturing the types of intimate and revealing moments that few journalists are lucky enough to be exposed to. He made his name with the iconic set of photographs shot on the day Jerusalem's Western Wall was captured by Israeli paratroopers, during the Six-Day War.
Years later, Rubinger would relate the following recollection regarding the photo of the paratroopers at the Western Wall:
"On more than one occasion, I've been asked whether I consider the picture of the three paratroopers at the Wall to be my greatest photographic accomplishment. My response is unequivocal: No. What made the picture so important were the circumstances in which it was taken, and that's what turned it into a symbolic image that so many people can so readily identify with. As is often the case with art, human beings tend to find in symbols whatever it is they're searching for. Time and again, I overhear people discussing the picture of 'the paratroopers weeping at the Wall.' To be honest, none of the subjects in the photo is crying, but if that's the way people choose to relate to it, who am I to deny them the privilege?" (excerpted from Rafi Mann, "'Where is that guy with the red beard?': In memory of the Photographer David Rubinger, chronicler of Israeli History, " the "Ha-Ayin HaShvi'it" website, Hebrew).