"Oxen", poems by Isaac (Itzik) Kipnis. Cover designed by Mark Epshtein. Kiev: Vidervuks, 1923. Yiddish.
Modernistic poems by the Soviet Yiddish poet Itzik Kipnis, written during the years 1921–1922; two parts: "Regen–Stoyib" [literally: "Rain Dust"] and "Frayid" [Joy].

23, [1] pp. 17 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Booklet rebound, with original paper wrappers pasted on the new cover. Tear to a new endpaper.

Isaac (Itzik) Kipnis (1896–1974), born in Ukraine, was a children's author, Yiddish poet and translator. In the 1930s he was persecuted by the government and his work was banned due to his perceived reactionist (meaning Zionist) views. In 1948 he was deported to the Gulag along other Jewish artists. Although he was set free after Stalin's death, he was only allowed back in Kiev in the 1960s.

Mark Epshtein (1897–1949), born in Bobruisk, was a graphic designer, painter, sculptor and set designer. He was educated in a traditional cheder, and later studied at the Kiev Art Institute and (in 1918) under artist Alexandra Ekster. That same year he exhibited his work in an exhibition dedicated to Jewish artists and took part in founding the art department within the Kultur Lige. His style was largely influenced by modernist Jewish authors and poets active in the same artistic circles as himself in Kiev, such as Der Nister (Pinchas Kahanovich), David Bergelson and Yekhezkl Dobrushin. Epshtein remained active in Kiev even after the Ukraine SSR was established and the Kultur Lige was taken over by the communist authorities, although most of his fellow artists opted to leave town. Between 1923 and 1931 Epshtein headed the Kiev Jewish School of Industrial Art (the former Kultur Lige art department, nationalized by the communist government), and designed stage sets and costumes for theaters in Kiev and Kharkiv.
In 1932, after the school as well as other remaining Kultur Lige institutions were shut down, he had to leave Kiev for Moscow. No work of his was exhibited during his later years.

See:

• Exhibition Catalogue "Futur antérieur". Paris: Skira Flammarion, 2009. Pp. 116, no. 89.
• Sanctity – Art – Aesthetics, Exhibition catalog, Mané-Katz Museum, 2011.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, B.1421.

Kinstlerischer Aleph-Bet [Artistic Alphabet], 33 prints by Ben-Zion Zuckermann. [Vilnius? 1919?]. Yiddish.
Handmade copy of the album "Kinstlerischer Aleph-Bet"; ornamented miniatures of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, cut and pasted to paper plates, signed: " Ben-Zion Zuckerman, Erster original Radierung" [first original etching; Yiddish].
The letters, each on its own page, are set on vegetal or abstract backgrounds, sometimes incorporating a corresponding object or scene. Some of the letters are decorated with Jewish motifs – a Menorah, Jewish figures, a praying man, and more. Some of the miniatures are signed in the plate and some are dated 1919.

Ben-Zion Zuckerman (1890-1944), born in the vicinity of Vilnius, studied at the Vilnius Drawing School, later leaving for Paris where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1923-1927, he lived and worked in Palestine, painting its views even after returning to Europe. He died in Samarkand in the midst of World War II.

[33] prints (pasted on plates, bound together). Size and condition vary. Good-fair condition. Stains and minor creases (mostly to page corners). Few marginal tears to first print (without damage to plate). Album: approx. 33.5X33.5 cm (leaf sizes vary). Binding blemished and slightly worn.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, ALE. 24.

Shtilim, illustrated journal for youth and children. Editor: M. Ben–Eliezer, publisher: M. Zlatopolsky. Moscow: "Omanut Hadfus" (Russian), July–December 1917. Bound volume of first year issues.
Issues no. 1–12 of "Shtilim", an illustrated journal for children edited by the journalist Moshe Ben–Eliezer (9 booklets; some are double issues).
"Shtilim" was the first publication by "Omanut" which was founded in Moscow at the time (when Shoshana Persitz acquired the printing house "Omanut Hadfus"), initiated by the editor, Moshe Zlatopolsky, son of the philanthropist Hillel Zlatopolsky.
The journal was published in Moscow irregularly in the course of less than a year, featuring works by leading writers and poets, such as: H. N. Bialik, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Ya'akov Fichman, Eliezer Steinman, and others, alongside tales and translations from around the world, as well as news from Palestine and other parts of the world.
Fine illustrations accompany the journal’s issues. Illustrations by Eliezer Lissitzky for the story "Shlomo HaMelech" by H. N. Bialik appear in issue no. 6–7. These are the only known illustrations by Lissitzky for a text originally written in Hebrew. (See: Tradition and Revolution, The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant–Garde Art 1912–1928, item no. 77; p. 107).

Leaves lacking in three of the bound issues.
Issues 1–12 (9 booklets, three of which double–issues). Pagination varies. 21.5 cm. Fine–poor condition. Leaves lacking in three of the issues (4 pages in first issue, 2 pages in fourth issue, and 24 pages in last issue). Stains and creases. Worming, tears and open tears to some leaves (some significant). Few tears restored (unprofessionally).
Issue 6–7, with Lissitky's illustrations, in fair condition. Tears and open tears to margins, and losses to page corners (slightly affecting text, not affecting Lissitzky's illustrations). Some leaves restored (unprofessionally). Issues bound together, without original wrappers.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, B.81.

Eliyahu HaNavi ["The Prophet Elijah"], by Yehiel Heilperin, illustrated by M. Gur–Aryeh, music (musical score) by Yoel Engel. Jerusalem: "HaGina" Publishing House, 1925. Hebrew.
Poem in rhyme, for children, expressing "the Zionist Dream, in its entirety" (Ayala Gordon, "Hebrew Illustrations, " p. 148), told as a fantasy seen through the eyes of a child living in the Diaspora, portrayed in the illustrations as a Yemenite boy: he embarks aboard a ship arriving at the port city of Haifa, where he encounters the Prophet Elijah, and studys Torah in the company of angel, in a cave in the slopes of Mt. Carmel. Illustrations by Meir Gur Aryeh.
Fourth book (of five) in the series titled "Sipurim–Ziyurim LeTinokot"; printed by "Graphica by Bezalel." At the end of the book is a printed dedication addressed to Boris Schatz.

[14] pp. (including cover), approx. 28X20 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Small marginal Tears and open tears to cover and few leaves (without damage to text of illustrations). Bound with string, threaded through filing holes.

For information on Yehiel Heilperin and "HaGina" Publishing House, see Ayala Gordon, "Hebrew Illustrations, " 2005, pp. 143–53.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, B.2336.

Isidor Kaufmann, portfolio comprising 16 high–quality color reproductions of paintings by Isidor Kaufmann. Vienna, 1926.
The present portfolio comprises 16 reproductions of paintings by Kaufmann, depicting various Jewish figures, scenes from the Jewish life cycle, and the Jewish Shtetl – most of which are in color (matted), and a booklet with an introduction by Rabbi Zwi Perez Chajes, and a foreword by art critic Hermann Menkes. The portfolio cover features a small reproduction of Kaufmann's portrait, by Hans Temple.

[16] plates. Approx. 22.5X27.5-44X56 cm (mat: 58X45.5 cm); booklet: [5] leaves, 49.5 cm. In the original folder,   59.5X46.5 cm. Good condition.

Isidor Kaufmann (1853–1921) was a Jewish–Hungarian artist renowned for his remarkable portrayal of Jewish life. Initially working as a bank teller, Kaufmann simultaneously pursued private studies in painting. Eventually, he gained admission to the Academy of Art in Vienna. He journeyed through Poland, Galicia, and Ukraine, and the indelible impressions of the journey left their marks on his work, which eloquently captured the vibrant tapestry of Jewish life in Eastern Europe.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, ALE.42.