Auction 91 Part 1 Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
Grete Wolf-Krakauer (1890-1970) – Original Sketches for a Game of Blocks aimed at Teaching the Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet – Jerusalem, 1930s
Grete Wolf-Krakauer (1890-1970), sketches for a game of blocks intended to teach the Hebrew letters. [Jerusalem, 1930s].
Ink and watercolor on paper and tracing paper.
Five small sketches providing the outline for a game of blocks. Four of the sketches present scenes featuring objects, creatures, or sites, each representing one of six letters ("aryeh" [lion] for "aleph, " "bayit" [house] for "beth, " "gamal" [camel] for "gimel, " and so forth, and next to it the corresponding letter). One sketch, on tracing paper, is divided up into 12 squares, with each square featuring a word that represents one of the letters, and next to it a small illustration (a picture of a lion next to "aryeh, " a house next to "bayit, " and so on. The sketch featuring the letters of the second half of the Hebrew alphabet is missing.
These five sketches were used in the preparation of a game of blocks meant as a teaching aid introducing the Hebrew alphabet. Each card would be cut into six parts, with each part being pasted onto one of the sides of a block. When a player would arrange the blocks in the proper order of the Hebrew alphabet, the full illustrated scene would unfold.
Five sketches, approx. 12X8 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Tears to the sketch drawn on tracing paper.