Guest Book of the restaurant of Beit Sokolow, the Israel Journalists Association Building in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv, 1958-66. Hebrew, English, and other languages.
This book bears roughly 65 signatures and dedications – some of them on items of ephemera that were glued on – inscribed by individuals who came to visit the home of the Israel Journalists Association in the early years of its existence, including David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak and Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi (signed on the menu of a meal prepared specially in their honor), Chaim Herzog (signed on an official letter written in his capacity as an IDF major general), the pianist Arthur Rubinstein (along with a photograph stapled onto the opposite page, showing Rubinstein signing the guest book), the Austrian conductor Robert Stolz (dedication with musical notes), the cantors Richard Tucker and Jan Peerce, ambassadors representing countries all over the world, and more.
Beit Sokolow, the Israel Journalists Association Building, was officially opened in April 1957 with the Prime Minister and President in attendance. In its early years it served as the hub of journalistic activity in Israel, providing for the staging of interviews and news conferences with senior officials, for the issuing of emergency notices, and for the holding of symposiums and ceremonies. Once a year, on the 29th of November (anniversary of the United Nations vote on the Partition of Palestine), the prime minister would make use of the venue to host a festive news conference and respond to journalists' questions. Over the years, with the gradually diminishing influence of the print media, the status of Beit Sokolow as a center of media attention also steadily diminished.
[36] ff. with signatures, dedications, and attached items of ephemera (numerous blank leaves at end of book), approx. 22 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, some creases and blemishes. Fold lines and minor tears to edges of some attached items. Several leaves partly detached. Binding detached and worn.