Hebräische Buchstabenbilder ]pictures of the Hebrew alphabet[, by Nathan Adler. Fürth: Georg Rosenberg, 1904.
Folder containing 30 printed cards. 23 of the cards show the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, designed as various objects – utensils, structures, plants, and more, whose name in German is reminiscent of the sound of the Hebrew letter (for instance, the letter Lamed is designed as a lamp – Leuchter; the letter Pe is designed as a barrel – Fass). The other seven cards show the Hebrew vowel points, using various imageries – two eggs in a nest representing Tzere, a hand holding a watch for Kubutz, a pensive boy for Cholam, and more.
The cards were printed following the Hebrew instruction method of Nathan Adler, teacher in the Jewish secondary school in Fürth. Adler explains the theory behind his method in a book he published alongside the cards: "Die Renaissance des alten hebräischen Lese-Unterrichts im Lichte der modernen Methodik: eine didaktische Studie" (The Renaissance of Ancient Hebrew Reading Instruction in Light of Modern Methodology: a Didactic Study).
Nathan Adler (1879-1942), Jewish-German educator and children's writer, born in Burgpreppach, Bavaria. He taught in Jewish schools un Fürth, Ansbach and Nuremberg. Published articles on pedagogy and several books for children and youth about Jewish tradition. His children reached Palestine before the Holocaust, but he and his wife Miriam (née Rothschild), were deported to Riga, where they were murdered.
[1] f., VII, 23 plates (one double card). 24 cm. Good condition. Double card torn in half (at fold). Stains. Minor abrasions to corners and edges of several cards. Blemishes and minor stains to folder.