Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
Vellum Scroll with Greetings from the Tel Aviv City Council to Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, on the Occasion of his First Visit to the City – 1914 / "Shanah Tovah" Card with a Greeting Poem to Baron Mayer Rothschild, by Rabbi Ben Zion Shlez of Jerusalem – 1887
Opening: $4,000
Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Unsold
Two greetings from members of the Jewish Yishuv in Palestine to two different members of the Rothschild family. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 1887 and 1914. Hebrew.
1. A "Shanah Tovah" New Year's greeting card to Baron Mayer Rothschild, from the Jerusalemite author Rabbi Ben Zion Shlez. Jerusalem, 14th Elul (September 3), 1887.
Greeting card printed in gilt ink. In the center are illustrations of synagogues and holy sites in Palestine – arranged in the shape of a rose – including Rachel's Tomb, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Tomb of the Prophet Samuel, Tombs of the Kings of the House of David, the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, "The Synagogue and Study Hall above the Tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess, " "The New Synagogue in the Hurva of Rabbi Yehuda HeHassid, " and "The Sephardi Synagogue from the Time of Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai." Inscribed in handwriting on the greeting card are the name of the addressee, "the Nobleman… Greatest of the Greats, Caring for the Welfare of his People, Splendor of the Nation, Crown of the Jews, Caretaker of Zion … the Baron MayerAlphonse [sic] de Rothschild"; the name of the sender, Rabbi Ben Zion Shlez of Jerusalem; and the date. At the top of the page is the biblical excerpt: "When a man taketh a new wife…" (Deuteronomy 24:5). Inside the card is a greeting in the form of a lengthy poem, written on the occasion of a wedding – perhaps that of one of the Baron Rothschild's daughters.
[1] f., folded in half, 29 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and fold lines. Tears and several small holes to margins and to lengths of fold lines (mostly minor; two strips of adhesive tape for reinforcement). Matted, by means of three strips of adhesive tape.
2. Printed vellum sheet containing the text of a greeting delivered by Tel Aviv City Council to Edmond (Binyamin) James de Rothschild, "the Baron Rothschild." "Tel Aviv near Jaffa, " Shevat (January-February) 1914.
Vellum sheet in scroll-like format containing the printed text of a (Hebrew) greeting delivered by the Tel Aviv City Council to the Baron Rothschild on the occasion of his first visit to the city: "To our brother, greatest among his brothers, to Binyamin ben Ya'akov Baron de Rothschild… You are most welcome!... A blessing have you brought [with you] to the Land, and a blessing should you take from her… Small and meager was the Jewish community in the Land of Israel thirty years ago, when you arrived to rain upon it your generosity. And you bestowed upon it your silver and your gold, and above all else, your pure soul, your Hebrew heart. And behold, the good seed you have sowed, with your great strength and the goodwill of your pure heart, has borne plentiful fruit…"
This greeting to the Baron Edmond (Binyamin) James de Rothschild (1845-1934) was written in whole or in part by the author and journalist Mordecai Ben Hillel Hacohen (1856-1936), one of the founders of Tel Aviv and one of its earliest inhabitants. The greeting was written on a vellum scroll and presented to the Baron enclosed in a silver case, specially made by the silversmith Moshe Avraham Sokolka. In his memoirs, Ben Hillel Hacohen retells the story of the presentation to the Baron Rothschild: "The Baron disembarked from his ship, and did Tel Aviv the honor of spending the night [there], in [Menahem] Sheinkin's house… At the entrance to the courtyard, an honor guard was posted in the person of the hero of Petah Tikva, Avraham Shapira, with a long, curved sword dangling from his belt… The following morning, pupils from all the schools passed by the house, accompanied by their teachers, and the band played… The [City] Council of Tel Aviv presented a letter of greeting. I was entrusted with preparing the letter, and it was written on parchment, and the silversmith [Moshe Avraham] Sokolka handed it in an artistically made silver case" (see Mordecai Ben Hillel Hacohen, "Olami" , Vol. 5, Defus Poalim, Jerusalem, 1928/29; Hebrew).
Approx. 61.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Creases. Small holes, closed and open tears (mostly to margins; two open tears causing damage to text). Matted, by means of five strips of adhesive tape.
Provenance: The Yitzhak Einhorn Collection.
1. A "Shanah Tovah" New Year's greeting card to Baron Mayer Rothschild, from the Jerusalemite author Rabbi Ben Zion Shlez. Jerusalem, 14th Elul (September 3), 1887.
Greeting card printed in gilt ink. In the center are illustrations of synagogues and holy sites in Palestine – arranged in the shape of a rose – including Rachel's Tomb, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Tomb of the Prophet Samuel, Tombs of the Kings of the House of David, the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, "The Synagogue and Study Hall above the Tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess, " "The New Synagogue in the Hurva of Rabbi Yehuda HeHassid, " and "The Sephardi Synagogue from the Time of Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai." Inscribed in handwriting on the greeting card are the name of the addressee, "the Nobleman… Greatest of the Greats, Caring for the Welfare of his People, Splendor of the Nation, Crown of the Jews, Caretaker of Zion … the Baron MayerAlphonse [sic] de Rothschild"; the name of the sender, Rabbi Ben Zion Shlez of Jerusalem; and the date. At the top of the page is the biblical excerpt: "When a man taketh a new wife…" (Deuteronomy 24:5). Inside the card is a greeting in the form of a lengthy poem, written on the occasion of a wedding – perhaps that of one of the Baron Rothschild's daughters.
[1] f., folded in half, 29 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and fold lines. Tears and several small holes to margins and to lengths of fold lines (mostly minor; two strips of adhesive tape for reinforcement). Matted, by means of three strips of adhesive tape.
2. Printed vellum sheet containing the text of a greeting delivered by Tel Aviv City Council to Edmond (Binyamin) James de Rothschild, "the Baron Rothschild." "Tel Aviv near Jaffa, " Shevat (January-February) 1914.
Vellum sheet in scroll-like format containing the printed text of a (Hebrew) greeting delivered by the Tel Aviv City Council to the Baron Rothschild on the occasion of his first visit to the city: "To our brother, greatest among his brothers, to Binyamin ben Ya'akov Baron de Rothschild… You are most welcome!... A blessing have you brought [with you] to the Land, and a blessing should you take from her… Small and meager was the Jewish community in the Land of Israel thirty years ago, when you arrived to rain upon it your generosity. And you bestowed upon it your silver and your gold, and above all else, your pure soul, your Hebrew heart. And behold, the good seed you have sowed, with your great strength and the goodwill of your pure heart, has borne plentiful fruit…"
This greeting to the Baron Edmond (Binyamin) James de Rothschild (1845-1934) was written in whole or in part by the author and journalist Mordecai Ben Hillel Hacohen (1856-1936), one of the founders of Tel Aviv and one of its earliest inhabitants. The greeting was written on a vellum scroll and presented to the Baron enclosed in a silver case, specially made by the silversmith Moshe Avraham Sokolka. In his memoirs, Ben Hillel Hacohen retells the story of the presentation to the Baron Rothschild: "The Baron disembarked from his ship, and did Tel Aviv the honor of spending the night [there], in [Menahem] Sheinkin's house… At the entrance to the courtyard, an honor guard was posted in the person of the hero of Petah Tikva, Avraham Shapira, with a long, curved sword dangling from his belt… The following morning, pupils from all the schools passed by the house, accompanied by their teachers, and the band played… The [City] Council of Tel Aviv presented a letter of greeting. I was entrusted with preparing the letter, and it was written on parchment, and the silversmith [Moshe Avraham] Sokolka handed it in an artistically made silver case" (see Mordecai Ben Hillel Hacohen, "Olami" , Vol. 5, Defus Poalim, Jerusalem, 1928/29; Hebrew).
Approx. 61.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Creases. Small holes, closed and open tears (mostly to margins; two open tears causing damage to text). Matted, by means of five strips of adhesive tape.
Provenance: The Yitzhak Einhorn Collection.
Zionism, the Land of Israel
Zionism, the Land of Israel