Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), sketch for the Jerusalem Printing Works building, made for the publisher Shlomo Salzman. [Jerusalem, 1919].
Ink on paper. With the stamp of Raban's studio.

The sketch depicts a three-domed building, with many decorative elements and designs in Raban's typical style. The central dome is topped with a statue of a bearded man (distinctly reminiscent of Boris Schatz's Matityahu), holding up a scroll with the inscription "Am HaSefer" [People of the Book].
Shlomo Salzman, a prominent Hebrew publisher in Russia and Germany, was the owner of the Kadima publishing house in Odessa, the Salzman publishing house which relocated with him from St. Petersburg to Berlin, and the HaSefer publishing house in Berlin. After he left Russia in 1919 and before he settled in Berlin, he paid a visit to Jerusalem where he wished to establish a printing press and publishing house.
Dr. Gil Weissblei, in his book "The Revival of the Hebrew Book Art in Weimar Germany" (2019, pp. 87-99; Hebrew), writes about Salzman's efforts to establish a colossal publishing district named Kiryat Sefer in Jerusalem – "A special district […] on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which would comprise printing presses; workshops […] factories for printing blocks; bookbinderies; warehouses for paper, paint, and binding equipment; and more". Together with a few Zionist activists who shared his vision, he managed the "Am HaSefer" company, to raise the funds needed for establishing this publishing enterprise. Amongst its other activities, the company acquired Ze'ev Raban's "Song of Songs" and his illustrations to the book "Aleph Bet". Concurrently, the company commissioned Raban to design the proposed printing house: "A receipt for the sum of eight lirot to the artist Ze'ev Raban indicates that Salzman received from him, on September 1, 1919, a drawing of the proposed Jerusalem Printing Works building. Raban […] was a rising star in the field of Hebrew art in those days – though without formal architectural education […]. According to Weissblei, the architectural and engineering plans were prepared by the engineer Ben Zion Gini, based on Raban's proposal. Due to the 1920 Palestine riots, Salzman was compelled to abandon his dream, and he left Jerusalem for Berlin, where he established the HaSefer publishing house.
Weissblei notes that he did not see the plan itself, and that Raban's archive deposited in the Jerusalem municipality archive comprises items beginning from 1922. The present item is therefore the missing plan from Raban's estate which was passed on to his partner, Shlomo Kedmi.

Approx. 54X33 cm. Fair-good condition. Marginal closed and open tears. Stains. Fold lines. Tears to center of leaf, along vertical fold (repaired with tape on verso).

Literature: Gil Weissblei, "The Revival of the Hebrew Book Art in Weimar Germany". Jerusalem: Carmel, 2019.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.