Megillat Kfar Saba: The story of the exile to Kfar Saba, 1917-1918, by Menachem Y. Kloiner, Jaffa, Palestine, [1920]. Author’s signature.
77 pages. 15 cm. Private limited edition with the author’s signature on the back jacket.
In this rare booklet, Menachem Kloiner recounts the historic exodus from Tel Aviv. He, together with Meir Dizengoff, were the heads of the “immigration committee” of the exodus. During the First World War, the Ottoman government exiled the Jews from Tel Aviv. In the spring of 1917, they issued the decree that included all residents of Jaffa and the Tel Aviv neighborhood – but it was primarily upheld for the Jews. The Ottomans explained that the evacuation of the residents of the area was a protective measure in case the enemy attacked via the sea. But, they also claimed that the Jewish residents were liable to betray them and help the enemy penetrate the country. 10,000 Jews were exiled from Tel Aviv. Not in the National Library.
Menachem Yitzchak Kloiner (1885-1965) was born in an agricultural village in Europe. His family were Chabad chassidim. He studied in Vilna and under the Chafetz Chaim in Radin. He was a regular contributor to the Jewish newspapers in Europe. After immigrating to Palestine in 1914, he was active in business and the communal affairs of Tel Aviv. He was in charge of immigration and citizenship. Together with Dizengoff, he was in charge of providing for the needs of the Jewish exiles from Tel Aviv. When the exiles returned to their homes, Kloiner designed a white and blue flag to hang in their homes. This flag was chosen about thirty years later to be the flag of the State of Israel.
Original red jacket. Light tear without loss in jacket. Minimal, thin worming holes. Fine-very fine condition.
A collection of documents about the agricultural settlement in the Jezreel Valley signed by the redeemer of lands Yehoshua Hankin, Y. Ettinger, and Avraham Granovsky (Granot), 1922-1927.
[13] leaves, some on official paper of the JNF (KKL) and the Hachsharat HaYishuv B’Eretz Yisrael. Historical documents about the agricultural settlement of the Jezreel Valley and the establishment of the moshavot and kibbutzim there. The documents are connected to the transfer of ownership of the lands Ganegar and Mahalul to the name of the JNF, which later became Kibbutz Ganegar and Moshav Nehalel.
* Memorandum of the purchase of the lands from 1922.
* Official paper of the JNF about “disputes about the division of the land,” signed by Y. Ettinger and A. Granovsky.
* Official paper of the JNF’s main office signed by A. Granovsky and an additional unidentified signature.
* An additional document signed by Yehoshua Hankin about the Norris Mills on official paper of Hachsharat HaYishuv B’Eretz Yisrael.
* A booklet of handwritten lists from 1921 (7 leaves) with testimony about the agricultural produce in Northern Israel (sales from the threshing floor of Tel Adash, Ganigar and Mahalul) which includes the type of produce, where it grew, and the amount sold.
Yehoshua Hankin (1864-1945) was one of the practical Zionists and was known as the “redeemer of lands” due to his purchase of lands for Jewish settlement, especially in the Jezreel Valley. Avraham Granot (Granovsky) (1890-1962) immigrated to Israel in 1924, together with Menachem Ussishkin, and was appointed as chairman of the JNF. He signed the Declaration of Independence and was a member of Knesset in the first and second terms. Yaakov Akiva Ettinger was an agronomist and a Zionist activist. He was one of the sculptors of the Jewish settlement in the land of Israel and served as the head of the department of settlement in the Jewish Agency.
Fine general condition.
“Plan for building the city Tel Aviv arranged by the technical department of the Tel Aviv municipality, following the plans of Prof. Patrick Geddes [in 1925] and approved by the Tel Aviv city council in 1926.”
[3], 9, 10, 62 pages. 32 cm. Stencil. Two title pages, in Hebrew and English.
The fast growth of the city prompted Meir Dizengoff to invite Patrick Geddes, a Scottish city planner, to create a plan for Tel Aviv. The plan was supposed to create expansive infrastructure for the new Jewish city that was growing at a very fast rate. Geddes’s plan was accepted and provides the the very first description of the city. The present city structure, with main roads and wide boulevards, was built according to this plan.
Very rare. Not in the Jerusalem National Library.
Paper jacket with Hebrew on one side and English on the other. The Hebrew side is torn, without loss, reinforced. Brittle paper. Fine condition.
Carved pieces in round blocks of olive wood. Jerusalem, 1850-1920.
* The Western Wall with the trees of the Temple Mount. “Jerusalem” in Hebrew and English and “The Western Wall.” Maximum diameter: 14 cm. Very fine condition. * Yad Avshalom together with Jehoshaphat’s Tomb, Jerusalem. Diameter: 13 cm. Light crack in the wood. Fine condition.* Yad Avshalom, Jerusalem. Diameter: 14 cm. Light crack in the wood. Fine condition.
A series of rare photographs of sites of Biblical ruins by the photographer Tsadok Bassan [7]. Israel, beginning of the 20th century.
[7] black and white photographs 18×13 cm, pasted onto an original cardboard frame of 22×17 cm. Titles in German are pasted on by hand. The series is numbered from 1 to 7 and includes sites of Biblical ruins. On the back of each photograph is the stamp Bassan Photograph Jerusalem.
Tsadok Bassan (1882-1956) was born in Jerusalem and became the first Jewish photographer born in the Land of Israel. In 1900 he established a photography studio in the Old City of Jerusalem. For the majority of his career he worked with the old method of glass plates. In contrast with most of his photographs, which were taken in his studio in Jerusalem, here the photographer attempted to identify and photograph Biblical sites, possibly for tourists and pilgrims.
Refer to Tzalmei Ha’Aretz pages 32-33 for more information about him.
A few stains. Fine condition.
Passover haggadah [not the traditional version]. Heftzibah, [1969]. Rare.
28 pages, 23.5 cm. Added printed jacket. Printed by stencil.
Illustrated handwritten text. Interesting declaration recited before each of the four cups of wine. The jacket features a list of the sources for the text. Rare haggadah. Not in the National Library.
Stains on the jacket. Very fine condition.
Non-traditional Pesach haggadah – Hebrew and Dutch, beginning of 20th century.
47 pages. 19 cm.
On the haggadah’s title page is written in Hebrew “Haggadah shel Pesach” and a subtitle in Dutch. Contains a collection of prayers, stories, and poems, with partial texts from the traditional haggadah, and additions in the spirit of liberalism. Published by the group Brit HaYehudim HaLiberalim in Holland, with no note of the year. At the end of the haggadah are music notes of Pesach songs.
Black paper cover with a Star of David and gilded writing in Dutch. Fine condition.
HaAlbum HaShachor. Published by the Anti-Nazi League, Tel Aviv, Nissan 1940. Hebrew, English, and French. Looseleaf with postcards, with all ten postcards.
[8] pages, 10 postcards [8] pages. Postcards measure 14×10 cm, looseleaf measures 10.5×16 cm.
The Anti-Nazi League that published this album in April 1940 tried publicizing the Nazi atrocities before they were recognized throughout the world. As they write at the start of the album: “The most tragic thing is that people aren’t paying attention to this horrifying information from Poland…that’s why the Anti-Nazi League in Palestine took upon itself the task of breaking the apathy of the world community to these events…and intends to publish various series of pictures and illustrations that will emphasize these terrible deeds, by the representatives of Satan, in an appropriate manner. This publication is the first series and includes 10 pictures…”
The introduction the album and the ten postcards are one of the first publications – perhaps the very first – regarding the Nazi atrocities in Europe. The postcards were meant to be sent to acquaintances in order to reveal the barbaric face of the Nazis. Each postcard features the printed text: “Send this card to everyone you know in the world and participate in the disclosure of the Nazi crimes.” Each postcard depicts a specific crime. For instance: “Death in the wake of Hitler” – in occupied Poland, Hitler systematically destroyed the Polish and Jewish population in an incomparably cruel manner. “The work of Nazi hangmen” – every day hundreds of innocent people are sentenced to death in Poland, including many rabbis, sofrim…and remain hanging on the poles. “The Nazi murderers enjoy themselves” – depicts family members forced to bury their dead in graves that were often dug by the murdered themselves. “The road for victors” – that’s what the Nazis announced in Poland. According to Nazi ethics, not just the roads of the occupied countries belonged to them, but also the homes and possessions – even the air. The captured are left with only one path to take – the path to death. “The horrific race” – to satisfy their sadistic pleasure, the Nazis commanded Polish prisoners to run before a car. Those who failed to reach the goal would be shot or run over by the car…”
There is also a detailed description of the Nazi abuse that was only revealed to the world years later, such as: The death of thousands by cold and hunger, daily hanging of people throughout Poland, harsh labor, cleaning streets, burning the bodies, and more.
This is historic testimony with text and photos describing the Nazi actions that were only publicized internationally years later. The League’s motto: “Zechor asher asa lecha Hitler!”
The album’s introduction is written in Hebrew and English. The postcards are described in English, but the captions are in Hebrew and French.
Stains. Fine condition. Three postcards are detached.
Entartete Kunst – Ausstellungsführer – A guide to the Nazi “Entartete Kunst” exhibition that displayed artwork unbefitting the German nation, Berlin, 1937.
30 pages, [1] leaf, 21 cm.
Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, together with Adolf Ziegler, President of the Chamber of Art, created an art exhibition named “Degenerate Art” that displayed 650 works of art that were confiscated from 32 museums and galleries throughout Germany, as they were ‘an insult’ to the German nation. As part of the approach of defining the Aryan Race and invalidating everyone else, artwork that did not align with the Aryan perspective of art was disqualified, such as modern influences of impressionism and surrealism, as well as art by ‘Jewish-Bolsheviks’. More than three million people visited the exhibition. It opened in Munich on July 19, 1937 and then moved to twelve other cities throughout Germany until April 1941.
Jacket cover printed in color. The middle leaf is detached. Fine-very fine condition.
A makeshift menorah of Rabbi Yedidyah Zilberman, which he lit in the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Second World War. Europe, 1940s.
33×10 cm. The backplate is made from pieces of tin at the height of 22 cm. Eight tin candles in a primitive flower design and space on the backplate for the shamash (the shamash was lost).
According to the enclosed testimony, this menorah belonged to Rabbi Yedidyah Zilberman, a native of Kelm and one of the great figures in post-war Jerusalem. It was lit in the concentration camps and “even in Auschwitz it lit the Jewish light with its owner’s burning fire…through it the camp was illuminated with lights of bravery under the very noses of the German soldiers.”
Enclosed is a provenance letter with testimony from Rabbi Zilberman’s neighbor in Jerusalem witnessed Rabbi Yedidyah lighting this special menorah in Jerusalem every year, where it silently screamed, “The Jewish people lives and endures.”
Rusted and used condition.
A transit visa from Kovno to Curacao via Japan, issued by the Righteous Among the Nations Sempo Sugihara just before the annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, to save the life of Nachman Yitzchak Sroka, who escaped from Warsaw to Lithuania at the outbreak of the war. A rare historical item. Kovno, Lithuania, August 1940.
[1] double paper leaf. 23×29 cm, written on both sides. Certificate of Polish citizenship of Nachman Icchok Sroka which was issued by the British Consulate and the British Office for Polish Interests in Kovno, Lithuania. A photograph of Sroka with Polish and British stamps and personal details filled out by hand. On the second page, a transit visa to Curacao via Japan from the date 8.8.40, written and stamped in English and Japanese, by the Japanese Consul Sempo Sugihara.
A rare and important historical document, testimony to the noble deeds of the diplomat Sempo Sugihara who did all that he could to save Jews in the crucial moments of the summer of 1940 in Lithuania. The actions of Sugihara, who acted against orders, were later recognized throughout the world as an act of tremendous bravery and humaneness and he was awarded a medal as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
With the German invasion of Poland at the outbreak of World War II, many Polish Jews escaped to the Baltic countries. In the summer of 1940, when Russia forcibly annexed Lithuania, the refugees tried to escape from Europe by every possible means. The world’s gates were locked, and it was impossible to pass through the Soviet Union without a valid visa for the final destination.After Jan Zwartendjik, the temporary Dutch Consul in Lithuania, agreed to issue visas to the Dutch Curacao Island the Russians agreed that the refugees could pass through the Soviet Union on their way to Curacao, on the condition that they receive transit visas. Therefore, Dr. Zerach Warhaftig, one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement, approached the Japanese Consul, Sempo Sugihara, and asked him to issue the visas.Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara (1900-1986) served as the Deputy Consul of the Japanese Empire in Lithuania in Kovno, and served as the acting Consul in the critical window of opportunity of the summer of 1940. Despite his government’s refusal of the offer, Sugihara decided to act and to issue the permits to the many Jewish refugees who flooded to the Consulate’s doors. In the remaining weeks before he left Kovno, he worked tirelessly, for over 18 hours a day, to issue these visas, knowing that they would save the lives of their bearers. Many yeshiva students, such as the students of the Mir Yeshiva who had also escaped to Lithuania, took advantage of this opportunity to flee. During August 1940, when the Russians took control of Lithuania, Sugihara and Zwartendjik were forced to stop their activities. Even as he boarded the train, Sugihara continued stamping passports, knowing that each of them was a lifesaver for its recipient.
There is a list of 2,139 names in the official Sugihara database, and Nachman Sroka’s name appears in row 1,500. His name is displayed in “The Flight and Rescue” exhibition in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
Fold marks, light tears at the edges without loss. Fine-very fine condition.
An extremely rare set of double diplomatic salvation: A Schutzpass protective passport signed by the Righteous Among the Nations Raoul Wallenberg and a Schutzbrief letter of protection from the Righteous Among the Nations Carl Lutz, both of which were given to save the life of one woman. Budapest, September-October 1944.
These are historical documents of Mrs. Semko, the wife of Sigmund Semko, the director of a steel factory in Budapest:
[1] leaf, a Swedish diplomatic “protective passport” Schutzpass (of Raoul Wallenberg), no. 01337, dated September 22, 1944, with a stamp and two signatures. 34×21 cm. Folding marks, a slight tear on the fold.
[1] leaf, a diplomatic Swiss safe conduct document – Schutzbrief (of Carl Lutz), an original document with title letters in red, a watermark of the Japanese postal authority, no. 2523, dated October 23, 1944, with a Swiss diplomatic stamp. 30×21.5 cm. The ink of the number is smudged, slight holes as a result of the fold. Fine condition.
[2] leaves, Jegyzőkönyv “protocol,” Hungarian. A governmental protocol with precise details of the confiscation of the Semko couple’s property. 34×21.5 cm. Many signatures on both sides. Folding marks. Fine condition.
[4] business cards of the manager of the steel factory, Mr. Sigmund Semko. 7×11.5 cm.
[1] Hungarian identity card of Mrs. Semko with the original photograph from 1944. 11.5 cm. A few rust signs on the staples. Fine condition.
With the German conquest of Hungary and the arrival of Adolf Eichmann in March 19, 1944, approximately half a million Hungarian Jews were deported to Auschwitz and other death camps in the course of a few short months. During these months, diplomatic letters of protection were the Jews’ greatest desire and literally saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews. These documents provide new historical testimony, previously unknown, that a Jewish woman managed to attain these letters of salvation from two diplomats, both Wallenberg and Lutz, together!
Raoul Wallenberg (1922-1947?), one of the most famous Righteous Among the Nations, a Swedish diplomat who disappeared after the war after being arrested by the Russians, and who is known for his daring actions in saving thousands of Jews in Budapest. Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman who served as the secretary of the Swedish consulate in Budapest in the critical months of the summer of 1944. During those months, Wallenberg worked tirelessly to save Jews by issuing protective passports (which were not actually valid) and transferring the Jews to international safe houses. In addition, he established two hospitals, soup kitchens, and orphanages. With the deportation of Jews by the fascist Arrow Cross party, led by Ferenc Szalasi, Wallenberg worked constantly to save tens of thousands of Jews from deportation, including from the trains and the death marches. His brave activities endangered his life and led Eichmann to threaten to shoot him, and to refer to him as a “Jewish dog.” After the war, Wallenberg was arrested by the Russians and accused of espionage, and since 1947 his tracks were lost, with many different versions of his final fate.
Carl Lutz (1895-1975) one of the most prominent Righteous Among the Nations, a Swiss diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Jews during the destruction of Hungarian Jewry and their deportation to Auschwitz. Lutz worked to save the Jews of Budapest by issuing Swiss “letters of protection” to Jews who had entry certificates into Palestine, and negotiated with high-ranking Nazi officers, including Adolf Eichmann. Lutz was the initiator of the idea of letters of protection (an idea adopted by Raoul Wallenberg and others) from the model with which he was familiar from his time as Deputy Consul in Palestine in 1934. Lutz issued a total of 8,000 letters, which he expanded in order to save the lives of 30,000 Jews, and he was involved in the establishment of the “International Ghetto” which shielded the Jews who were in possession of letters of protection. Lutz was one of the first to be recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations, and a governmental medal and stamp were issued in his memory.
Prieres Pour La Fete Pentecote. Prayers for Shavuot, published by Agudat HaRabbanim of Paris, temporarily in Nice. Nice, 1941.
[8] stenciled pages. 31 cm. Copied by stencil. Hebrew and Yiddish.
Booklet of prayers published by Agudat HaRabbanim of Paris, at the height of the Second World War, after France was captured by the Germans. The rabbis, together with many other Jewish refugees, escaped to the “Free Zone” under the Vichy government, to Nice on the border of Italy. (The area was captured by the Italians on November 11, 1942.) The booklet opens with words of encouragement by the rabbis in Yiddish to the refugees and discusses the deplorable situation of the Jewish nation. They were pressed for space, so only the primary sections of the prayers were printed.
Very rare. This booklet is not listed in ULI or in Worldcat.
The leaves are detached, tears in some of the leaves and in the folds. Moderate-fine condition.
* Ohev Yisrael. Chassidut from the Rebbe of Apta. [Germany, c. 1948]. 267 pages, 21 cm.
* Reishit Chochmah. By Rabbi Eliyahu ben Moshe da Vidas. Fernwald, in the Yaffe Press, [1947]. 552 pages, 25 cm. Uncommon book.
* Hakdamah V’Derech L’Etz HaChaim – Sur MiRa V’Aseh Tov. [Germany] Keter Press [1948]. 16 pages, 21 cm.
* Zichron Emet, Zot Zikaron, Divrei Emet. The books of the Chozeh of Lublin. Fernwald, Yaffe Press, [1947].
All of the book are in fine-very fine condition.
Five books of the Torah, a gift from the Va’ad Hatzalah L’She’erit HaPleta. Printed by the Committee for the Publication of Books of the Va’ad Hatzalah. Munich, 1947.
[2] 60, 55, [1], 56-97, 48, [1], 49-96 leaves, 17 cm.
The five books of the Torah and the five megillot, with Rashi’s commentary and Onkelos. Before the title page is a thank-you letter to the American people and to President Harry Truman, from the rabbis of the Va’ad Hatzalah, with a background of the American flag, in English and on the next leaf in Hebrew. A colored title page in lithographic printing. Stamps of the Va’ad Hatzalah.
Original binding with embossing. Very fine condition.
Die Plagen: 3te ägyptische Humoreske, aufgeschrieben und abgemalt bei dem Auszuge der Juden aus Aegypten von C.M. Seyppe. Dusseldorf, 1884.
[2], 42 pages. 26.5 cm. Printed on cardboard. Vivid pictures, with a lot of ink, some illustrations painted in red. Cardboard binding, covered with cloth. The binding has a round opening – a window through which the title of the book can be seen.
Anti-Semitic play about the ten plagues and the exodus from Egypt by Seypple Carl Maria. Full of illustrations and caricatures about leaving Egypt. Jewish characters appear with long noses – the stereotypical anti-Semitic representation.
Aging stains, folds at the corners of the cloth binding. Fine condition.
Dreyfus the Martyr, Recorded by Pen and Pencil. Over One Hundred Illustrations, Special Issue of The Graphic. A special illustrated issue of the newspaper The Graphic that was published in London at the end of the re-trial of Dreyfus. London, September 14, 1899.
48 pages, 41.5 cm, over one hundred illustrations.
The Dreyfus Affair was a French anti-Semitic libel that caused an uproar in Europe and throughout the world, in which a Jewish officer in the French army was tried for treason with the claim that he was passing documents to Germany. During the trial, forged confidential documents were presented which seemingly proved his guilt. As a result of public pressure a re-trail was held in 1899, in which he was again found guilty and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Only later did he receive a pardon from the President, and in 1906 he was exonerated from all guilt. This special issue describes the trial through many illustrations which were drawn throughout the trial, accompanied by text, special events such as removing Dreyfus’s ranks in a humiliating ceremony, a description of the forged documents, and more. The issue was published on September 14, after the end of the second trial and prior to the pardon granted by the President. It is therefore entitled “Dreyfus the Martyr.”
The affair was a turning point for Theodore Herzl, who covered the trial as the reporter of the Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse. Herzl was appalled by the false accusation of Dreyfus because he was a Jew, and by the wave of anti-Semitism that swept through the French public. The Dreyfus trial was one of the factors that caused Herzl to recognize the problems faced by the Jewish people and spurred him to formulate a model of political Zionism.
Rust and stains on the staples. Detached spine. Fine-very fine condition.
Compendio dos principios da grammatica hebraica, no qual se explicão breve, e claramente as regras fundamentaes desta lingua. A Hebrew grammar book by Fr. Francisco Da Paz. Second edition, University of Coimbra, Portugal, 1826.
20 cm, 160 pages.
Original binding with a slight blemish on the spine. A few stains and tiny worming holes. Fine condition.
Two rare booklets of stories in Yiddish by the author and member of the Enlightenment Ayzik Meir Dik. Vilna, 1869, 1870.
* Der Toyta Gest (The Dead Guest). Vilna 1869. [64] pages, 15×10 cm. About an incident that took place in the city of Macan in 1797. Rare, not in the National Library, and missing from the list of Ayzik Meir Dik’s books.
* Der Purim Shpeigel. Vilna 1870. [40] pages, 15 cm. A description of Purim customs in Yiddish. Rare.
Ayzik Meir Dik (1814-1893), known by his pseudonym Amad. An important author and member of the Enlightenment Movement from Vilna, and a folk historian. He published dozens of publications and books in which he collected folk stories about Jewish events in Poland and Lithuania, and described Jewish life with grace and humor.
Not bound. Aging stains, one leaf has a blemish on the upper corner. Fine condition.
Otzar Peirot Etz Chaim, limited deluxe edition of the index to the Pri Etz Chaim responsa , Berlin 1936.
[10] leaves, 365 pages. 27.5 cm. Complete, magnificent red leather binding, embossed letters, uncut leaves of high-quality paper with watermarks. 1/1000 copies. Matching slipcase.
Frucht vom Baum des Lebens ‘An index to the responsa of the Rabbinical yeshiva ‘Etz Chaim’ in Amsterdam from the early days, collected and translated into German by…Menachem HaLevi of the Hirsch family – Menko Max Hirsch’. This book is part of a unique project of preservation and translation of the Etz Chaim library in Amsterdam, the oldest active Jewish library in the world.
This is a magnificent copy in very fine condition.
Volume with two important articles by Moses Mendelssohn, one first edition, Vienna and Berlin, 1785-6. Original print.
[1] Abhandlung Von Der Unkorperlichkeit Der Menschlichen Seele. Vienna, 1785. First edition in German. “The eternity of the soul.” The title page notes that this is the first German edition, on the same topic as his lauded Phaedon that was published in 1767. 17 cm., 79 pages.
[1] Abhandlung uber die Evidenz in metaphysisichen Wissenschaften. Berlin, 1786. On Evidence in the Metaphysical Sciences was first published in 1753 and won a prize from the Berlin Academy. 17 cm., 144 pages.
Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) was a German Jewish philosopher. He was the father of the Reform movement and represents the start of the modern era in the history of European Jewry. At the time, he successfully integrated in both the German and Jewish worlds. He published many essays, like these, which were widely accepted and appreciated by the German public, at the same time that he published the first modern Jewish periodical and translated the Pentateuch. These essays were printed during the last two years of his life.
Two essays bound together. They were originally printed without being cropped and without a binding. Aging stains. Fine-very fine condition.
A Magyar Zsido Hadi Archivum almanachja, 1914-1916. “Military archive of the Jews in Hungary.” Budapest, 1916.
33 cm., 158, [2] pages, [16] plates: illustrations, pictures, and portraits.
Almanac commemorating the participation of Jewish Hungarian soldiers in the first World War, with rare testimony regarding Jewish life in Hungary at the beginning of the century. Includes plates with rare pictures of Jewish communities and Jews, artistic works, Hebrew prayer for the wellbeing of Emperor Franz Joseph, music notes, reports by the military rabbi, and more.
Original jacket binding, worn edges, light blemish to spine, stains, fine condition.
Hundreds of handwritten notes by author Mordechai Lipson, attached with clips to a printed copy of his work Di Velt Derzeilt. New York, 1928.
A printed copy of section two of the work, with hundreds of handwritten notes attached with clips to the leaves. The note at the front bears the author’s stamp and date in his hand.
Mordechai Lipson was the pen name of Mordechai Yaborovski (1885-1958), prolific Yiddish author, editor, and translator. He was born in Bialystock and learned in the “kibbutz” of the Chafetz Chaim in Radin. He moved to Antwerp and then the United States where he dedicated himself to editing and writing prolifically for newspapers in both Hebrew and Yiddish. He also started writing for children, as a folklorist. He published many tales with folk lessons and jokes.
His work די וועלט דערציילט: מעשיות, ווערטלאך, הנהגות און מלות פון אנשי שם ביי אידן is a compilation of sayings and riddles from the philosophers of the nation, including many chassidic sayings. The author published the same work in Hebrew, under the title מדור לדור:מעשיות ושיחות, אמרות ובדיחות, המצאות וחידות, הנהגות ומדן, מן השגור בפי העם על אישי ישראל מדור לדור. Tel Aviv, 1929-38.
The draft pages were originally torn. Fine condition.
Opuscula Hebraea, Graeca, Latina, Gallica, Prosaica & Metrica by Anna Maria Von Schurman. A book by the multi-faceted woman, who loved Jews and Hebrew, Anna Maria Von Schurman (Chana Miriam Von Schurman).
8 parts, [4], 374 pages, including an engraving of a rare self-portrait. Colored title page, woodcut. Contains personal letters to the princes and the queen in Hebrew! Parchment binding.
Anna Maria Von Schurman was born on November 5 1607 in Holland. A multi-faceted woman who worked in music, art, drawing, engraving and as a researcher. She became very well known and was known as the most famous woman in 17th century Europe. Anna Maria, who signed her letters in Hebrew with the name “Chana Miriam” was drawn to Judaism, despite being a Christian, and corresponded with Rabbis, as well as with princes and queens in Hebrew! At the age of 30 she had a debate with the well known philosopher Rene Descartes about the importance of reading the Bible in Hebrew. She had an amazing talent for ancient languages and was described by researchers of the time as ‘The eighth wonder of the world’. Anna was active in women’s rights; and was the first female university student (she sat behind a curtain in the classroom), despite the official prohibition against women students.
This rare book, which contains a collection of Anna Maria’s writings, was published in the author’s lifetime and contains a rare self-portrait from the year of publishing. Enclosed is a leaf and the book ‘Ivrit BaGoyim’ with biographical details about the author.
Original parchment binding. Very fine condition.
