Auction No. 096
Rare Books & Manuscripts, Rabbinical letters, Zionism, Erez Israel, Judiaca objects & art, numismatics & archeology
Auction: Tuesday, November 29, 2016, at 17:00.
Exhibition Schedule:
Thursday November 24, 2016, from 12:00 to 20:00
Sunday, November 27, 2016, from 12:00 to 20:00
Monday November 28, 2016, from 12:00 to 20:00
- Glosses, Comments and Signatures in Books (45) Apply Glosses, Comments and Signatures in Books filter
- Seforim (34) Apply Seforim filter
- Manuscripts & letters. Ashkenaz (29) Apply Manuscripts & letters. Ashkenaz filter
- Letters from Early Ashkenazic Rabbis (28) Apply Letters from Early Ashkenazic Rabbis filter
- Letters from Admors (24) Apply Letters from Admors filter
- Presentation Copies (23) Apply Presentation Copies filter
- Early Prints (21) Apply Early Prints filter
- Chassidic & Kabbalah Books (20) Apply Chassidic & Kabbalah Books filter
- Historic Documents (19) Apply Historic Documents filter
- Italian rabbis letters (19) Apply Italian rabbis letters filter
- Prayer Books and Psalms (18) Apply Prayer Books and Psalms filter
- Ashkenazic Manuscripts (14) Apply Ashkenazic Manuscripts filter
- Kabala and Amulets (13) Apply Kabala and Amulets filter
- chabad (12) Apply chabad filter
- Bibliographic Books and Miscellaneous (11) Apply Bibliographic Books and Miscellaneous filter
- Antisemitism & The Holocaust (10) Apply Antisemitism & The Holocaust filter
- Unidentfied Glosses & Notes (10) Apply Unidentfied Glosses & Notes filter
- Judaica and textiles (9) Apply Judaica and textiles filter
- Oriental Manuscripts (9) Apply Oriental Manuscripts filter
- Bezalel Jerusalem and Jewish Art (8) Apply Bezalel Jerusalem and Jewish Art filter
- Eretz Israel & Zionism (7) Apply Eretz Israel & Zionism filter
- Sephardic rabbis letters (7) Apply Sephardic rabbis letters filter
- Maps & Travelogues (6) Apply Maps & Travelogues filter
- Yemenite Manuscripts (6) Apply Yemenite Manuscripts filter
- Esther Scrolls (5) Apply Esther Scrolls filter
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. 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.
![Series of rare photographs of photographer Tsadok Bassan [7]. Israel, beginning of 20th century](https://winners-files.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/styles/gallery-small/s3/sale_096-public/5_1.jpg?itok=s4tu9jyq)
![Series of rare photographs of photographer Tsadok Bassan [7]. Israel, beginning of 20th century](https://winners-files.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/styles/gallery-small/s3/sale_096-public/5_2.jpg?itok=Ev0eMiYP)
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 18x13 cm, pasted onto an original cardboard frame of 22x17 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 14x10 cm, looseleaf measures 10.5x16 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.
33x10 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. 23x29 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. 34x21 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. 30x21.5 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. 34x21.5 cm. Many signatures on both sides. Folding marks. Fine condition.
[4] business cards of the manager of the steel factory, Mr. Sigmund Semko. 7x11.5 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.