Auction 102 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Original admission ticket to the ceremony – attended by a handful of journalists, including Theodor Herzl – in which Alfred Dreyfus was publicly humiliated and formally degraded and stripped of his army rank. Paris, January 5, 1895. French.
The ticket is printed on thick paper, and is filled in, in handwriting, bearing the official inked stamp of the French army ("l'état-major du Gouvernement militaire de Paris"):
French: "Laissez-passer n 148 valable le 5 janvier 1895. M. Schneider représentant du journal ‘La Paix’ est autorisé à assister à la parade d’exécution qui aura lieu le 5 janvier à 9 h. du matin dans la cour de l’École m[ilitai]re" ["M. Schneider, representing the newspaper ‘La Paix, ’ is hereby entitled to participate in the sentencing ceremony on the 5th of January, at 9:00 am, in the court of the (Paris) Military Academy"]. Numbered 148 and hand-signed by the ticket holder (the journalist and art critic Louis Schneider).
The ceremony of Alfred Dreyfus’s degradation took place in the courtyard of the Paris École Militaire, before hundreds of soldiers and a select group of journalists and invited guests – just days after Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of treason. A general, mounted on horseback, read the verdict aloud; Dreyfus’s insignia were torn from his uniform and cast to the ground, and his sword was broken in two – a sight that became one of the most iconic images of the affair, reproduced on countless postcards, newspapers, and illustrations.
Among the personalities in attendance was Theodor Herzl, serving at the time as a reporter for the Viennese newspaper "Neue Freie Presse". In the wake of this experience, Herzl forsook any remaining faith he may have harbored for the values of the Emancipation and began formulating a novel solution the "Jewish Question".
His report on the subject was published the same day, in the newspaper’s evening edition; it provided what would eventually become one of the most memorable quotes in Zionist literature: "They brought him [Dreyfus] before the general. The latter said: ‘Alfred Dreyfus, you are unworthy of bearing arms. In the name of the French nation, I hereby revoke from you this privilege. Let the sentence be carried out!’ Dreyfus raised his right hand and called out: ‘I swear and declare you are demeaning the honor of an innocent man. Long live France!’… He passed in front of a group of officers who shouted at him: ‘Judas!’, ‘Traitor!’" Roughly a year after witnessing this spectacle, in February 1896, Theodor Herzl first published his groundbreaking work, "Der Judenstaat".
Approx. 8X11.5 cm. Good-fair condition. A few stains. Abrasions to edges. Handwritten reparative completion (probably original) of several indistinct letters of print. One corner missing, partly mended with paper.
![Altneuland, Roman von Theodor Herzl. Leipzig: Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, [1902]. German.
First edition.
Utopian novel.](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale102/215_1.jpg "Altneuland – First Edition, Leipzig, 1902 – Fine Copy in Original Bind")
![Altneuland, Roman von Theodor Herzl. Leipzig: Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, [1902]. German.
First edition.
Utopian novel.](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale102/215_2.jpg "Altneuland – First Edition, Leipzig, 1902 – Fine Copy in Original Bind")
Altneuland, Roman von Theodor Herzl. Leipzig: Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, [1902]. German.
First edition.
Utopian novel. A narrative expressing Theodor Herzl’s vision of a Jewish state. The title page bears Herzl’s motto: "Wenn ihr wollt, ist es kein Märchen" [If you will it – it is no dream].
Theodor Herzl composed his novel "Altneuland" ("The Old New Land") in the years 1899-1902 and originally titled it "New Zion". He changed the title to "Altneuland" later on, inspired by the name of Prague’s great Old-New Synagogue, the "Altneuschul". The book was translated into both Yiddish and Hebrew in 1902, the same year it was finally published in German (the translator Nachum Sokolow decided to title the Hebrew edition of the book "Tel Aviv", and a few years later, this name was applied to the newly founded "first Hebrew city"). Within a year, Herzl’s novel was translated into six languages.
A
particularly fine copy, in its original, elegant binding, stamped with the impression of the seal of the bookbinders "Hübel und Denck ", who produced a number of bindings for particularly valuable books published by the Hermann Seemann literary publishing company. Only some of the copies of the first edition of "Altneuland" were adorned with this special binding.
[2] leaves, 343, [5] pages. 18 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Slight wear to binding.
"A Public Warning", poster regarding the prohibition to ascend to the Temple Mount, by Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook. [Jerusalem]: Salomon, [ca. 1920s-1930s]. Hebrew and English.
The poster states in Hebrew and English: "A public warning by His Eminence the Chief Rabbi for Eretz Israel A. I. Kook. Our Dear Brethren who come from far and near to visit the Holy City of Jerusalem, be warned and remember that it is strictly forbidden by Jewish Law and Religion to enter the Temple area (Haram ash-Sharif) or to ascend the Har-Habaith".
Posters such as this were customarily set up by R. Kook in tourist areas in Jerusalem, in the Old City and on the entrance to the gates of the Temple Mount.
R. Kook testified at a Mandatory hearing that he would customarily warn pilgrims not to ascend to the Temple Mount: "During the Jewish festivals, when many Jews come to the city, I habitually send them a warning not to enter this consecrated place, since we are not worthy to do so until the day of redemption arrives…" (testimony of R. Kook, Jerusalem 1929, cited by R. Sh. Aviner, "On Building the Temple and Entering the Temple Mount", Shanah BeShanah, 1986, p. 173 [Hebrew]).
On R. Kook's position forbidding entrance to the Temple Mount, see at length Responsa Mishpat Kohen (section 96) demonstrating at length that ascending the Temple Mount involves a severe prohibition, even according to the Raavad who is sometimes understood to permit doing so. Some claimed this responsum was a personal letter written to R. Shlomo Goren, but R. Neria Gutel demonstrated that it is a personal booklet written during the course of the conflicts over the Western Wall in 1921, in the face of opposing viewpoints (see at length: R. N. Gutel, Chadashim Gam Yeshanim, Jerusalem 2005, pp. 123-129).
[1] leaf. 50X35 cm. Good condition. Creases and folding marks. Light stains. Marginal tears, repaired with paper to verso.
Cheque made out to Albert Einstein in recognition of his purported statement of support for the Catholic Church in Germany; eventually paid by means of Einstein’s signed endorsement to the United Jewish Appeal. Princeton, NJ, February 13, 1950.
A Cheque in the sum of 10 dollars, made out to Albert Einstein, drawn on the Manufacturers Trust Company bank, Brooklyn, NY. On the back of the Cheque is Einstein’s typewritten endorsement, "Pay to the order of the United Jewish Appeal, Princeton, New Jersey", hand-signed: "Albert Einstein".
The Cheque was mailed to Einstein by the Reverend Cornelius Greenway. It was in the sum of 10 US Dollars, and was sent as a "token of gratitude", as a small payment in advance for Einstein’s anticipated response to the minister’s request for a signed copy of the declaration that Einstein had supposedly delivered, pertaining to the Catholic Church: "…when the revolution came to Germany, I looked to the universities… but no, the universities were immediately silenced…; the great editors of the newspapers… were silenced within a few short weeks …. Only the [Catholic] Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign…".
Einstein replied the following day. In his letter, he thanked Greenway for his generosity but insisted that "… the wording of the statement you have quoted is not my own. Shortly after Hitler came to power in Germany I had an oral conversation with a newspaper man about these matters. Since then, my remarks have been elaborated and exaggerated nearly beyond recognition. I cannot in good conscience write down the statement you sent me as my own…"
The "token of gratitude" of which Greenway spoke was the present Cheque, attached to his letter, cited above. This Cheque was forwarded by Einstein to the United Jewish Appeal – till this day, America’s largest Jewish philanthropic organization – which was, at the time, providing aid and assistance to Holocaust survivors, supporting Jewish immigration to the State of Israel, and aiding the development of the newborn Jewish state.
Approx. 21X7.5 cm. Good condition. Two fold lines. Small open tear to edge. Inked stamp and perforations.
The original letter, the "token of gratitude", and Einstein’s letter of response are all mentioned in a number of books. See (for example): Helen Dukas and Benesh Hoffmann (eds.), Albert Einstein, the Human Side: New Glimpses from His Archives, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979, pp. 93-96.
Photograph of Hannah Szenes in Kibbutz Sdot Yam; sent to her brother in occupied France, December 1941.
This photograph was mailed to Giyora Szenes, Hannah’s older brother. Giyora traveled to France to study just prior to the outbreak of WWII and stayed there. Hannah’s brief handwritten message to Giyora (in English) appears on the back of the photo: "I have not a better snap, so I send this, taken before the dining room of the Kibuts in XII [December] 1941. The warning finger would remind you be a good boy and take care for your-self! Yours, anny".
Provenance: Estate of Hannah Szenes.
6.5X9 cm. Good condition. Crease to corner and some stains on verso.
Hannah Szenes’s letters to her brother Giyora
Hannah (Anikó) Szenes (1921-1944), Jewish fighter and poet, one of the most renowned and beloved figures in the Yishuv in the later years of the British Mandate period and the early years of the Jewish state. Szenes was one of 26 Jewish parachutists who were flown behind enemy lines during the Second World War, parachuting into occupied Europe to fight on behalf of the Allied forces against Nazi Germany. In 1944, she was arrested and taken captive by Hungarian soldiers, severely tortured and eventually executed, having refused under interrogation to divulge the names of her comrades. Her courageous story has been preserved and retold over the years through countless books, films, and plays.
Giyora (György) Szenes (1920-1995), Hannah’s elder brother and a soldier in the Jewish Brigade. In 1938, he moved to Lyon, France to study the art of silk weaving. Toward the end of the Second World War, he crossed the border into Spain, and from there, in 1944, set sail for Palestine aboard the ship “Nyassa”. Upon arriving in Palestine, he managed to meet up with Hannah one last time before she embarked on her fatal mission to Europe. He adopted his Hebrew name, Giyora, on Hannah’s advice.
Throughout their years of separation, Hannah and Giyora consistently kept in touch by mail. After reading Hannah’s letters, Giyora would forward them to their mother, Katherina, who was living alone in Budapest. When Budapest was liberated by the Soviet Red Army, Katherina loaded all of Hannah’s letters into two suitcases, crossed the border into Romania, and boarded a ship for Palestine. The present photograph was included among the letters she brought with her to Palestine.
For a literary reference on the subject of Hannah Szenes’s letters, please refer to the Hebrew version of this entry.