Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
- (-) Remove antisemit filter antisemit
- and (18) Apply and filter
- autograph (18) Apply autograph filter
- autographs, (18) Apply autographs, filter
- book (18) Apply book filter
- earli (18) Apply earli filter
- eretz (18) Apply eretz filter
- israel (18) Apply israel filter
- manuscript (18) Apply manuscript filter
- manuscripts, (18) Apply manuscripts, filter
- print (18) Apply print filter
Displaying 1 - 12 of 18
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $4,250
Including buyer's premium
The Winter Games – Makkabi Winter Spiele – 2-5.II.1933, illustrated poster. Kraków: Akropol, 1933.
Illustrated poster for the First Maccabi Winter Games, held in the city of Zakopane, Poland; depicting a ski jumper against a snowy mountain background, with the Maccabi emblem and national flags. Signed in the plate: Greschler.
The Games opened in Zakopane in the winter following the First Maccabiah in Palestine, with the participation of some 400 Jewish athletes from nine countries: Austria, Italy, Germany, Danzig, Yugoslavia, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Poland. Coincidentally, the event began only three days after Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany (30 January 1933) and took place under an atmosphere of antisemitism and strong opposition from the local population (the Polish press even published calls to prevent the Games and disrupt them). The Maccabi Association organized only one more Winter Maccabiah, in 1935; thereafter, the Winter Games were not held for nearly a century, until their revival in 2023.
69X101.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Several tears and small holes (restored). Mounted on linen for display and preservation.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Lot 55 Minister Sheets – First Day of Hebrew Post – First Nine Postage Stamps of the State of Israel
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $2,500
Including buyer's premium
"First Day of Hebrew Post", four Minister Sheets bearing the first nine postage stamps issued by the State of Israel. May 16, 1948.
Official commemorative sheets, each bearing the complete set of nine "Doar Ivri" postage stamps, in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50, 250, 500, and 1000 mils. Each sheet is inscribed at top with the date "7th Iyar 5708, 16.5.1948" and the words "Doar Ivri", and at bottom with the inscription "First Day of Hebrew Post" (Hebrew). These sheets are known as "Minister Sheets", as they were distributed to ministers and dignitaries. The first edition was only printed in some 40 copies, on thick, yellowish paper, with the stamps affixed between midnight and the morning of May 16, 1948.
The present lot includes four copies:
1. "Doar Ivri" – A copy postmarked ten times with the Sde Yaakov postmark, dated 7th Iyar 5708 (May 16, 1948).
2. "Doar Ivri" – A copy postmarked seven times with the "Tabul" Philatelic Exhibition postmark, dated 7th Iyar 5709 (May 6, 1949).
3-4. "Doar Ivri" – Two unmarked sheets (the stamps in these copies are held in plastic sleeves and affixed with small pieces of tape).
21.5X26 cm (one with wider margins, approx. 29X22.5 cm). Good condition. Two of the plastic sleeves detached.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $2,750
Including buyer's premium
United Nations, Security Council Official Records, Fourth Year, Special Supplement No. 1. Lake Success (New York), June 1949. English and French.
Official publication of the United Nations Security Council (No. S/1302/Rev.1), containing the full text of the Armistice Agreement between Israel and Jordan, signed on April 3, 1949, by Moshe Dayan and Colonel Ahmed Sudki El-Jundi in the island of Rhodes.
Bilingual edition, printed in English and French. Original paper wrappers, with the UN emblem on front cover. Accompanied by reproductions of the two original border maps – the Jerusalem Division Map and the "Green Line" Map – drawn in colored pencils, preserved by the UN and adopted as the official border maps of the State of Israel:
· Map of the Division of Jerusalem (Map No. 201-X) – Drawn by Moshe Dayan and Jordanian Legion Commander Abdullah El-Tell. The original map was prepared on November 30, 1948, on the floor of a house in the Musrara neighborhood, and was intended as a temporary measure (Dayan marked the Israeli positions in red pencil, El-Tell the Jordanian positions in green). Though intended as provisional, this map remained the only document demarcating the division of the city. Upon signing of the agreement, the penciled lines became the international division lines of Jerusalem. The present reproduction faithfully copies both original lines.
· Israel-Jordan Border Map – the "Green Line" (Map No. 200.2-X) – Created during the Rhodes armistice negotiations (printed on two sheets). Like the Jerusalem map, this map was also drawn in pencil following various drafts and deliberations, and signed at the bottom by Moshe Dayan and Jordanian delegate Ahmed Sudki El-Jundi. Contrary to its historic name, the original line was drawn in blue pencil – and reproduced as such here, with signatures. According to the testimony of cartographer Moshe Brawer, who covered the talks as a journalist, it was Dayan who drew the line.
The margins of each map are printed with the note: "Photo-offset reproduction at the same scale by the United Nations from an officially signed map in full colors" (in five languages).
Booklet: 10 pages. Approx. 31.5 cm / Jerusalem Map: approx. 106.5X111.5 cm / Map of Israel (two sheets): approx. 64.5X102 cm; approx. 64X86.5 cm. Booklet in good condition, with light stains, creases, and minor tears to wrapper edges and map sleeve. Upper edge of booklet unevenly trimmed. Maps in good condition with folds and creases. Both maps folded and housed in paper pocket affixed to inside cover.
See: "The Creator of the Hebrew Atlas Reveals the Story Behind the Map", by Maya Pollak, Makor Rishon, November 3, 2017 (Hebrew).
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $1,250
Including buyer's premium
Ben Sina, dramatische Gedicht in fünf Aufzügen, by Aziz Domet. Vienna: Samuel Insel, 1924. German.
The drama Ben Sina by Palestinian author Aziz Domet, nominee for the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature, a supporter of the Zionist movement and the return of the Jewish people to Eretz Israel.
At the beginning of the volume is a portrait of Domet by Hermann Struck (signed and dated in the plate), executed in Haifa in 1924, presumably made for this publication of the play. On the title page appears an autograph inscription:
"To my dear friend, Mr. Hermann Struck, with love and friendship, dedicated by the author, Aziz Domet, Berlin, 4 August" (German; signature in Arabic).
"To my dear friend, Mr. Hermann Struck, with love and friendship, dedicated by the author, Aziz Domet, Berlin, 4 August" (German; signature in Arabic).
Aziz Domet (1890-1943) was a Palestinian author writing in German – a unique voice among Arab writers of the 20th century – who, in his early works, embraced the Zionist ideal. In 1922, he published "Joseph Trumpeldor", a three-act drama about the Battle of Tel Hai, described by Avigdor Hameiri as "the first Eretz Israel drama" and regarded by some as the first work of its kind to place the theme of Jewish nationalism at its center.
During the 1920s, his works achieved success in Europe and in Palestine. At this time, he was in contact with many leaders and thinkers of the Zionist movement, despite sharp criticism from the Arab press. Dividing his life between Europe and Palestine, he gave public readings of his plays, visited Jewish moshavot, and was invited as an honoured guest to the reception for Chaim Weizmann’s arrival in the country in 1923 – an encounter which left a deep impression on Weizmann, who in turn introduced him to Albert Einstein.
Domet's vision of Jewish-Arab partnership began to waver after the 1929 riots, and throughout the 1930s his views shifted until he became an ardent opponent of Zionism. On the eve of World War II, he emigrated to Germany, where he was employed as an Arabic-language propaganda broadcaster for Radio Berlin. Presumably because of his earlier pro-Jewish writings, he was arrested at the start of the war and sent to Dachau concentration camp, where he perished in 1943. His literary output, life story, and unique voice remained largely forgotten until recent years, when it emerged that he had been among the nominees for the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature.
78, [1] pages. 12 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes. Margins of inscription trimmed, with minor loss to text. Ink stamp to margin of title page. Old binding, worn and damaged.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $15,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Unsold
Barkai HaShlishi, or The Blood Avenger, including poems on Israel and its hope, composed by the poet renowned throughout the world, Naftali Herz Imber, author of the poems "HaTikvah" and "Mishmar HaYarden". New York: A.H. Rosenberg, 1904.
Naftali Herz Imber’s (1856-1909) final poetry collection, inscribed and signed on the portrait leaf:
"To my dear protector and benefactor, Hon. Judge Majer Sulzberger – in eternal memory of hidden love – Naftali Herz Imber" (the inscription begins in English, the remainder is in Hebrew).
"To my dear protector and benefactor, Hon. Judge Majer Sulzberger – in eternal memory of hidden love – Naftali Herz Imber" (the inscription begins in English, the remainder is in Hebrew).
Barkai HaShlishi was printed during the final years of Imber’s life, when he was leading a wandering and impoverished existence in the United States, subsisting through the support of Judge Mayer Sulzberger (1843-1923), the recipient of the present copy. In his efforts to assist the poet – by then renowned as the author of the Zionist anthem – Sulzberger granted Imber a monthly stipend, covered his medical expenses, and even personally financed the printing of the present book. When asked why he assisted the troubled poet, Sulzberger remarked that Imber possessed a rare and sensitive soul – yearning, restless, yet shattered and broken – utterly ruined by alcohol; he lamented that there was no longer any hope for the author of HaTikvah.
As a gesture of gratitude, Imber asked Sulzberger for biographical details for a printed dedication; when Sulzberger declined, Imber presented him instead with this inscribed copy.
The present book includes a revised version of HaTikvah, originally published under the title Tikvateinu in Imber’s first book. By this time, the poem had gained widespread recognition as the anthem of the Zionist movement; it was sung at the close of every Zionist Congress, translated into English, and had achieved unprecedented prominence in the circles of modern Hebrew poetry.
This edition – the last of Imber’s three principal publications – presents the poem as the national anthem, now under the name HaTikvah, alongside an English translation. This printed version is notably close to the modern Israeli national anthem, beginning with the two stanzas later adopted (with only three lines differing from the current text).
For references, see Hebrew description.
[80] pages + [1] plate (portrait, signed). 21.5 cm. Good condition. Trimmed margins (first line of inscription partly missing). Minor stains and blemishes. Tear to one leaf margin. New endpapers and binding, retaining the original wrappers. Several library markings (bookplate, stickers, stamps, etc.), including stamps and pencil inscriptions.
The Composition of HaTikvah – Israel’s National Anthem
According to his own account, Imber composed the first version of Tikvateinu in 1877/1878 while in Iași, Romania. Another version, cited in the Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel (p. 1586; Hebrew), claims he wrote it in 1886, after drinking heavily at a Purim celebration in Gadera, whereupon he rose from his stupor and declared, "I have just now composed the first two verses to our national song, which shall give expression to our
During his travels in the early Zionist colonies in Palestine, Imber revised and expanded the poem, ultimately publishing it in its final form in Barkai. About a year later, it was set to music by Shmuel Cohen (1870-1940), an early settler of Rishon LeZion. Cohen’s melody was based on a Romanian wagoners’ song of Slavic origin (similar to the tune used by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana in his symphonic poem "Vltava", also known as "The Moldau").
The song was quickly adopted by the early settlers and spread to Europe, where it became the unofficial anthem of Zionism, sung at every Zionist congress. Over the years, some changes to wording were made, including the renaming of the poem to HaTikvah ("the Hope"). Without any formal declaration, the first two stanzas of the song became the de facto anthem of the Jewish people. In 1933 it was officially recognized as the Zionist movement’s anthem, and following the establishment of the State of Israel, it served unofficially as the national anthem until 2004, when it was formally legislated as such (see: Eliyahu HaCohen, "Od Lo Avda Tikvateinu", in Ariel, no. 186, January 2009, pp. 101-104 [Hebrew]).
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $3,750
Including buyer's premium
Exceptionally rare copy of the score for the oratorio Haggadah, by composer Paul Dessau, writer Max Brod, and Mordechai Langer – Franz Kafka’s Hebrew teacher – with a collection of letters and ephemera documenting the process of their collaboration, from the inception of the idea in Europe in the 1930s to the work’s premiere in Jerusalem in 1962.
"Haggada", one of the most significant works of Jewish music to be published in Germany on the eve of the Holocaust, was composed on the initiative of Paul Dessau and offered a modern musical setting of the Passover narrative and the Exodus from Egypt. The German text was written by Max Brod and translated into Hebrew by Mordechai Langer, Franz Kafka’s Hebrew teacher.
The work was completed in 1936 and printed by the Jewish-German music publisher "Jibneh" in Berlin. Although concerts were planned in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, the work was not performed at the time, and the scheduled events were cancelled one after another.
In an attempt to preserve copies of the score, composer Joachim Stutschewsky tried to sell the rights to the Vienna publisher Universal Edition, but following the Anschluss in 1938 the plan was abandoned, and the publisher’s stock was packed in crates and stored in a cellar.
This unique collection records the work’s complex history:
• "Haggada – Oratorio", printed score of the original work, published in Germany under the Nazi regime. [Jibneh, Berlin, 1936].
5-228 pages (without title page; publisher’s name and date printed at foot of first music page). 27 cm. Good-fair condition. Later binding. Leaves partially detached from binding and from each other. Several handwritten annotations.
• Nine letters by Max Brod:
- Five early letters (1937-1938), from his period at the Prager Tagblatt, documenting efforts to stage the oratorio in Europe (German): "…Permit me to draw your attention to a truly splendid and representative work… I am convinced that a performance of Dessau’s Haggada will be a historic event in the annals of Jewish music" (to the director of a Jewish music festival, November 1937); "Jewish music is one of the dearest missions of my life… I will gladly write to you about Dessau’s Haggada…"; "I set aside all other work today in order to write to you about the Haggada. Enclosed you will find the article…"; "I agree with the changes. I am now writing to Dessau…" (to journalist and music critic Gershon Hermann Sweet, January-February 1938).
- Four later letters (1962), from Brod's Tel Aviv years, concerning his relationship with Dessau and the behind-the-scenes aspects of the Jerusalem premiere, held on April 22, 1962 at Binyanei HaUma, conducted by Chemjo (Nehemiah) Vinaver [Winawer], with the Israel Symphony Orchestra and the Kol Israel Choir (translation from German): "…Since I have not been involved in preparations for the performance until now, you will surely understand that I cannot at the last moment give my voice – neither for nor against, neither positively nor negatively…"; "On the night of the 25th I listened to the radio broadcast of the Haggada and I liked it very much – both the work and the performance. There are some details I would like to discuss in person…" (April 1962).
One letter is enclosed with a copy of a telegram from Paul Dessau imploring Brod to prevent the radio broadcast: "Please help to ensure that the Haggada is in no way broadcast on the radio…". In other letters, Brod complains of the lack of communication with Dessau, comments on press reviews, and discusses copyright issues.
•
Three letters by composer Sigmund (Shabtai) Petrushka, Head of the Music Department at Kol Israel, who participated in the premiere, to Dr. Fritz Hennenberg of Leipzig, a friend of Dessau and expert on his work.
Three letters by composer Sigmund (Shabtai) Petrushka, Head of the Music Department at Kol Israel, who participated in the premiere, to Dr. Fritz Hennenberg of Leipzig, a friend of Dessau and expert on his work.
The letters include retrospective details about the Israeli production, locations of archival material, his connections with Dessau, and further biographical information. Petrushka quotes Dessau on the genesis of the oratorio, the collaborative writing and composition process in Prague, the debate over using traditional melodies versus original compositions, and more.
He also describes an attempt to premiere the work in Nazi Berlin in 1937 – a project cancelled due to persecution: "It should be mentioned that as early as 1937 Vinaver intended to bring the work to performance; he was then in Berlin, with a large choir, the Kulturbund orchestra, and (among others) the soloists Wilhelm Guttmann and Paula Lindberg at his disposal. At that time, when the Jewish public was being pushed out of German musical life, there was considerable interest in high-quality Jewish works of artistic ambition such as Dessau’s. But conditions in Nazi Germany suddenly worsened, and Vinaver’s hands were full with arranging the 'Exodus' of himself and his family".
• Additional ephemera: photocopies of letters, press clippings, articles, and other related material.
Size and condition vary. Overall good-fair condition.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $500
Estimate: $1,000 - $3,000
Sold for: $2,000
Including buyer's premium
Autograph letter signed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Jerusalem, 3 July 1928. German.
Letter written on official stationery, addressed to Dr. Max Kiwe – a leader of the Austrian Revisionist Zionists:
"Dear Mr. Kiwe, Many thanks for your efforts, and for your [hand-drawn swastika
] order. I am confident that everything will proceed properly […] Our newspaper is doing well, and 'Köstler' is one of the most valuable workers […]". Signed: "Yours faithfully, V. Jabotinsky".
] order. I am confident that everything will proceed properly […] Our newspaper is doing well, and 'Köstler' is one of the most valuable workers […]". Signed: "Yours faithfully, V. Jabotinsky".
Apparently, Jabotinsky is thanking Dr. Kiwe for the exemplary discipline (a "Nazi-style" orderliness) with which he ran his organization. A letter penned by a Zionist leader bearing a swastika drawn in his own hand is an exceedingly rare and unusual item.
Ze’ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky (1880-1940), founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and a seminal figure in Zionist history, was frequently accused of promoting Fascist ideas and symbols (particularly within the Betar movement, known for its parades, military-style decorum, and brown uniforms reminiscent of the SA). On the eve of the Nazi rise to power, the Revisionist newspaper "Hazit HaAm" published various statements sympathetic to Fascist movements, and occasionally even to Nazism and Hitler himself – though never by Jabotinsky personally (for references, see Hebrew description). After the Nazis rose to power, the movement's leaders fully disavowed any association with the party or its ideology.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the only known letter by Jabotinsky bearing a swastika in his handwriting, and the only one that seemingly expresses a positive sentiment towards certain aspects of Nazism.
[1] leaf. Approx. 28 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Fold lines and creases. Minor marginal tears. Pinholes at fold intersections. Two pieces of acid-free tape on verso.
For reference, see Hebrew description.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $3,750
Including buyer's premium
A lengthy autograph essay by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, devoted to William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. [Jerusalem, 1961].
Written at the request of Haaretz newspaper, on the occasion of the publication of the Hebrew translation of the book, the essay was printed alongside contributions by seven other writers (including historian Jacob Talmon, prosecutor Gideon Hausner, poet Haim Gouri, Menachem Begin, and others). Each contributor was asked to provide a brief review and respond to four key questions concerning Nazism.
The present text is Agnon's response. It opens with a short review of the book, which Agnon describes as
"a portrait of the world from which Divine Providence had, as it were, withdrawn". The essay then segues into a personal recollection of Agnon, describing his acquaintance with one of Hitler’s associates in Germany:
"a portrait of the world from which Divine Providence had, as it were, withdrawn". The essay then segues into a personal recollection of Agnon, describing his acquaintance with one of Hitler’s associates in Germany:
"In Hitler’s early days in Munich, I had a friend… whose brother was one of Hitler’s close associates. One day, she said to me in her brother’s presence, ‘Explain to this fool that there’s nothing to learn from that hollow man’ (i.e., Hitler). Her brother had been a naval officer during the First World War, and he used to visit me often. After the Beer Hall Putsch… I had to travel to Berlin, and there was no porter or transportation to be found. He carried my heavy suitcase on his shoulders to the train and sat there for two hours to save me a window seat". The final version of the essay, which slightly differs from the present draft, was published in Haaretz on November 24, 1961.
Written on seventeen halved envelopes (inner sides), sent to Agnon by various acquaintances, institutions, and correspondents – likely due to a paper shortage at the time. The reverse of each leaf bears Agnon’s address in Talpiot (Jerusalem), printed or handwritten, with colored Hebrew postage stamps and cancellation marks.
17 leaves. Approx. 15.5 cm (slight variations in size). Good condition. Minor blemishes.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Sold for: $2,125
Including buyer's premium
"Het Achterhuis, Dagboekbrieven van 12 Juni 1942 – 1 Augustus 1944" ["The Annex: Diary Notes from 12 June 1942 – 1 August 1944"], by Anne Frank. Amsterdam: Contact, 1947. Dutch. First edition, first printing.
Copy of the first edition of "The Diary of Anne Frank", the first printing to be published, June 1947. The earliest editing of Anne Frank’s diary was done by her father, Otto Frank, who, following the war, brought the manuscript of his daughter’s diary, which she had left behind the day she was deported to the death camps along with her family members.
This edition includes a photographic portrait of Anne Frank, a floor plan of the house where the family hid, a picture of the house's interiors, and photocopies of some of the handwritten pages of Anne’s diary. The edition begins with an introduction by the Dutch historian Annie Romein-Verschoor (1885-1975), who assisted in bringing the book to publication.
IX, 253, [1] pages + [3] plates (two of which are printed on both sides) with pictures. Approx. 18.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor blemishes and creases. Inscription to front endpaper. Stains and minor blemishes to binding.
Publication of "The Diary of a Young Girl"
Anne Frank's diary is considered to be the most famous personal account of an individual’s experiences at the time of the Holocaust. Anne began writing her diary on her 13th birthday, in an initially blank diary she received as a birthday gift – an autograph book with a checkered red-and-white binding with a small lock. By the time Anne’s entries had reached the end of the autograph book, the family had gone into hiding, and the remainder of the diary was recorded in two regular school notebooks. The original autograph book and the two additional notebooks – sometimes referred to as "A-version" – contain diary notes from the years 1942-1944, but not 1943; apparently, a piece of the original text was lost when the family was arrested by the Germans.
In 1944, Anne started to write a second version – essentially a novel based on the diary already written – which she intended to publish under the title "The ‘Secret Annex"; this version is often termed "B-version". Anne was apparently inspired to write this novel after she had heard a speech on the radio given by the Dutch minister of education, Gerrit Bolkestein (a member of the Dutch government-in-exile at the time in London), in which he announced his intention, once the war was over, to collect manuscripts, diaries, and letters written during the war, to enable the story of the suffering of citizens under Nazi occupation to be told to the world, for the benefit of future generations. This second version, "B-version", contains the chapter covering the period missing from the first version, "A-version".
Following the arrest of the Frank family, Anne’s handwritten notes were discovered by Miep Gies, one of the women who had assisted the family during their time in hiding, recognized by the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center as a "Righteous Among the Nations". Gies had kept the notes hidden in her house until the end of the war. When Anne’s death at the hands of the Nazis was confirmed beyond doubt, Gies handed the diaries to Anne’s father Otto. The latter decided – after struggling with the issue and after considerable hesitation – that Anne herself would have wished to see the diaries published. He then edited and compiled Anne’s writings to produce a third version which combines "A-version" and "B-version", and this was the version of the diary submitted for publication.
"The Diary of Anne Frank" was published in June 1947 by Contact Publishing, in a very small-scale edition numbering only some 3,000 copies. This edition was completely sold out within a few months, and a second printing was already issued that same year. Over the years, the book quickly became the most famous personal account of anyone’s experiences from the days of the Holocaust, as well as the Number One bestselling personal diary of all times, not to mention one of the most widely read books anywhere in the world. In 2009, the original notebooks of the diary – kept in the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam – were submitted by the Netherlands to be included in the Memory of the World Register of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $1,250
Including buyer's premium
The Diary of Ann Fink. Arlington, Virginia: Hoax-Busters Press, [1963]. English.
An antisemitic propaganda pamphlet, designed as a parody of the American humor magazine Mad, distributed among students and young readers by the American Nazi Party.
The front cover features a caricature of Anne Frank in the guise of "Alfred E. Neuman" – the fictitious mascot of Mad – with the booklet’s title printed in a childish blue font. Inside are black-and-white photographs from Nazi concentration and extermination camps, accompanied by caustic, mock-"humorous" captions ridiculing the victims. On the back cover, alongside the (fictitious) publisher’s name, appears the address: 928 Randolph Street, Arlington, Virginia – the headquarters of the American Nazi Party in its early years.
The booklet was produced by the party’s founder, George Lincoln Rockwell (1918-1967), and is regarded as one of its most blatant and repugnant publications. It was apparently offered for sale only for a short period in 1963, after which the party decided to withdraw it. In the party’s official magazine, The Stormtrooper Magazine, the booklet was advertised for sale in only four issues – all from 1963.
The introductory page contains a brief text regarded as one of the earliest instances of Holocaust denial in the United States – a "dedication" to the Jews who
"created for the world the colossal myth of the six million gassed Jews... to each rubber body, stage prop, plastic tooth… Jewish costume designer, director, writer and actor...".
"created for the world the colossal myth of the six million gassed Jews... to each rubber body, stage prop, plastic tooth… Jewish costume designer, director, writer and actor...".
Exceptionally rare. Not recorded in OCLC, and to the best of our research, has never appeared at public auction. Only a handful of copies are known to have survived.
[8] leaves (including wrappers). 14 cm. Good condition. Minor marginal wear and light staining to back wrapper. Stapled.
See: George Kellman, "Anti-Jewish Agitation", in: The American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 65, pp. 73-74.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $3,750
Including buyer's premium
Von den Jüden und jren Lügen, by Martin Luther. Wittenberg: Hans Lufft ("Gedrückt zu Wittemberg, Durch Hans Lufft"), 1543. German.
First edition of Martin Luther’s infamous antisemitic tract On the Jews and Their Lies.
Title page with ornamental woodcut border (possibly by Lucas Cranach); two decorated woodcut initials.
One of the last works published during Luther’s lifetime, Von den Jüden und jren Lügen is considered one of the most virulent texts in the history of Christian antisemitism, and is often seen as a precursor to modern racial antisemitism.
In this treatise, Luther accuses the Jews of deliberately falsifying biblical interpretation to deceive Christians, claiming they had made a pact with the Devil and must therefore be fought to the bitter end. He denounces any further hope of their conversion to Christianity, views them as a threat to Christian society, and calls for harsh punitive measures: the burning of synagogues and homes, destruction of Jewish books, prohibition of rabbinic preaching, a ban on Jewish trade and moneylending, and their expulsion from Christian lands.
Nearly 400 years after its publication, the book was reprinted in Nazi Germany, featured in public displays during the Nuremberg rallies, and even staged theatrically. A copy of the present edition was gifted to Julius Streicher, editor of the Nazi publication Der Stürmer, who stated during his postwar trial: "A book I had, written by Dr. Martin Luther… Dr. Martin Luther would very probably sit in my place in the defendants' dock today, if this book had been taken into consideration by the Prosecution".
This edition does not appear in the NLI catalogue.
[143] leaves. 17 cm. Good condition. Tears to edges of title page, professionally restored with acid-free paper (with minor damage to text on verso). Restored tears to several leaves. Contemporary handwritten inscriptions on one leaf. Handsome half parchment binding, lightly worn. Bookplate of collector Isaac Meulman.
See: Nuremberg Trial Proceedings, Vol. 12, p. 317 (available online via the Avalon Project).
Provenance: Mozes Heiman Gans collection.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Sold for: $23,750
Including buyer's premium
Three theological treatises in one volume, by Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). [Basel: Martin Flach, ca. 1472-1474]. Latin.
Volume comprising three works:
1. De articulis fidei et ecclesie sacramentis – a summary of the principal articles of the Christian faith and the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (ends mid-leaf 12).
2. Tractatus de periculis contingentibus circa sacramentum eucharistiae – a theological and practical discussion on the dangers attendant upon receiving the Holy Eucharist (ends mid-leaf 15). Formerly attributed to Aquinas, but attributed by modern scholarship to Bernardus de Parentinis (cf. CIBN, ISTC).
3. De regimine Judaeorum – "On the Government of Jews" – Theological-legal epistle composed by Thomas Aquinas at the request of the Duchess of Brabant (Ducissam Brabantiae), addressing the status of Jews in Christian Europe. The work discusses various economic and administrative matters, including taxation, prohibition of usury, and restrictions on dress, residence, and occupations. While Aquinas advises against excessive oppression, he stresses the need to maintain separation from Jews to prevent religious influence.
This treatise became one of the most influential sources shaping Church policy towards Jews throughout the Middle Ages.
Fine copy, with wide margins. Opening initial ornamented in gold and red; spaces left blank for later initials throughout (left blank in the present copy).
Enclosed: three 19th-century manuscript leaves, excerpt from Summa Theologiae, Part II-II, Question 12 (De jactantia – On Boasting).
[18] leaves (35 pages). 28.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases, and minor wear. Marginal annotations, signatures, and ownership inscriptions of the English historian C. W. de Poer Kennedy on the endpapers, title page margin, and other leaves. Bookplate of German physician and bibliophile Georg Kloß (1787-1854). Half-leather cardboard binding; red leather label (with incorrect imprint details). Wear and defects to binding.
Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.
Rare. Not in the catalogue of the National Library of Israel.
See: ISTC it00283000; GW M46403; Goff T-283; Hain 1430; BMC III 741; CIBN T-120; IGI 9527; Hillard 1942; Sack (Freiburg) 3389; BSB-Ink T-214.
Category
Eretz Israel – Autographs, Manuscripts, Antisemitism and Early Printed Books
Catalogue Value
