Auction 87 - Jewish and Israeli Art, History and Culture
Including: sketches by Ze'ev Raban and Bezalel items, hildren's books, avant-garde books, rare ladino periodicals, and more
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Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), sketch for the Jerusalem Printing Works building, made for the publisher Shlomo Salzman. [Jerusalem, 1919].
Ink on paper. With the stamp of Raban's studio.
The sketch depicts a three-domed building, with many decorative elements and designs in Raban's typical style. The central dome is topped with a statue of a bearded man (distinctly reminiscent of Boris Schatz's Matityahu), holding up a scroll with the inscription "Am HaSefer" [People of the Book].
Shlomo Salzman, a prominent Hebrew publisher in Russia and Germany, was the owner of the Kadima publishing house in Odessa, the Salzman publishing house which relocated with him from St. Petersburg to Berlin, and the HaSefer publishing house in Berlin. After he left Russia in 1919 and before he settled in Berlin, he paid a visit to Jerusalem where he wished to establish a printing press and publishing house.
Dr. Gil Weissblei, in his book "The Revival of the Hebrew Book Art in Weimar Germany" (2019, pp. 87-99; Hebrew), writes about Salzman's efforts to establish a colossal publishing district named Kiryat Sefer in Jerusalem – "A special district […] on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which would comprise printing presses; workshops […] factories for printing blocks; bookbinderies; warehouses for paper, paint, and binding equipment; and more". Together with a few Zionist activists who shared his vision, he managed the "Am HaSefer" company, to raise the funds needed for establishing this publishing enterprise. Amongst its other activities, the company acquired Ze'ev Raban's "Song of Songs" and his illustrations to the book "Aleph Bet". Concurrently, the company commissioned Raban to design the proposed printing house: "A receipt for the sum of eight lirot to the artist Ze'ev Raban indicates that Salzman received from him, on September 1, 1919, a drawing of the proposed Jerusalem Printing Works building. Raban […] was a rising star in the field of Hebrew art in those days – though without formal architectural education […]. According to Weissblei, the architectural and engineering plans were prepared by the engineer Ben Zion Gini, based on Raban's proposal. Due to the 1920 Palestine riots, Salzman was compelled to abandon his dream, and he left Jerusalem for Berlin, where he established the HaSefer publishing house.
Weissblei notes that he did not see the plan itself, and that Raban's archive deposited in the Jerusalem municipality archive comprises items beginning from 1922. The present item is therefore the missing plan from Raban's estate which was passed on to his partner, Shlomo Kedmi.
Approx. 54X33 cm. Fair-good condition. Marginal closed and open tears. Stains. Fold lines. Tears to center of leaf, along vertical fold (repaired with tape on verso).
Literature: Gil Weissblei, "The Revival of the Hebrew Book Art in Weimar Germany". Jerusalem: Carmel, 2019.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Ink and pencil on paper.
• Ten different sketches – proposals for logos of the Hebrew University. Most bear the motto "Acquire truth". Some are marked Gal-Ed and some are signed with a drawing of a small fish. • Eleven sketches for pins (or perhaps also for a logo) of the Friends of the Hebrew University. • Sketch for a pin "For Devotion to Hadassah". The pin was produced by Bezalel and presented to Hadassa activists.
The present sketches are not signed. Other sketches by Raban for the Hebrew University logo, also bearing the words Gal-Ed or signed with a drawing of a fish, were stamped "Z. Raban, Industrial Art Studio (Formerly Gur-Aryeh & Raban)"; see Kedem auction 60, item 317. A pin similar (though not identical) to one of the sketches was produced by Shmuel Kretchmer for the Friends of the Hebrew University.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Ink on paper.
1. Sketch for a dedicatory plaque with a map of the Galilee: "Eretz Israel, Upper Galilee. Presented to the redeemer of the Hula Valley, Yehoshua Hankin, by his colleagues, on his 70th jubilee" (Hebrew). Signed in Hebrew: "Gur Arieh and Raban, Jerusalem". [1934].
44.5X21.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes. Fold lines.
2. Sketch of a map of the Galilee region, created for "HaYarden ltd."
11.5X7.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains to margins.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
The collection comprises sketches for a variety of works designed by Raban, ranging from book illustrations and ornaments, to various objects and commercial logos.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Some 250 photographs, mostly of finished works planned and designed by Raban. Including: • Reliefs and ornaments for the YMCA building. • Tomb of the Armenian Patriarch (designed and produced in conjunction with Meir Gur Aryeh). • Bookbindings, including the Book of Job in silver binding (see: Ze'ev Raban: a Hebrew Symbolist, p. 166), the Golden Book of the JNF, and books of the Bible. • Stained glass windows of Temple Emanuel in Beaumont, Texas, and of the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv. • Ceremonial objects for various purposes and communities. • Memorial plaques, including reliefs of Meir Dizengoff and Chaim Arlozorov. • Plaque in honor of Yehoshua Hankin, a memorial plaque for the YMCA building, and more. • Graphic works, including book illustrations, certificates of honor, an illustrated scroll of Ezra and Nehemiah gifted to Lord Balfour in honor of the establishment of the Hebrew University, and more.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Collection of visiting cards, stationery from various periods and other paper items from the Industrial Art Studio of Ze'ev Raban and Meir Gur Aryeh. [Jerusalem, ca. 1920s-1950s].
Included: • Approx. 50 blank stationery papers from various periods; some from the joint studio of Gur-Aryeh and Raban and some from the period when the studio was owned exclusively by Raban. Some bear a logo designed by Raban, in a style reminiscent of the old Bezalel; some are more recent, designed in a modernist style. • Trilingual advertisement for the Industrial Art Studio, listing the variety of services the studio is able to provide, in the fields of drawings, sculpture, graphic works, repoussé work, engraving and etching, and architecture. • Approx. 40 copies of Ze'ev Raban's visiting card. • Stationery papers for the personal use of Ze'ev Raban, with his name and address only.
Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: Advertisement for the exhibition: Raban Remembered, Jerusalem's Forgotten Master, held at the Yeshiva University Museum, 1982-1983.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Two autograph letters – correspondence between Jacob Eisenberg and founder of Bezalel, Boris Schatz: Eisenberg's letter of application to Bezalel and Schatz’s letter of acceptance. Pinsk and Jerusalem: 1913. Hebrew.
1. Application letter by Jacob Eisenberg, seeking admission to Bezalel. Signed and dated: Jacob Joshua Eisenberg, Pinsk, 27.4.1913.
[1] f., 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, creases and fold lines. Closed and open tears (mostly minor) to edges and along fold lines, with minor blemishes to text.
2. Official acceptance letter addressed to Eisenberg by Boris Schatz, written on Bezalel stationery. Signed and dated: Prof. Boris Schatz, Jerusalem, 16.5.1913.
[1] f., approx. 28 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, creases and fold lines. Marginal tears. Long tears along fold lines (separation) with minor damage to text (mainly to address.)
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
1. Letter dated June, 1916. Addressing his students, Schatz reassures them that all will be well, and insists that hope is not to be abandoned, since peace is near.
[1] f. (two written pages), 27 cm.
2. Letter dated June, 1916. Addressed by Schatz to his students in Beersheba, consoling them with a promise for work and better pay at the service of A. Finkelstein.
With a line added by Ze'ev Raban, alongside Schatz's signature: "warm greetings, Z. Raban."
[1] f. (one written page), 27 cm.
3. Letter dated August, 1916. Addressing his students in Beersheba, Schatz writes that the pencils, erasers, coal, and paper he sent, will allow them to draw again, thus strengthening them, and increasing their ability to endure all hardships, until peace comes.
[1] f. (two written pages), 27 cm.
4. Letter dated June, 1916, addressed to Eliezer Yellin (son of David Yellin), an engineer officer serving in the Ottoman army. Schatz petitions Yellin to reassign eight of his students (among whom are David Maaravi-Marovne and Jacob Eisenberg), to the position of drafters. He writes that since they recently arrived from Russia, the students find the scorching heat of Beersheba unbearable, and are in need of an easier task than the one with which they were assigned.
[1] f. (one written page), approx. 13X20 cm.
Three of the letters are written on official Bezalel stationery.
Condition varies.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
1. Letter, typewritten on official stationery of the Bezalel Arts and Crafts School, hand-signed by Boris Schatz: "According to the written permit of the Military Governor […] the pupil Barzilay [Jacob Eisenberg] is permitted to make sketching excursions in the city and the suburbs". 1918. English.
2. Autograph letter by journalist Yitzhak Brainin, addressed to Jacob Eisenberg; referring to the future of the art of ceramics in Palestine. Vienna: 5683 (1923.)
3. An autograph note by filmmaker Yerushalayim Segal. 1931.
4. Sketch for a sign or advertisement (ink and pencil on paper) – "Kav LeKav, a Company for Illustrated Films. Pann. Gur-Arie. Ben-Dov. Talpiot Jerusalem" (Hebrew.)
5-6. Two leaflets from an exhibition held on the occasion of Bezalel's 50th jubilee -Illustrations by Ze'ev Raban and drawings by Jacob Eisenberg (one for the Jerusalem exhibition, and the other for the Tel Aviv exhibition.) 1957. Hebrew and English.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Included:
• Eight drafts and copies of the association's document of regulations, in various stages of completion. One with a small drawing of a Jew blowing the Shofar.
• Twelve protocols of meetings, participated by artists Jakob Steinhardt, Anna Ticho, Ze'ev Raban, Meir Gur Aryeh, and others. Most protocols printed, some handwritten. Three protocols were handwritten by the association's secretary, Meir Gur Aryeh (a small drawing of a dancer and a snake appears in the margin of one of the protocols).
• Hand-signed letters by artists and critics: Mordechai Narkis, Chaim Gliksberg, Leo Fein, and others.
• Bilingual, handwritten draft (Hebrew and German) for an application form.
• Handwritten draft of an invitation for the association's Sukkot exhibition in Bezalel (a list of 33 Jerusalem artists on verso.)
• And more.
Some of the documents are hand-signed with Meir Gur Aryeh's initials; one document (handwritten protocol) hand-signed with Gur-Aryeh's full signature.
Approx. 40 items. Size and condition vary. Good-fair overall condition. Some half of the documents filed in a binder.
Provenance: the estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Jacob Eisenberg (1893-1966), collection of etchings and two drawings.
• 11 etchings: portrait of Boris Schatz, portraits of Yemenite and Sephardi Jews, and more. Five etchings are signed in the plate (in monogram). Two etching (portrait of Schatz and another etching) are signed in pencil.
Size varies. Overall good condition. Stains (mostly toedges) and minor creases.
• Two drawings, signed.
Approx. 25Z35 cm, 27X36 cm. Fair-good condition. Marginal tears. Minor blemishes.
Jacob Eisenberg (1893-1966), born in Pinsk, was a prominent student in the old Bezalel school. In 1919, he was sent by Boris Schatz to study ceramic art in the Vienna School for Arts and Crafts, a subject he later taught in the ceramic department he founded and headed in Bezalel. In this capacity, he created several famous ceramic works (such as "The Traveler's Prayer" and "The Wolf shall Lie Down with the Lamb"), street name signs for the new quarters of Jerusalem and a welcome sign for the Bezalel building. Between 1927-28 he also taught painting in Bezalel. Famous also for his stained glass works, prints and portraits; his work was exhibited in a number of shows, including solo exhibitions in Bezalel (1924) and in the Jerusalem Artists' House (1958 and 1961).
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.
Jacob Eisenberg (1893-1966), Old Man.
Oil on canvas. Signed.
48X37.5 cm. Unstreched. Considerable damage to paint. Fold lines.
Jacob Eisenberg (1893-1966), born in Pinsk, was a prominent student in the old Bezalel school. In 1919, he was sent by Boris Schatz to study ceramic art in the Vienna School for Arts and Crafts, a subject he later taught in the ceramic department he founded and headed in Bezalel. In this capacity, he created several famous ceramic works (such as "The Traveler's Prayer" and "The Wolf shall Lie Down with the Lamb"), street name signs for the new quarters of Jerusalem and a welcome sign for the Bezalel building. Between 1927-28 he also taught painting in Bezalel. Famous also for his stained glass works, prints and portraits; his work was exhibited in a number of shows, including solo exhibitions in Bezalel (1924) and in the Jerusalem Artists' House (1958 and 1961).
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.