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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Bne-Zion: ein religiös-moralisches Lehrbuch für die Jugend israelitischer Nation [Bne-Zion: a Religious-Moral Primer for the Youth of the Israelite Nation], [by Naphtali Herz Homberg.] Vienna: Verlagsgewölbe des k. k. Schulbücher-Verschleisses [official publisher of school books in Austria, ] 1812. German.
A textbook for Jewish youth, by the maskil Naphtali Herz Homberg (1749-1841.) Modelled on Austrian catechisms, it aimed to guide the youth in the Jewish faith, and teach them loyalty to the Austrian authorities.
The book includes chapters on the nature of man, the Ten Commandments, God, the duties of man to himself and to his fellow man, and his civil duties. It was written in early 19th century and received an approbation from Rabbi Mordechai Banet. In 1810, an imperial decree dictated that the book be used as a required textbook in Jewish schools throughout the Austrian Empire, and that Jewish couples be examined on its contents before receiving permission to marry.
Bene-Zion was printed twice in 1812: once in Vienna, without indication of the author's name, and once in Augsburg, with the name of the author appearing on the title page.
Homberg, a student of Moses Mendelssohn, was a loyal adherent of the Austrian regime. He worked as a teacher and a censor, and was the superintendent of the Jewish-German schools in Galicia. Notorious for his relentless efforts to modernize Jewish education traditions, Homberg was a thoroughly despised figure in the traditional Jewish world.
For further reading, see: Rachel Manekin, "Herz Homberg, the Individual and the Image." Zion, Vol. 71, No. 2, 2006. pp. 153-202 (Hebrew.)
[4] ff., 182 pp., 17.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Worming, with minor damage to text. Minor open tears to upper corners of some leaves. Open tear to title page. Repaired worming to title page (minor damage to text). Slits in two leaves (pp. 69-72), with minor damage to text, restored in part with paper. Scribbles and ink stains to several leaves. New binding.
29 photographs from the estate of Gerson Margolies, cantor of the Tempelgasse Synagogue in Vienna. Most photographs are printed on postcards. Vienna, London, Manchester, Leeds, Budapest, and other places. Ca. first half of the 20th century.
The collection is comprised of various portrait and group photographs (most of them printed on postcards), given to the cantor Gerson Margolies by his colleagues – cantors from Austria, England, Hungary, and elsewhere; among them are Don Fuchs (Vienna), Israel Tkatch (Budapest), Harris Newmann (Manchester), and others. Some bear autograph dedications by the cantors photographed. Pen inscriptions on most photographs.
Some photographs were taken at the funeral of rabbi Zwi Perez Chajes (1876-1927.)
Enclosed: printed greeting card, with portrait of cantor Yitzhak Zvi Hirsch Heilpern (autogrp dedication in Heilpern's hand on verso;) paper card with a portrait of Gerson Margolies.
Gerson Herz Margolies was born ca. 1885 in Kalvarija, Lithuania. Served as chief cantor in the liberal Tempelgasse Synagogue (Leopoldstädter Tempel), in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna. Margolies was a well-known cantor in his day – a tenor who toured extensively, and performed for Jewish communities around the world.
Margolies was a devoted Zionist activist. According to newspaper reports from the period, he immigrated to Palestine in 1935, but apparently did not settle there. Other sources, including an identification card, issued in his name by the Jewish community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien; see next lot), indicate that Margolies served as the Tempelgasse synagogue cantor at least until June 1938; the synagogue was burnt to the ground during the Kristallnacht pogrom, several months later. Margolies managed to escape to England, and from there he continued on to the USA; he died in New York in 1953, and, in accordance with his last will and testament, was buried in Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem. Recordings of his performances, which were never published, are found in the archives of " ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, " in Tel Aviv.
31 photographs. Size and condition vary. Good overall condition. Stains and minor blemishes.
A large and varied collection of approx. 140 paper items, belonging to the Viennese cantor Gerson Herz Margolies (d. 1953) – postcards, letters, certificates, concert programs and posters, and more. Vienna, USA, Palestine, and other places. Early 20th century to the 1950s. German, Yiddish, English, Hebrew, and other languages.
A large and varied collection of items documenting the life and work of Gerson Herz Margolies, cantor of the Tempelgasse synagogue in Vienna.
Included: dozens of postcards, including real-photo postcards, sent to Margolies and his family by friends and colleagues throughout the world; dozens of personal and professional letters, written in various languages (most are handwritten;) dozens of family photographs, and photographs of Margolies himself; a number of personal certificates belonging to Margolies, including an identification card, issued in his name by the Jewish community in Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien;) this card attests to the fact that Margolies served as chief cantor (Oberkantor) in the Grossen Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna at least until the end of June, 1938 (the synagogue was burnt to the ground during the Kristallnacht pogrom, November 10, 1938;) a eulogy written by Margolies in honor of his late friend, the cantor Don Fuchs (typewritten;) program of a concert with the participation of Margolies, held during the XII. Zionist Congress in Karlsbad; five posters (torn) advertising Margolies' concerts in Vienna, Tel Aviv and elsewhere; citation of honor bestowed on Margolies by the Zionist Organization of America; and more.
Gerson Herz Margolies was born ca. 1885 in Kalvarija, Lithuania. Served as chief cantor in the liberal Tempelgasse Synagogue (Leopoldstädter Tempel), in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna. Margolies was a well-known cantor in his day – a tenor who toured extensively, and performed for Jewish communities around the world.
Margolies was a devoted Zionist activist. According to newspaper reports from the period, he immigrated to Palestine in 1935, but apparently did not settle there. Other sources, including an identification card, issued in his name by the Jewish community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien; mentioned above), indicate that Margolies served as the Tempelgasse synagogue cantor at least until June 1938; the synagogue was burnt to the ground during the Kristallnacht pogrom, several months later. Margolies managed to escape to England, and from there he continued on to the USA; he died in New York in 1953, and, in accordance with his last will and testament, was buried in Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem. Recordings of his performances, which were never published, are found in the archives of " ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, " in Tel Aviv.
Approx. 140 paper items. Size and condition vary. Good overall condition (posters in fair-poor condition).
Six certificates of inscription in the "Silver Book" of the JNF in Austria. The registrant – cantor Gerson Herz Margolies. Vienna: 1932-1937. Hebrew and German.
Identical illustrated certificates, printed in blue and silver. The name of the new registrant, "Chief Cantor Gerson Margolies" is handwritten in the center of each certificate (in German and Hebrew), alongside the names of the various organizations, which donated the sum required to register one in the book.
The certificates are hand-signed by of Adolf Böhm – founder of the Zionist Federation in Austria, and Chaim Tartakower – head of the JNF office in Austria; hand-numbered, and signed in print "KL."
Gerson Herz Margolies was born ca. 1885 in Kalvarija, Lithuania. Served as chief cantor in the liberal Tempelgasse Synagogue (Leopoldstädter Tempel), in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna. Margolies was a well-known cantor in his day – a tenor who toured extensively, and performed for Jewish communities around the world.
Margolies was a devoted Zionist activist. According to newspaper reports from the period, he immigrated to Palestine in 1935, but apparently did not settle there. Other sources, including an identification card, issued in his name by the Jewish community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien; see previous lot), indicate that Margolies served as the Tempelgasse synagogue cantor at least until June 1938; the synagogue was burnt to the ground during the Kristallnacht pogrom, several months later. Margolies managed to escape to England, and from there he continued on to the USA; he died in New York in 1953, and, in accordance with his last will and testament, was buried in Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem. Recordings of his performances, which were never published, are found in the archives of " ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, " in Tel Aviv.
Certificates: approx. 23X32 cm; placed in three frames (two certificates per frame.) Frames: 34.5X47.5 cm. Condition varies. Stains. Blemishes. Minor tears to one certificate. Certificates unexamined outside of frames.
Large and impressive collection of approximately 300 items, related to the life and work of composer Arie "Ben Erez" Abrahamson (1904-1992): handwritten musical scores of original compositions, family photographs, documents, books and an embroidered kippah. Europe, USA and Israel. 1930s(?) to the 1980s. Hebrew, English, German and Yiddish.
The main body of the collection comprises original musical scores (over 200 leaves, most of them handwritten) of Abrahamson's compositions for liturgical texts, Hebrew and Yiddish poems, and children's songs. These are accompanied by several pages of information tables, listing Abrahamson's various compositions, gathered in an envelope addressed to musicologist Bathia Churgin (Hebrew, Yiddish, German and English; some of the tables were prepared for ACUM – association of Israeli composers, writers and music publishers.)
Additional items in the collection:
• Nine staff paper notebooks, containing handwritten scores and lyrics for dozens of liturgical texts and poems, including compositions by Abrahamson himself, or his contemporaries. • Approx. 60 photographs, mostly family photographs, depicting among others, Abrahamson himself, and his cousin, the prominent Viennese cantor, Gerson Margolies (see additional items from Margolies' estate in the present auction;) Some of the photographs are hand-captioned on verso; some bear dedications (several are dedicated to Gerson Margolies by family members.) Most photographs are uncaptioned and undated. • Three books of musical notes – Yiddish songbook and two Shabbat song books. • Three certificates of registration, issued to Abrahamson by the American Library of Congress for his compositions: "The Clouds", "Beawiw", and "Unter Die Grininke Baumelach" (1944). • Additional items.
Enclosed: an embroidered (cantor's?) kippah, in Central European style.
Arie "Ben Erez" Abrahamson, born in Topoľčany, in the Austro-Hungarian empire (today part of Slovakia), descended from a long line of cantors. He gained his musical education from his father, the cantor Aharon Ben Ze'ev Abrahamson. Composed music for many modern Hebrew and Yiddish poems by poets such as Bialik, Tchernichovsky, and Sutzkever, and many liturgical poems. His compositions were performed by well known cantors in Europe and the USA. Until the Second World War Abrahamson lived and worked in Bratislava, Paris and Antwerp. During the holocaust, he was deported to Saint Cyprien concentration camp, from where he managed to escape, and ca. 1944 arrived in the USA with his family. In 1973 he immigrated to Israel.
His cousin was the acclaimed cantor Gerson Herz Margolies.
Abrahamson's work generally remains undocumented, and most of it was never published.
For further reading, see: Hanna Abrahamson, "Yiddish and Hebrew Art Songs by Arie Ben Erez Abrahamson (1904-1992) — Music in the Shadow of the Shoah", in: Min-Ad: Israel Studies in Musicology Online, Vol. 13, 2015-16. Pp. 167-193.
Size and condition vary. Good overall condition.
Most photographs in the collection depict Rudolph Katz, the family patriarch, who had portrait photos of himself taken throughout his life: as a child in a tailored suit, as a child wearing a swimming club uniform, with fellow students of the Maria-Magdalenen-Gymnasium in Breslau, during a military drill in a recruit training base, riding a horse as a cavalryman, in front of a WWI military barrack, at a masquerade ball, etc. Also included are photos depicting Rudolph's wife Greta, his parents, his children and other family members (some in military uniforms).
Numerous mounted photographs, with mounts bearing photographers' stamps and logos. Some photogrsphs were taken by Royal photographers ("Hoffotografen", court photographers to the German royalty) such as Wilhelm Höffert, Julius Cornelius Schaarwächter, Hermann Noack and others. The collection also includes two photographs printed on small metal plaques, taken in the novel Bosco Automat in Hamburg.
Some 110 Photographs. Size and condition vary. Some photographs captioned (Hebrew and German, captions dating to different periods) on verso or margins.
Enclosed: printed booklet containing a poem in honor of Rudolph and Greta's marriage.
A printed circular, pleading the recipient thereof to join the "Israelitische Union." According to the text, as demands for aid among the Jewish population grow daily, the organization is forced, time and again, to turn to the wealthier members of the Jewish community and ask their assistance.
A list on bottom of the circular names several of the organization's respectable members, among them Albert Einstein and Heinrich Loewe.
The "Israelitische Union E.V." was established in 1913; it provided medical treatment, legal advice, loans, and financial aid to the poor and needy of the Jewish community in Germany.
Approx. 22.5X28.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. Stains. Minor tears to margins and fold lines.
![Jüdisches Jahrbuch für Gross-Berlin [Jewish Almanac of Greater Berlin], compiled by Jacob Jacobson (1888-1968). Ber](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale87/389.jpg "Almanac of the Greater Berlin Jewish Community – Berlin, 1928")
1928 almanac of the Greater Berlin Jewish community. The almanac contains a wealth of information about official and independent Jewish organizations and societies, educational institutions, culture and sports, youth movements, Jewish businesses and professionals, synagogues and rabbis, Jewish newspapers and periodicals, and more. Also included are articles relating to the cultural and communal life of Berlin Jewry, indexes, and numerous advertisements.
[4] ff., 320, LXXXIV pp. 22 cm. Good condition. Foxing. Minor marginal tears to several leaves. Inked stamps to several leaves. Inscription on title page. Minor blemishes and stains to binding.
1. Kinder-Kalender des Jüdischen Frauenbundes, für das Jahr 5695, 1934/35.
Illustrated children's calendar, containing woodcuts (most of them signed in print "ES.") Five of the illustrations were colored with color pencils.
[1] front wrapper + [14] ff., 20 cm. Good condition. Some stains. Minor blemishes, mostly to margins. Final page detached.
2. Das Jahr des Judischen Frauenbundes, 5699, 1938/39.
Jewish calendar. Fifty-one pages (a page for each week of the year) with portraits, quotes, and works by Jewish artists on verso. Title page printed on heavy paper with illustrations of the signs of the zodiac. Including an order form for the 1939/40 calendar (unpublished.)
51 ff., + [1] order form, approx. 17X13 cm. Good-fair condition. Pages bound with a string, threaded through filing holes. Closed tears and minor open tears to margins (mostly around the filing holes.) Minor blemishes to pages. Dedication on title page; hand-written inscriptions to several pages.
"Psst!" was a French weekly satirical magazine published at the time of the Dreyfus Affair to promote the anti-Dreyfus cause. The hundreds of vehement illustrations by Forain and Caran d'Ache are considered to be amongst the most extreme anti-Semitic publications related to the Dreyfus Affair.
85 issues. [4] pp per issue. 40 cm. Good-fair condition (several issues in fair condition). Stains. Creases, tears and open tears (some of them large). The issues are in a parchment binding, detached and damaged.
![Fahrplan zwischen Borkum und Jerusalem […] Retourkarten werden nicht ausgegeben ["Timetable between Borkum and Jerusalem](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale87/392.jpg "\"Borkum-Jerusalem Line Timetable\" – Rare Antisemitic Poster – The Isla")
An antisemitic poster displayed in hotels and bath-houses in the island of Borkum (Germany), referring to a fictitious rail line from the island to Jerusalem: "The Borkum-Jerusalem line timetable […] it is hereby announced to the venerable Christian public that Jewish passengers will be inspected at the border and that the Jews who evaporate to Jerusalem will be allowed to carry with them six marks only. Return tickets are not issued".
As early as the late 19th century, the island of Borkum in the North Sea gained a notorious reputation for its antisemitism. A travel guide from 1897 announced that the island is "free of Jews" (Judenrein) and a travel guide from 1910 warned Jews of "cruel harassments". Many hotels and public bath-houses in Burkum displayed signs reading "Jews and dogs may not enter" and the island's orchestra performed daily an antisemitic song titled "Borkum Song" (Borkum-Lied), with a finale calling the "flat-footed, with hooked nose and curly hair" to get out.
The text of this poster was published in issue no. 44 (ninth year) of the Association for Defense against Antisemitism (Mitteilungen aus dem Verein zur Abwehr des Antisemitismus) periodical (Berlin, November 1899).
63X47 cm. Thin paper. Good-fair condition. Fold lines and creases. Tears along fold lined and margins. Pinholes and minor open tears.
![Album der Beilis Prozess [Album of the Beilis Trial]. Lodz: М. Крышекъ, 1913. Yiddish and Russian.
Booklet documenting in p](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale87/393_1.jpg "\"Beilis Trial Album\" – Lodz, 1913")
![Album der Beilis Prozess [Album of the Beilis Trial]. Lodz: М. Крышекъ, 1913. Yiddish and Russian.
Booklet documenting in p](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale87/393_2.jpg "\"Beilis Trial Album\" – Lodz, 1913")
![Album der Beilis Prozess [Album of the Beilis Trial]. Lodz: М. Крышекъ, 1913. Yiddish and Russian.
Booklet documenting in p](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale87/393_3.jpg "\"Beilis Trial Album\" – Lodz, 1913")
Booklet documenting in pictures the trial held against Menahem Mendel Beilis, and various individuals related to the affair, including the murder victim, judges, witnesses, lawyers, and others. Each pictue is captioned in Yiddish and Russian.
Menahem Mendel Beilis was accused of the ritual murder of a Ukrainian Christian boy, Andrei Iushchinskii, in April, 1911. Beilis was arrested on the basis of a false testimony, and his trial commenced in September 1913. The purported murder and trial triggered an anti-Jewish campaign of incitement. Beilis was finally acquitted on November 10, 1913, following three years in detention. In the wake of the 1917 Revolution, a commission of inquiry into the affair was established. Its findings revealed that the authorities were fully aware of the true story; the trial was staged, and the motives behind it were purely anti-Semitic. This booklet was printed to mark the occasion of Beilis's acquittal. The final picture shows Beilis as a free man, after his release from prison.
[13] pp., 8X16 cm. Good condition. Stains. Marginal tear to title page. Gilt hardcover. Minor blemishes and abrasions to cover.