Collection of items from the archive of theater actress Hanna Rovina. 1930s to ca. 1975.
Hanna Rovina (1888?-1980), Israeli theater actress nicknamed the "First Lady of Hebrew Theater", recipient of the Israel Prize for her accomplishments in the theater (1956).
Rovina was born in the town of Byerazino (Minsk District of the Russian Empire, today in Belarus). From a young age she took an interest in theater and acting, but intended to become a kindergarten teacher and studied in a course for Hebrew-speaking kindergarten teachers directed by Yehiel Halperin in Warsaw. There, through Halperin, she met the theater director Nahum Tzemach and joined the "Hebrew Stage" troupe under his direction. The troupe's activities ceased and were renewed in 1917, when Tzemach founded, together with Rovina and Menachem Gnessin, the Habima Theater in Moscow. In 1928 Rovina immigrated to Palestine with the actors of the Habima theater, quickly becoming Habima's star and the symbol of Hebrew theater in general. Above all she was identified with the character of Leah'le in the play "The Dybbuk". Rovina gained renown and became an admired personality in Israel. She dedicated her life to the theater and appeared onstage almost until her dying day.
This collection includes personal documents belonging to Hanna Rovina and letters sent to her.
Letters sent to Hanna Rovina:
1. Three-page letter handwritten and signed by poet Else Lasker-Schüler. Jerusalem, November 1941. German. Written in pencil.
"Great and honored actress, I was surprised that you did not answer my letter yourself but rather incidentally; since I am familiar with Mrs. Brandstetter only superficially, and you said you would not come to the lecture. I assume there was some mistake, in light of the many invitations you sent me later… please, I don't wish to write more on these matters. I ask for peace of mind, in solitude at home, and therefore I remain alone… I was invited to the home of Professor Dov Lev Kastenberg, to deliver a lecture there in the beginning of December. I was delighted that you and Mr. Meskin and others attended. But I cannot understand the way in which Meskin, whom I respect greatly, and all the important artists, suddenly came to ignore me". The letter is signed: "Ihre Else Lasker-Schüler, schön Adonah" [yours Else Lasker-Schüler, beautiful Adonah (adonah meaning "her Sir." in Hebrew). On the first page Lasker-Schüler added a small drawing of flowers in purple pencil.
Enclosed is the original envelope in which the letter was posted, and a printed page with a Hebrew translation of the letter.
2. Letter from High Commissioner Arthur Wauchope, in which he expresses his condolences on the death of Habima actor Yaakov Avital. Printed on official stationery of the Government House and signed in Wauchope's hand. Jerusalem, June 1937.
Enclosed is the original envelope in which the letter was posted.
3. Handwritten letter by poet Alexander Penn, [1932?]. Russian.
Interesting 7-page letter in which Penn expresses harsh criticism of the play "The Treasure", then staged by "Habima", the "Friends of Habima" circle and its control of the theater, and of the Habima theater in general, which, seeking to please the "Friends" organization, produces plays of low artistic standards.
Alexander Penn (1906-1972) was the father of Rovina's daughter, singer Ilana Rovina.
Enclosed is the original envelope in which the letter was posted.
4. Typed letter by Yehiel Halperin, signed in his hand. Sent from the "Kindergarten Teachers' School" in Tel Aviv, September 1940. Hebrew.
In the letter Halperin asks Rovina to assist his son, Uriel (Yonatan Ratosh), and ensure that he is employed by the "Habima" theater as a translator. "If you haven't yet forgotten the period of your early youth, that period of 'before Adam', 'before Habima' and before Hanna Rovina the magnificent actress - you will certainly not have forgotten your old teacher, who has now grown completely old and his powers have weakened, and he is now what is called a 'weakly Jew'. And if you recall all these you will surely recall that I had a small boy name Uriri… and now this Uriri has grown and become 'Uriel', and he is now about thirty years old, and he is blessed by God with literary gifts that are undoubted, his opinions are strong, his ideas are like sharp arrows and his style - the improved style of a highly gifted writer, and his friends, those of the circle of young literary men, predict a glorious future for him… that's all fine… but there is one thing he lacks - a source of income for himself and his wife…"
Enclosed is the original envelope in which the letter was posted.
5. Handwritten letter by the painter Menachem Shemi (Schmidt). Written on aerogram. [Italy, 1944]. Signed: "Schmidt". Hebrew.
In this letter, sent while Shemi was in the British Army, he tells of his stay in Italy [his company, earlier active in Suez and Benghazi, was transferred to Italy in 1944] and of his longing to see Rovina: "We shall meet again and sit in 'Kassit' together… and perhaps I will yet work on a play with you. I'm sick of myself as a soldier. This is a paradox that has gone on for a bit too long. I just want to go home, I miss it like a child. Italy is beautiful. No wonder poems have been written about it. But now it is also sad and forlorn…"
6. Short letter handwritten and signed by Avraham Shlonsky - an invitation to dine at "Kassit".
Personal documents belonging to Hanna Rovina:
7. Identity Card (Government of Palestine), with a photograph of Rovina. Damaged.
8. Advertising leaf for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by "Habima" Theater at the Carltheater in Vienna. Vienna, 1926. German.
In this period the "Habima" actors performed throughout Europe. Two years later they immigrated to Palestine.
9. Photographed portrait of Chaim Weizmann, with a signed dedication in his handwriting to Hanna Rovina: "To Chana Rovina, affectionately Ch. Weizmann" (dedication slightly erased).
10. Photographed portrait of Hanna Rovina, signed in her hand in Hebrew and English.
11. Photograph of Hanna Rovina on the stage.
12. Short letter in the hand of Rovina to the mayor of Jerusalem, Mordechai Ish-Shalom, in which she regrets being unable to come to the cornerstone laying ceremony of the Jerusalem Theater [1964]. Hebrew. Unsigned.
13. "My Very Short Biography", two pages in Rovina's handwriting, in which she describes her life and professional achievements. February 1975. Hebrew.
· Enclosed: letter in English, signed: Elizabeth.
Total of 14 items. Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.

A handwritten letter by Mendele Mocher Sforim (Sholem Yankev Abramovich) and Mordechai Ben-Ami, written on a postcard with a photograph of the two. Addressed to Elhanan Leib Lewinsky (c/o J.A Gutmann in Jaffa). Geneva, 1907. Hebrew.
A postcard with a photograph of Mendele Mocher Sforim and Mordechai Ben-Ami in Odessa. On the reverse is a short letter written by the two to their friend, Elhanan Leib Lewinsky (signed by both):
"Lewinsky, our dear man! / Your wine, Carmel wine, we are, alas, missing this year! / But your friendship is better than wine / and in light of our love / please accept our portraits".
The postcard is signed with Mordechai Ben-Ami's stamp (with his address in Geneva).
Elhanan Leib Lewinsky (1858-1910) was a writer and publisher, one of the first members of "Hovevei Zion" in Russia, head of the "Carmel Palestine" branch in Odessa.
Approx. 9X14 cm. Fair condition. Stains and creases. Small tears. Peeling to paper, in some places with damage to text.
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.

1. Letter handwritten and signed by Shaul Tchernichovsky, discussing his poem "Amnon and Tamar" [Hebrew]. Heidelberg (Germany), [ca. 1899-1903]. Hebrew and some Russian.
The letter is addressed to "my dear Yosef" [apparently, the historian and literary scholar Joseph Klausner; editor of the newspaper "HaShiloach" in the years 1903-1927]. Tchernichovsky writes about his poem "Amnon and Tamar", particularly on the choice of the poem's title, and responds to comments he received regarding its contents.
"I would send you the poem again, but with a change of title, since I feel it is better suited to the spirit of our people. 'Amnon and Tamar' are our 'Romeo and Julia'… there is no name for the flower, a name common among the people… most Jews don't have any names for flowers, the Russians… call flowers by Russian names, and 'Amnon and Tamar' has a nice ring to it as a substitute for John and Mary or the well-known Ivan da Marya…"
Shaul Tchernichovsky (1875-1943) - physician, poet and translator; one of the greatest Hebrew poets. During the years 1899-1906 he studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg, completing his studies at Lausanne, Switzerland. Later he worked as a physician in the Ukraine. In 1910 he moved to St. Petersburg, where he opened a clinic, and in 1919 he moved to Odessa. In 1931 he immigrated to Palestine, where he settled permanently.
Tchernichovsky's poem "Amnon and Tamar", written during his stay at Heidelberg, is a translation of a Russian fable titled "Ivan and Maria". The fable tells of a brother and sister who had been separated at birth, and as adults fell in love and married, unaware that they were siblings. After realizing the truth, the two were saved from their misery by becoming one flower. Following the fable, the flower called Viola tricolor (pansy) was nicknamed in Russian "Ivan and Maria". In his translation, Tchernichovsky called the protagonists of the fable by the Hebrew names Amnon and Tamar, thereby also granting the flower its Hebrew name.
[1] leaf, written on both sides. 18 cm. Good condition. Horizontal fold line.
2. Postcard with a short letter handwritten and signed by Shaul Tchernichovsky, addressed to the writer and editor Aryeh Leib Semiatitsky at the "Omanut" publishing house in Tel Aviv. London, 1930.
9X14 cm. Good condition. Filing holes. Some stains and creases.
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.

S.Y. Agnon, handwritten letter, addressed to his brother-in-law Moshe Marx. Signed: S.Y. Czaczkes. [Ca. 1921]. Hebrew.
In the letter Agnon notifies his brother-in-law of the books he intends to send to him and of the books he intends to buy, and asks Marx to send him some of his books, kept by Marx, to his new apartment "in Homburg near Frankfurt" [Agnon had moved to Bad Homburg, Germany, in 1921, after the birth of his eldest daughter]. At the end of the letter Agnon sends greetings to two of his friends - Dr. Eliashberg [Aaron Eliashberg, head of the Yiddisher Verlag publishing house], and "the great scholar, handsome of visage, master of book men… His Honor, Rabbi Alexander" [apparently meaning the historian, bibliographer and librarian Alexander Marx, Moshe's brother].
At the end of the letter he asks "whether Mr. Gershom Scholem is in Berlin and if so, where".
Moshe Marx (1885-1973) was a bibliographer and Jewish librarian, one of the founders of the Soncino Gesellschaft association. His sister Esther was Agnon's wife.
[1] leaf, 21 cm. Good condition. Horizontal fold line and creases. Tears to margins of fold line and some additional small tears. Tear to top of letter (with damage to text). Stains.
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.

VeHaya HeAkov LeMishor [And the Crooked shall be Made Straight], by S.Y. Agnon, published by J.H. Brenner. A. Ittin printing press, Jaffa, 5672 [1912].
Agnon's first book, published in Palestine. The story was written in Neve Tzedek in late 1911 in the course of four days and first published, in installments, in the "HaPoel HaTza'ir" newspaper. In order to fund the book's printing, Brenner pawned his belt.
[2] leaves, 3-64, [1] pp, 17 cm. Missing wrappers. Good condition. Stains, mostly to first and last leaves (dark stains to title page). Tears to margins of some leaves. Adhesive tape to last leaf (blank). The title page is partly detached. Minor worming. New binding.
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.