Extensive and diverse collection of more than 1000 items (most of them are photographs) from the estate of Hanna Rovina (1888?-1980), Israeli theater actress who won the title of "First Lady of Hebrew Theater", winner of the Prize of Israel for Theater (1956). Rovina won great esteem and was an admired figure in Israel and worldwide; she devoted her life to theater and never left the stage almost until her last days.
Collection includes:
1. More than 900 photographs of Hanna Rovina, among them photographs of plays in which she acted (including photographs from the years prior to the immigration of "Habima" to Palestine and from the first years of "Habima" in the country); portrait photographs; group photographs with friends, "Habima" theater actors and actors from other theaters, politicians, artists and intellectuals; photographs of family members; press photographs; and more. [Israel, Europe and the USA, ca. 1925-1975]. Some of the photographs are titled and dated on the reverse. On some photographs appear handwritten dedications to Rovina.
Among the photographs: * Photographs portraying Rovina with Avraham Shapira, Reuven Rubin, Pinchas Litvinovsky, Golda Meir, David Ben-Gurion (enclosed is an additional photograph of Ben-Gurion sleeping in the field and surrounded by soldiers), Avraham Shlonsky and others. * Photographs from the film "The Deluge" with the participation of "Habima" actors, 1925 (after the play by "Habima" in the same year in Russia). * Photographs from the plays "Eternal Jew" and "Hadybbuk".
* Photograph from farewell party for Moshe Halevi (founder of HaOhel" theater), 1925. * Photographs from shooting the film "Sabra" (Israeli film from 1932 directed by Aleksander Ford, considered the first talking feature film in Palestine). * Photographs from the plays "Uriel D'Acorsta", "Hostages", "Mira'le Efrat", "Mother Courage", "Two Worlds", "Macbeth", "The Cherry Orchard", "Hagolem", and more. * Album with twenty two photographs from the play "Halehava HaKedosha" (ca. 1931). * Three portrait-photographs of Rovina by Alfred Bernheim (stamped with photographer's ink-stamp. Two are signed by hand). * Numerous photographs which Rovina received from friends, among them "Habima" actors, with dedications written by hand; and more.
2. Several letters to Hanna Rovina (in Hebrew, Russian, German and Yiddish), among them are letters from Kadya Molodovsky, Anda Pinkerfeld, S. Shalom, David Remez and others.
3. Several autograph letters or drafts of letters by Hanna Rovina, including a draft of a letter to Mordechai Ish-Shalom, Mayor of Jerusalem, letter to Simon (Shimon) Wiesenthal, and more.
4. Items related to an event held in 1958 on the tenth anniversary of the State of Israel in which Rovina read the "Declaration of Independence": photograph from the occasion; a letter to Hanna Rovina concerning this issue; text of the Declaration of Independence to which was added a handwritten letter to Rovina from the actor Aharon Meskin [who writes: "I believe that you are the person who should and must read the Declaration of Independence"].
5. Items related to the premiere of the symphony "Kadish" (symphony no. 3) by Leonard Bernstein, played by the Israeli philharmonic orchestra with the participation of Hanna Rovina (as narrator), 1963. Among the items: advertising posters for this performance; booklets and printed leaves with the narrator's text, with markings and comments written by hand by Rovina; newspaper clippings with articles about the event.
6. Letters and greeting cards given to Rovina after her participation in the play "Ha'em" (the mother), in 1964 and after being awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Tel-Aviv University in 1975.
Total of more than 1000 items. Size and condition vary. Some photographs appear in multiple copies.
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.