Guest book of the Societe Cooperative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves Richon Le Zion & Zikhron Ya'akov ("Cooperative Winegrowers Society of the Wineries of Rishon LeZion & Zikhron Ya'akov") , with hundreds of inscriptions and signatures. Ca. 1920s to 1980s. Hebrew, English, Arabic, French, German, Greek and other languages.
An impressive guest book, with leaves decorated with colorful Stars of David, which served the Societe Cooperative Vigneronne – the cooperative society of the wineries of Zichron Ya'akov and Rishon LeZion – for more than fifty years. The book contains hundreds of handwritten signatures and inscriptions, some humorous and rhymed, written by personalities who visited the wineries between ca. 1920s and 1980s – Zionist leaders, prime ministers, diplomats and ambassadors, writers and poets, comedians and theater actors, military officers, artists and rabbis – from Israel and from around the world.
Signatories include:
· Painters, writers, poets, comedians and theater actors, including: Marc Chagall who signed in Hebrew and French his and his wife's names: "Marc Chagall, Moshe Chagall, Bella Chagall" (1931); Uri Zvi Greenberg who signed "from Rishon LeZion to the border – Eretz Israel!"; Reuven Rubin; Hermann Struck (1930); Marcel Marceau, who added an illustration next to his signature; Chaim Chefer and Dan Ben-Amotz who visited the wineries together in August 1959 and added humorous verses to their signatures; Shaike Ophir and other members of the cultural milieu.
· Leaders, public figures and military men, including: the British High Commissioner Arthur Wauchope (1932); David Ben-Gurion, who signed "the 7th of Adar 5732 [1972], in memory of my work in the winery in 1907" (his biographer, Michael Bar Zohar, signed beneath); Moshe Dayan (1962); Levi Eshkol; David Elazar (Dado); Ariel Sharon; Rechavam Ze'evi, who signed "'When we die we will be buried in the wineries of Rishon LeZion!' … - Why do we not get the chance to do so while still alive?" (1972); foreign leaders, ambassadors and politicians who came to Israel from around the world (Burma, Japan, Germany, USA, Sweden and elsewhere).
· Rabbis of various Jewish communities around the world and Israeli rabbis who visited the wineries to inspect their kashrut, including: Chief Rabbi of Romania Moshe Rosen; Chief Rabbi of Britain Yisrael Brody; Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Britain Shlomo Gaon; Rabbi Issar Yehuda Unterman (who confirms "Bless God I visited the winery of Rishon LeZion and enjoyed seeing the good arrangements… however I was especially interested in the Kashrut of the wine and was very happy to see that its supervision was in reliable hands…"); Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (who wrote three long confirmations, with greetings to the members of the society. In one of the confirmations, he wrote "Wine makes glad the heart of man and makes glad God and men… may God bless your barns and whatever you do… may you get the chance to observe the mitzvot that apply to the land of Israel and settle our holy country happily and joyfully with blessing and success and all the best"); Mordechai Shalom Yosef Friedman, the Rebbe of Sadigura (who wrote "I am greatly satisfied with the glorious wineries of Rishon LeZion and all the arrangements and supervision… first of Zion they indeed are and may God help speedily – and He shall bring to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings"); and others.
· Hundreds of additional signatures, in various languages; some of them were not deciphered.
The earliest signatures in the book (from the 1920s) appear on simple lined paper (mounted on the leaves of the book) and they document visits of Jewish tourists from around the world – Poland, France, Latvia, Greece, India and elsewhere. In addition, three earlier handwritten notes were mounted in the book (late 19th century and early 20th century).
The book is bound in an elegant leather-covered binding, with gilt impressions – a Star of David and the inscription "Societe Cooperative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves Richon Le Zion & Zikhron Ya'akov" in French and Hebrew. The binding was made in the workshop of Elchanan Chefetz in Jerusalem.
[168] pp with signatures and inscriptions (on the leaves of the book or on mounted leaves), approx. 32.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes to some of the leaves. Small tears and creases to the mounted lined papers. Scuffs and minor blemishes to binding (mainly to margins).