An extensive and impressive collection of approx. 95 albums of pressed flowers. Various publishers, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Egypt, Jordan, London, Washington, New York, and elsewhere, late 19th century to mid-20th century (most albums are from the first two decades of the 20th century). Hebrew, French, English, German, Russian, Arabic, Greek and Polish.
Albums of pressed flowers appeared in Palestine in the second half of the 19th century and gained a rapid and outstanding success. Increase in tourism to the Near East led to a high demand for souvenirs and decorative objects, and until the beginning of the twentieth century the albums became popular items, and were considered prestigious and authentic. Most albums featured varied handcrafts and traditional Palestinian arts, including carving and wood marquetry, decorative arrangements of pressed flowers, and later on, various printing techniques. With the rise in demand for souvenirs during the first decades of the 20th century, the number of manufacturers of such albums multiplied, and the artistic quality of the flower arrangements gradually decreased. This collection is comprised of a varied and unique assortment of this long-forgotten craft.
Most of the albums in this collection are bound in carved and inlaid olive wood bindings; in many albums color postcards are incorporated, as well as lithographic prints and verses of poems in stylized script. Most of them use the flowers and plants as raw material only: the plants were pressed, cut, clipped and mounted in various decorative patterns, having nothing to do with their original form, and without any attention to their botanical and scientific characteristics; nevertheless, they were presented as if they were picked in various important sites. By contrast, few albums present the plants in their natural form alongside their scientific names, some even include a short botanical description. Some of the albums are Christian-oriented, presenting decorations inspired by the New Testament and some were printed by Jews, marketed to Jewish tourists and decorated accordingly.
Among the items:
• "Pirchei Eretz HaKedosha" [Flowers of the Holy Land], early album by scholar, geographer and explorer, Abraham Moses Luncz. • "Souvenir to Our Benefactors", souvenir album given to the Franciscan Commissariat of the Holy Land, published by "Mount St. Sepulchre" in Washington. • Albums with color lithographs printed by "Monsohn", Jerusalem. • Album of photographs and pressed flowers published by Yaakov Ben Dov, with photographs taken by him. • Three albums printed in Jerusalem under Jordanian rule, stamped H.K Jorden (Hashemite Kingdom, Jordan). • Three albums published by the American Colony in Jerusalem.
• Albums printed on the occasion of Allenby's arrival to Jerusalem, some of them titled "Remembrance of the British Army Conqueror of the Holy Land 9th December 1917", some accompanied by photographs of the day the British Army entered Jerusalem.
• Numerous albums published by different publishing houses: Leib Kahana; H. N. Shechter; Ferdinand Vester; Daud A. Hallac Bros.; Ephtimios frères; Gabriel et Abrahim Dabdoub; M. Weisman; The commercial Press; N. De Simini; F. F. Marroum; Ibrahim Atallah; Atallah Georges Frères.; and more.
Size and condition vary. Overall fair-good condition. Stains, creases and minor tears. In some of the albums, blemishes to flower arrangements. Some detached or partly detached bindings; some missing binding. Some missing tissue-guards.
Literature:
1. Eliyahu Hacohen: "Ahavat Pirchei HaAretz BaMe'a Sheavrah". Teva Va-Aretz, volume 20, issue 2, 1978.
2. Ami Zehavi, "HaOsher HaYechidi shel HaAretz HaKedosha HaAniya". Et-Mol, Issue 227, 2013.

Ten glass lantern slides of photographs related to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. [Ca. late 19th century or early 20th century].
• Five glass lantern slides of photographs of the Western Wall (two of them by photographers of the Bonfils family; signed in the plate). • Slide showing a photograph of the Dome of the Rock. • Three slides showing pictures of models of the Temple Mount – during Herod's period, the Crusade period, and during the late 19th century (two of them were made by the German missionary Conrad Schick, a member of the Palestine Exploration Fund). • Slide with a map of the Second Temple.
Nine black-and-white slides and one color. Most of them are captioned and numbered (on stickers and in the plate; English). Sticker of the Palestine Exploration Fund on margins of three of the slides.
Approx. 8X8 cm (one slide is larger: 10X8 cm.). Good condition. Minor blemishes. One slide with detached cover glass and another with blemishes to printing.

Two large photographs of the Rishon LeZion Winery, 1897.
Two photographs documenting the winery of the colony Rishon LeZion. Captioned in the plate in Hebrew and French.
1. "Transporting the grapes to the cellars of Rishon LeZion – the grape harvest of 1897".
2. "Receiving the grapes at the cellars of Rishon LeZion – the grape harvest of 1897".
In the book "Photographers of Palestine" (Hebrew), by Guy Raz, these photographs are attributed to Isaiah Raffalovich who, together with the photographer Eliyahu (Elijah) Meyers, produced the album " Views from Palestine and its Jewish Colonies" (see next item).
Photographs: approx. 17.5X23.5 cm. On 27X33 cm mounts. Photographs in good condition. Tears, stains and minor blemishes to mounts (two tears reinforced with tape). One mount missing two corners (cut).
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.

Five early photographs documenting the colonies (moshavot) Rosh Pinna and Zichron Ya'akov in their early days; possibly taken by Elie Scheid, Baron Rothschild's chief supervisor of colonies in Palestine. [Late 19th century].
1. The first houses of Rosh Pinna, photographed from a nearby hill. Seen in the photograph are the synagogue, the administration building and the houses of the settlers.
2. The main street of Zichron Ya'akov. The synagogue appears in the center. Standing on the balcony of the house on the right is Judah Leib Wormser, an official of Baron Rothschild in Zichron Ya'akov.
3. A group of people on the main street of Zichron Ya'akov. On the right: Judah Leib Wormser.
4. Houses in Zichron Ya'akov.
5. The interior of the Ohel Ya'akov synagogue in Zichron Ya'akov (built in 1886).
The photographs are mounted on card and are captioned by hand (in pen; in French) on the mounts. Pen marks on some of the photographs.
The First Aliyah colonies Rosh Pinna and Zichron Ya'akov were founded in 1882 and received the support of the philanthropist Baron Edmund James de Rothschild.
Elie (Eliyahu) Scheid (1841-1922), Baron Rothschild's chief supervisor of colonies in Palestine, managed the affairs of the Jewish Yishuv and the array of clerks who were sent by the Baron to the colonies during the years 1883-1900, from his place of residence in France. Scheid assisted in buying land, encouraged Hebrew-language education in the schools of the colonies and promoted the interests of the Carmel company for marketing wines manufactured in the Baron's wineries. Scheid visited Palestine many times. In one of his letters, he notes that during his trip to Ramat Gilad he used three mules to carry his personal belongings, which included photographic equipment. These photographs were possibly taken by Scheid on one of his journeys.
5 photographs, 16X21 cm. mounted on card. Good condition. Stains on photographs and mounts, including minor dampstains. Minor blemishes. Tears (some open) to edges of mounts, some of them reinforced with tape.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.