"Medinat HaYehudim…" ("Der Iudenstaat…" "The Jewish State, a new approach [in the search] for a solution to the Jewish Question, translated under a special license from the author [Theodor Herzl] by Michael Berkowitz"). Warsaw: Tushiah, 1896. On front cover: Hebrew year 5657. Hebrew.
Theodor Herzl's historical landmark, the first work to ever articulate Herzl's Zionist vision of a Jewish state. First Hebrew edition. Published in 1896 – the same year as the original German edition – as part of the Tushiah publisher's series titled "Sifrei Am." Original front cover.
Bound into one volume with an additional (Hebrew) work, "Knesset HaGedolah…" ["The Great Assembly, or the Second Congress in Basel"], edited by Nahum Slouschz (Warsaw: Tushiah, 1898).
"Medinat HaYeudim": [1] front cover, [2] ff., iv, [1], 6-82, vi, [1] p. Back cover missing. "Knesset HaGedolah": 111, [1] p; approx. 17.5 cm. Good condition. Stains to several leaves (particularly to cover leaf). Minor creases and blemishes. Lower left corners missing from cover and title page of "Medinat HaYeudim." Handwritten notations and inked stamps on endpapers. Cloth-covered card binding, with leather spine (binding slightly damaged and somewhat loose; loss to spine).

Publication of Herzl's "Der Judenstaat"
The story behind "Der Judenstaat" – commonly translated as "The Jewish State" and widely regarded as the book that served as the founding statement of the Zionist movement – can be said to have begun with the "Speech to the Rothschilds, " composed by Theodor (Binyamin Ze'ev) Herzl in time for his meeting with members of the Rothschild family in 1895. This speech, 22 pages in length, laid out the preliminary outline for what would eventually become Herzl's grand landmark plan. This outline would gradually undergo a number of incarnations and versions before it sufficiently matured into a full-fledged plan, whereupon Herzl decided to turn it into a complete book.
According to Herzl's own account, the book was written all at once, in two months of non-stop writing, "walking, standing, lying down, in the street, at the table, at night when I started up from sleep…" Once completed, the manuscript would, for the first time, present Herzl's grand vision in all its glory – a detailed plan for the establishment of a Jewish state, stage by stage, beginning with the gathering and organizing of the Jews of the world, up until the enactment of a legal constitution and the adoption of a national flag. Regarding his thoughts and feelings at the time of the writing, Herzl said: "I do not recollect ever having written anything in such an elevated frame of mind as that book. [Heinrich] Heine says that he heard the wings of an eagle beating over his head while writing certain verses. I do believe that something also beat its wings above my head while I was writing that book."
Initially, no book publisher was willing to publish the book. Herzl found himself rejected by all his regular publishing companies, such as Duncker & Humblot, as well as the Berlin-based publisher Siegfried Cronbach, who insisted that anti-Semitism was a waning force throughout the world. In the end, Herzl turned to Max Breitenstein, a small bookseller in Vienna who agreed to print the book even though he did not share Herzl's beliefs, nor was he sympathetic to the Zionist cause.
In February 1896, a small edition of "Der Judenstaat" was finally published in German with the subtitle "An Attempt at a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question." In order to ensure the work would be treated with the seriousness he felt it deserved, Herzl added his academic degree – Doctor of Laws – to the authorship of the book.
Immediately upon publication, the book stirred up a maelstrom. A majority of public figures – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – viewed it as nonsensical and absurd; one particular Jewish newspaper editor even offered the use of his personal carriage to transport Herzl to an insane asylum. Among the book's initial opponents were such unlikely personalities as Hayim Nahman Bialik and Nahum Sokolow, the pioneer of Hebrew journalism who would one day become author of the first Hebrew translation of Herzl's "Altneuland." In the words of author Stefan Zweig, "never in Vienna had anyone been subjected to such ridicule as Herzl."
As agreed in advance, Max Breitenstein published three additional editions (distinguished from the original edition only in minute details on the respective covers and title pages) that same year. He published no subsequent editions of "Der Judenstaat."
Notwithstanding the scathing reactions of public figures and noted academics to "Der Judenstaat, " the book succeeded in igniting the imaginations of a great many readers in Europe and around the world, and new editions – in Yiddish, Russian, English, and other languages – appeared not long after the publication of the original German editions. One of the earliest editions to see the light of day was the Hebrew translation by Herzl's personal secretary, Michael Berkowitz. It was published by "Tushiah" in 1896, the same year as the first German edition. In its introduction, Berkowitz brought attention to two "corrections" that Herzl insisted upon in oral communications with him, and wrote the following (in Hebrew): "I hereby testify to two issues that relate in particular to the Hebrew translation… In the chapter [entitled] 'Language of the Land'… after he was made aware that a Hebrew-speaking readership exists for this book… a changed spirit took hold of him, as he was ensured that the Hebrew language could surely be rejuvenated… As to the place of settlement… he [likewise] changed his mind… and addressed his attention exclusively to the Land of our Forefathers."
In subsequent years, with the burgeoning of the Zionist movement and the convening of the early Zionist Congresses, the book came to be translated in yet more languages, and began to appear overseas, particularly in the United States, where Zionism quickly developed into a movement that carried weight and influence. In sum total, during Herzl's brief remaining lifetime, no fewer than 17 editions of "Der Judenstaat" were published – most in small editions numbering only a few thousand copies, and often in the form of thin, nondurable booklets. Dozens more editions were published following Theodor Herzl's passing, including translations into such languages as Ladino, Esperanto, Serbo-Croatian, and many others. It was to become one of the best-known Jewish works of all time.
References:
• Rephael Patai (ed.), The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl. New York and London: Herzl Press and Thomas Yoseloff, 1960. Vol. I, p. 24.
• Ritchie Robertson (ed.), The German-Jewish Dialogue: An Anthology of Literary Texts, 1749-1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 150.

Tzionismus in Vort un T'hat ["Zionism in Word and Deed"], edited by Israel Isaac Wolf. New York: Y. Wolf, [ca. 1902]. Yiddish. First book in the series "Volfs Iddishe Bibliotek" ["Wolf's Yiddish Library"].
This book includes a Yiddish translation of Theodor Herzl's "Der Judenstaat." It was one of the earliest printings of "Der Judenstaat" in the United States, and possibly the very first.
In addition to the translation of Herzl's work, the book includes an article on the subject of Zionism in America by Israel Isaac Wolf, and another article regarding the history of the Zionist movement by the author and journalist Abner Tannenbaum.
Israel Isaac Wolf (1861-1926), author, editor, and publisher, born in Lithuania, studied at the renowned Volozhin Yeshiva. Immigrated to the United States in 1893 and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he founded the city's first Hebrew-Jewish printing house. He was among the editors of the Yiddish weekly "Der Yiddisher Shtern, " the daily "Die Yiddishe Welt, " and the Zionist weekly "Dos Yiddishe Folk." Established a publishing house in New York in 1901, and published a series of books titled "Volfs Iddishe Bibliotek" ("Wolf's Yiddish Library").
7, [1], 71, [3] pp., 21 cm. Good-fair condition. Tears to edges, mostly small, not affecting text. Front and back endpapers detached. Title page partly detached. Stains. Hardcover (possibly missing wrappers).
One copy only listed in OCLC.
Singerman 5888.

Publication of Herzl's "Der Judenstaat"
The story behind "Der Judenstaat" – commonly translated as "The Jewish State" and widely regarded as the book that served as the founding statement of the Zionist movement – can be said to have begun with the "Speech to the Rothschilds, " composed by Theodor (Binyamin Ze'ev) Herzl in time for his meeting with members of the Rothschild family in 1895. This speech, 22 pages in length, laid out the preliminary outline for what would eventually become Herzl's grand landmark plan. This outline would gradually undergo a number of incarnations and versions before it sufficiently matured into a full-fledged plan, whereupon Herzl decided to turn it into a complete book.
According to Herzl's own account, the book was written all at once, in two months of non-stop writing, "walking, standing, lying down, in the street, at the table, at night when I started up from sleep…" Once completed, the manuscript would, for the first time, present Herzl's grand vision in all its glory – a detailed plan for the establishment of a Jewish state, stage by stage, beginning with the gathering and organizing of the Jews of the world, up until the enactment of a legal constitution and the adoption of a national flag. Regarding his thoughts and feelings at the time of the writing, Herzl said: "I do not recollect ever having written anything in such an elevated frame of mind as that book. [Heinrich] Heine says that he heard the wings of an eagle beating over his head while writing certain verses. I do believe that something also beat its wings above my head while I was writing that book."
Initially, no book publisher was willing to publish the book. Herzl found himself rejected by all his regular publishing companies, such as Duncker & Humblot, as well as the Berlin-based publisher Siegfried Cronbach, who insisted that anti-Semitism was a waning force throughout the world. In the end, Herzl turned to Max Breitenstein, a small bookseller in Vienna who agreed to print the book even though he did not share Herzl's beliefs, nor was he sympathetic to the Zionist cause.
In February 1896, a small edition of "Der Judenstaat" was finally published in German with the subtitle "An Attempt at a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question." In order to ensure the work would be treated with the seriousness he felt it deserved, Herzl added his academic degree – Doctor of Laws – to the authorship of the book.
Immediately upon publication, the book stirred up a maelstrom. A majority of public figures – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – viewed it as nonsensical and absurd; one particular Jewish newspaper editor even offered the use of his personal carriage to transport Herzl to an insane asylum. Among the book's initial opponents were such unlikely personalities as Hayim Nahman Bialik and Nahum Sokolow, the pioneer of Hebrew journalism who would one day become author of the first Hebrew translation of Herzl's "Altneuland." In the words of author Stefan Zweig, "never in Vienna had anyone been subjected to such ridicule as Herzl."
As agreed in advance, Max Breitenstein published three additional editions (distinguished from the original edition only in minute details on the respective covers and title pages) that same year. He published no subsequent editions of "Der Judenstaat."
Notwithstanding the scathing reactions of public figures and noted academics to "Der Judenstaat, " the book succeeded in igniting the imaginations of a great many readers in Europe and around the world, and new editions – in Yiddish, Russian, English, and other languages – appeared not long after the publication of the original German editions. One of the earliest editions to see the light of day was the Hebrew translation by Herzl's personal secretary, Michael Berkowitz. It was published by "Tushiah" in 1896, the same year as the first German edition. In its introduction, Berkowitz brought attention to two "corrections" that Herzl insisted upon in oral communications with him, and wrote the following (in Hebrew): "I hereby testify to two issues that relate in particular to the Hebrew translation… In the chapter [entitled] 'Language of the Land'… after he was made aware that a Hebrew-speaking readership exists for this book… a changed spirit took hold of him, as he was ensured that the Hebrew language could surely be rejuvenated… As to the place of settlement… he [likewise] changed his mind… and addressed his attention exclusively to the Land of our Forefathers."
In subsequent years, with the burgeoning of the Zionist movement and the convening of the early Zionist Congresses, the book came to be translated in yet more languages, and began to appear overseas, particularly in the United States, where Zionism quickly developed into a movement that carried weight and influence. In sum total, during Herzl's brief remaining lifetime, no fewer than 17 editions of "Der Judenstaat" were published – most in small editions numbering only a few thousand copies, and often in the form of thin, nondurable booklets. Dozens more editions were published following Theodor Herzl's passing, including translations into such languages as Ladino, Esperanto, Serbo-Croatian, and many others. It was to become one of the best-known Jewish works of all time.
References:
• Rephael Patai (ed.), The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl. New York and London: Herzl Press and Thomas Yoseloff, 1960. Vol. I, p. 24.
• Ritchie Robertson (ed.), The German-Jewish Dialogue: An Anthology of Literary Texts, 1749-1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 150.

Collection of 265 postcards commemorating the official visit of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to the Holy Land. Various publishers, Germany, Palestine, Paris, Constantinople, and elsewhere, ca. 1898.
The official visit of the German Kaiser in the months of October-November 1898, to the Holy Land and to cities in other parts of the Ottoman Empire was regarded as one of the most salient and pivotal events in relations between the two powers. Because of the great import attributed to the event, it was commemorated in a number of different ways, most notably by means of illustrated postcards, a relatively new mode of correspondence at the time, having first appeared in the second half of the 19th century.
The present collection is particularly large and distinguished. Many of the postcards in it were printed during the lead-up to the visit and in the course of it, although a number were produced in its wake. Various publishers were involved, including Hermann Vogel (Berlin), Alfred Silbermann (Berlin), Knackstedt & Näther (Hamburg), Jos. Karmy (Jerusalem), Verlag des Syrischen Waisenhaues (Jerusalem), and many others. Most of the postcards have undivided backs. By means of illustrations – in both color and black-and-white – and photographs, they document important landmarks in the course of the journey, in particular the various sites visited by the Kaiser. Many of the postcards are devoted to sites in the Holy Land, and in particular Jerusalem.
Some of the postcards were mailed, and consequently bear postage stamps and postmarks (most dated 1898). A number of them specifically bear postmarks dated October 31, 1898, the day Kaiser Wilhelm II personally dedicated the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. Ten of the postcards in the collection are marked on the back with the rare inked stamp "Camp Imperial Jerusalem" (in both Latin and Arabic letters).
Four of the postcards are in large format (approx. 22X15 cm). Some appear in duplicate copies (mostly with slight variations). A handful of them were not printed specially in honor of the Kaiser's journey, but nevertheless either feature sites visited by the Kaiser at the time, or depict German passenger ships, including the imperial yacht Hohenzollern and the two accompanying ships, the SMS "Hertha" and SMS "Hela, " that serviced the Kaiser's entourage.
More than 30 of the postcards are undocumented by Ralph Perry and David Pearlman.

Kaiser Wilhelm II's Journey to the Levant
Through the months of October-November 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and his wife, the Empress Augusta Victoria, toured some of the major cities of the Ottoman Empire, with Jerusalem being the most important of the destinations. The journey took place at a time when the impending and anticipated disintegration of the Ottoman Empire was hovering in the background, and a struggle between the European powers over the "spoils" – the assets of the so-called "Sick Man of Europe" – appeared likely to ensue in the near future. The journey went on for more than a month. Chief among its goals were the strengthening of ties between the German and Ottoman empires and the encouragement of Christian settlement in the Holy Land. Among the places visited by the Kaiser and his entourage were, in addition to Jerusalem, Athens, Constantinople, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramle, and Cairo.
Preparations for the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem had already begun in the summer of 1898. These included a massive municipal clean-up, the improvement and overhaul of infrastructure, the laying of a telegraph line, and other operations. In time for the Kaiser's arrival in Jerusalem, a number of municipal roads were widened. The authorities went as far as breaching a gap in Jerusalem's Old City Wall, adjacent to Jaffa Gate, to enable the smooth passage of the Kaiser's opulent carriage. In addition, the city streets – most notably HaNevi'im Street, where a special tent camp for the Kaiser and his entourage, the so-called "Camp Imperial, " was to be temporarily constructed – were adorned with the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire, and with makeshift gates of honor.
One of the main highlights of the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem – well-documented in many of the postcards in this collection – was the opening ceremony of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. But the Kaiser also visited the German Colony, the Mt. of Olives, City Hall, and other sites. From a Jewish standpoint, undoubtedly the most historically important event in the Kaiser's itinerary was his meeting with Theodor Herzl.
Throughout their visit, Wilhelm and the empress were accompanied by a small entourage. The Kaiser rode either on horseback or in the imperial carriage. Following in the footsteps of his immediate entourage in Jerusalem was a parade of lesser-ranked officials, accompanied by cavalry regiments and "kawas" officials – ceremonial Ottoman-Empire bodyguards.
The Kaiser's mission was documented in its time in hundreds of books and articles, and commemorated on playing cards, board games, and souvenir cards – collector's items – featuring Holy Land landscapes. But beyond a doubt, the quintessential commemorative souvenirs of the visit were the numerous different postcards, many of excellent quality, printed specially for the occasion; an astounding number of publishers – some 350 of them, from Germany and other countries – began publishing postcards commemorating the journey on a historically unprecedented scale. Major publishers such as Vogel, Silbermann, and Knackstedt-Näther went as far as presenting stamp and postcard collectors with a special offer; in exchange for a fixed fee, subscribers would be rewarded with postcards from cities the Kaiser visited, postmarked and mailed on the very day the Kaiser actually made his presence in the city in question.

Enclosed: Seven color collector's cards, six of them advertising Vitello margarine, produced by the margarine manufacturer Van den Bergh; and the remaining one produced by the food manufacturer Fritz Homann. These colorful cards feature pictures of sites and other things associated with the Kaiser's visit to the Holy Land.

265 postcards, approx. 14X9 cm (four of them in large format, approx. 22X15 cm). Condition varies; overall good condition.
A list of the postcards will be mailed upon request.

Reference: Ralph Perry and David Pearlman, "Postcards commemorating the 1898 journey of the German imperial couple to the Orient, " Stuttgart, 2019.

WWI German Imperial flag. Flown over the Augusta Victoria Compound, Jerusalem, which served at the time as an army base with a military hospital, and as headquarters of the Turkish-German General Staff. Jerusalem, 1917.
Flag in the colors black-white-red. In margins, the inscription (German) "Augusta Victoria Feld-Lzt [Field Hospital] Jerusalem, 1917," the mark "Militär-Mission Konstantinopel" (German Military Mission, Istanbul), Ottoman tughra (of Sultan Mehmed V?), and an official Ottoman inscription.
The decision to establish the Augusta Victoria Compound on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem was originally made at the time of the celebrated official visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his wife, the Empress Augusta Victoria, to the Holy Land in 1898. "A mission including representatives of all the German communities in the Holy Land arrived at the time at the Imperial Tent Camp located on the Street of Prophets [Rehov HaNevi'im]. Among the requests submitted to the Kaiser was one for assistance in the establishment of a ‘meeting place and convalescent home' for the Germans in the Holy Land, that would serve for local social gatherings as well functioning as a guesthouse for Jerusalem's incoming German visitors, and would be located at a distance from the hustle and bustle of the city's center. The imperial couple looked favorably upon the request, and when the empress visited the Mt. of Olives and gazed down and absorbed the panorama of the Old City that unfolds from there, she insisted that ‘this is the place to establish a home for our German activists in the Holy Land'" (Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, "Ir BiRe'i Tekufah, " Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, 1979, Hebrew, p. 468). In the wake of the visit, following the empress's return to Germany, the "Association for the Mt. of Olives" (Ölberg Verein) was established under her sponsorship, and this body raised the funds needed for the building of the compound. The Ottoman Turkish government assisted in the acquisition and purchase of the land. The compound, built to look like a medieval fortress, was designed by the architect Robert Leibniz (1863-1929) and officially inaugurated in April 1910. In addition to the guesthouse and sanatorium, the compound included a large church, a conference hall, and a spacious, beautifully cultivated garden.
It is generally assumed that in addition to its civilian uses, the compound was intended from the outset to serve military purposes. And in fact, at the time of the First World War it housed an Ottoman military command base, and for a brief period it served as the headquarters of the Turkish-German General Staff under the German commanding officer of the Palestine Front, Field Marshal Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) and the Turkish civilian governor and commander of the Ottoman Fourth Army, Ahmed Cemal Paşa (1872-1922). The compound also housed a military field hospital that cared for the fighting units serving in the Jerusalem district. Following the British conquest of Jerusalem in December, 1917, the Augusta Victoria Compound became the headquarters of the British armed forces in Palestine. It subsequently served as the official residence of the British High Commissioner of Palestine. Eventually it was converted into the full-fledged hospital that functions till this day.
As early as the second half of the 19th century, the Black-White-Red flag was flown by both the mercantile and naval fleets of the North German Confederation. It was originally meant to represent a combination of the black-and-white colors of the Kingdom of Prussia and the red-and-white of the Hanseatic League. From 1871 to 1919, it served as the flag of the German Empire – also known as the Second Reich – which ceased to exist following WWI. The subsequent, short-lived Weimar Republic replaced this flag with one bearing the colors black, red, and gold – similar to the flag of present-day Germany. The Black-White-Red was restored as Germany's national flag shortly after the rise of the Nazis and the onset of the Third Reich, but was replaced by the well-known Nazi flag, emblazoned with the Swastika, in September 1935.
Approx. 58.5X90 cm. With loop and halyard. Good condition. Stains.