Letter, handwritten and signed by Elisheva Bikhovski. Moscow, October 2, 1924. Hebrew.
In this letter, Elisheva discusses the difficulties she is experiencing in trying to write after giving birth to her daughter ("My daughter is just a frail little girl, and I am an entirely inexperienced mother"); her eagerness to leave Russia and immigrate to Palestine ("Unfortunately for me, I have no choice but to stay here, as if [stranded] in the desert"); and the publication of stories and poems in Hebrew. An intriguing addendum appears at the end of the letter: "Just now I noticed that in the poem 'Zemer, ' published in ‘Hapoel Hatzair, ' an entire verse is missing… It should read: 'Indeed I had wings / Though I never felt their presence / Still now, evening after evening / My heart weeps over them.'"
The letter's addressee ("Dear Friend!") was, in all likelihood, the journalist Moshe Newiasky, a friend of Elisheva's.

Elizaveta Ivanovna Zhirkova-Bikhovski (known as Elisheva, 1888-1949) was a Russian-born Hebrew poet, one of the founding mothers of Hebrew women's poetry. Though born to a Christian family, Elisheva was drawn to Jewish culture already in her early teens, and by the early 1920s she relinquished Russian entirely in favor of Hebrew as her language of writing. Her decision to tie her fate to the Jewish people and adopt their language (without ever actually renouncing her own Christian faith) earned her the epithet "Ruth on the Banks of the Volga." In 1925, she immigrated to Palestine with her husband, the publisher, and literary critic Simeon (Shimon) Bikhovski, and became one of the most influential poets during those years of Jewish settlement in Palestine. Her book "Simta'ot" ("Alleyways") is thought to be the very first Hebrew novel to have been written by a woman in Palestine.

Following the death of her husband in 1932, Elisheva experienced great difficulty earning a living, and found herself mired in poverty. She passed away in Tiberias in 1949. Since she had never converted to Judaism, efforts to grant her a Jewish burial encountered religious opposition. Nevertheless, Avraham Broides, Chief Secretary of the Hebrew Writers Association, interceded on her behalf; as a result, she was buried in the famous cemetery of Kibbutz (or Kevutzat) Kinneret on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, next to the renowned poet Rachel Bluwstein Sela.

[1] f., folded in half (four written pages), 13 cm. Good condition. Stains.
• Enclosed: A two-page autograph letter signed by Elisheva's husband, the publisher, and literary critic Simeon (Shimon) Bikhovski, dealing with the publication of her poetry. Addressed (in Hebrew) to "M. Neuazski" [Moshe Newiasky]. Moscow, 1924.

Nine books of poetry and prose by Aryeh Ludwig Strauss. Germany (one book from Switzerland), 1920s to 1960s. Most books bear his personal signature and/or handwritten dedication; some are copies from numbered editions. German.
Included:
• "Das Ufer" ["The Riverbank"], poems. Berlin: Otto von Holten, 1922. Copy no. 127 from an edition of 300 copies, signed on the colophon page.
• "Tiberius, " a play. Munich: Münchner Drucke, 1924. Signed dedication.
• "Das Antlitz im Gestirn." [Chemnitz]: Gesellschaft der Bücherfreunde zu Chemnitz, 1925. Copy no. 120 from an edition of 550 copies. Signed on the colophon page.
• "Ruf aus der Zeit" ["A Call Transcending Time"]. Berlin: Lambert Schneider, 1927. Signed dedication.
• "Nachtwache" ["Night Watch"], book of poetry. Hamburg: Der Deutsche Buch-Club, [1933]. From an edition of 1,000 copies. With a signed dedication to the poet Tuvya Ruebner on the title page. Signed again on the colophon page.
• "Heimliche Gegenwart" ["Homely Present Time"], book of poetry. Heidelberg: Lambert Schneider, 1952. With a signed dedication to "Tuvya" [Ruebner].
• And more.
Handwritten corrections and notations (German) appear on some of the books; in addition, notepapers, photographs, newspaper clippings, and additional items of ephemera have been inserted into several books.
Also enclosed: Eight typewritten leaves with handwritten corrections, containing poems by Ludwig Strauss (some different than the versions published in his books); two notebook leaves with handwritten poems (German); a single leaf with a handwritten poem (Hebrew).

Size and condition vary.

Aryeh Ludwig Strauss (1892-1953), author, poet, and literary scholar, born in Germany. In 1925, he married Eva (née Buber, daughter of philosopher Martin Buber), and in 1935, the couple immigrated to Palestine, where Aryeh Strauss experienced life as a "halutz" (pioneer) – doing such work as paving roads and planting forests, among other things. At the same time, he established the Department of Comparative Literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. As a lecturer in the department, Strauss helped give rise to a new generation of Hebrew poets which included the likes of Nathan Zach, T. Carmi, Yehuda Amichai, Dan Pagis, Haim Gouri, and Tuvya Ruebner. The latter worked tirelessly to publish his works and translate them into Hebrew.

Provenance: The Tuvya Ruebner Collection.

Fors L'Honneur [For Honour], foreword by the right-wing extremist Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour, photographs and captions by Yves Le Deliou and Marie-Therese Dupuy. Paris: S.E.R.P., 1963. French. Limited edition of 1000 copies.
An album documenting in text and photographs the trials of the dissidents who violently opposed Algerian independence – anti-Gaullistes, participants in the failed Generals' putsch in Algeria (1961), and members of the underground right-wing organization OAS (Organisation armée secrete; "Secret Armed Organization, ") which among its other violent operations, attempted to assassinate the president of the republic, Charles de Gaulle.
Autograph dedication (in French) to general Uzi Narkiss (1925-1997), on front endpaper, with several signatures. Narkiss was the Israeli military attaché to Paris, from the late 1950's to 1962; he was given the album as souvenir of his days in the "Institut des hautes études de Défense nationale" [Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence] and the visit to the headquarters of the French 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, in Grande Kabylie, Algeria.
Among those who signed the dedication are the four generals who led the Generals' putsch, in an attempt to prevent Algerian independence, and were convicted for treason: Raoul Salan (1899-1984), Edmond Jouhaud (1905-1995), André Zeller (1898-1979), and Maurice Challe (1905-1979).

Dedication dated 20.12.63 (or 65'). Signed in Tulle, where the prison in which the generals were interned was located.

[48] ff., 29.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Hardcover, with original dust jacket. Minor marginal tears to jacket. 

Enclosed: roughly 12 newspaper clippings (most from the French newspaper "Le Monde"; late 1950s and early 1960s), dealing with the war in Algeria, the Generals' putsch and the trials of the of those responsible for it. Handwritten note on one clipping (Hebrew; handwritten by Narkiss?).