Official decoration bestowed upon members of the entourage accompanying Kaiser Wilhelm II on his visit to the Holy Land, along with a miniature copy; and a plaque created on the occasion of the Kaiser's visit. Germany, 1898.
• "Jerusalemkreuz" ("Jerusalem Cross") decoration, made of silver inlaid with red enamel (with red ribbon attached). At center is the Imperial German Crown along with the Inscription "IR [the Kaiser the King) WII [Wilhelm II]". On the back is the date of the inaugural ceremony of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, October 31, 1898, in Roman numerals. Partly gilt.
The decoration was given to members of the Kaiser's entourage – court officials, guards, and escorts – upon their arrival with the Kaiser in Jerusalem. According to an account given by one of the members of the delegation, Mathilde von Keller (1853-1945), on the night of the inauguration of the Church of the Redeemer, the Kaiser arrived at the tent camp where all the escorts were staying, and went from one tent to the next to personally deliver the decoration to each individual involved. This was one of only three decorations issued by Prussian Germany that recipients were legally required to wear as part of their official uniform.
Enclosed is a miniature of the decoration – a copy identical in every detail to the original decoration, intended to be worn in place of the original full-size decoration. Such miniatures were specially commissioned and created – usually by the same silversmith responsible for the original – so as to enable the wearer to use them as substitutes and thus protect the original from harm. The present miniature comes with its original chain, and with pins for attachment to the garment. In imperial Germany, such chains, known as "Miniaturkette, " were used for displaying miniature medals.
Decoration: 37.5 mm. Miniature: 16 mm. Blemishes and losses to enamel. Housed in box lined with padding.
• Commemorative plaque in honor of the Kaiser's visit. Recto: Portrait of the Kaiser, with the inscription "Wilhelm II Deutscher Kaiser"; above this, date of the inauguration of the Church of the Redeemer. Verso: Depiction of the Church of the Redeemer, shown borne on a branch sprouting from a coffin and a pitcher of ashes, along with the inscription "Erloeserkirche zu Ierusalem." An additional part in the upper margin of the plaque shows an Oriental city with domes and towers with the Imperial German Crown at center (the city is seen on both sides of the plaque, whereas the Crown appears only on recto). Marked: "O. [Otto] Rohloff", Berlin.
Housed in original box, with a concavity for the plaque to rest in, and a gilt impression of the Imperial German Crown.

Approx. 107X60 mm. Good condition. Blemishes and stains to box.

Kaiser Wilhelm II's Journey to the Orient

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 "Camp Imperial, " was to be temporarily constructed – were adorned with the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire, and with makeshift, portable ceremonial gates.
One of the main highlights of the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem was the inaugural ceremony of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. 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 on the Kaiser's itinerary was his hastily arranged 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 all the various cities the Kaiser visited, postmarked and mailed on the very day he actually made his presence in the city in question.

Some 220 undivided-back postcards featuring pictures of the Holy Land. Various publishers and printers, late 19th and early 20th century.
Large collection of postcards, some lithographed and some photographic, presenting the earliest images of the Holy Land to appear on postcards, including cities, figures in traditional garb, Zionist moshavot, landscapes, holy sites, and more. Many of them bear a printed greeting, at times in gilt ink, in German, French, or Hebrew ("Gruss aus…, " Souvenir de…, " "birkat tzion" ["Blessing from Zion"]). Some of the postcards were mailed.
The collection includes three postcards featuring a panoramic view of Jerusalem within a scroll, considered to be the earliest depiction of Palestine to appear on a postcard. These three postcards – in all likelihood printed successively – differ somewhat one from the other, showing a number of small changes over time in the appearance of the city, as follows: The first postcard shows Jerusalem nestling at the center of an arid mountainside with a number of trails; on the second, rows of trees have been added, and isolated new buildings appear outside the walls of the Old City; on the third, color is added to the picture (there is a copy of the first postcard bearing a letter dated 1892; the color postcard gives the details of the printer – Philipp Frey of Frankfurt).
In addition to these three postcards, the collection comprises numerous postcards printed by various early printers and publishers who were active in the Palestine and Europe during the late Ottoman period, including: an early postcard from Zikhron Ya'akov, with photos of the moshava adorned with grapes (Kutzner & Berger, mailed to Trieste, late 19th century); a souvenir postcard from the German Templar Colony of Sarona (Stehle & Friedel, mailed from Jaffa, 1908); a postcard bearing a photograph of the ship "Tirolia" docked at the Port of Jaffa (mailed from Jaffa, 1904; with the inked stamp of Jaffa's "Hôtel du Parc" – where Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed during his Holy Land visit – on the back); postcards printed by Dr. Heinrch Loewe (Jaffa), Lith. A.L. Monsohn (Jerusalem), the Schneller Hospital (Jerusalem), Boulos Meo (Jerusalem), Kalil Michel (Bethlehem), Struve & Beck (Haifa), J. Goldiner (Berlin), Carl Hirsch (Constance), and others.

Some 220 postcards, approx. 9X14 cm. Condition varies. Postcards arranged in album according to names of printers, in alphabetical order, along with handwritten notes, in a fashion that exposes the backs of postcards sent by mail.

Provenance: The Ralph Perry Collection.

Some 280 glass lantern slides with photographs of Palestine and its environs. Various publishers, early 20th century till ca. 1940s.
Large collection of glass slides. Includes photographs of landscapes, inhabitants, and cities, towns, and settlements of the Holy Land. Roughly 110 of the slides were produced by American Colony Photographers, Vester & Co. Five of the slides, by Photo Walter Kristeller, show diagrams and maps illustrating the accomplishments of the Zionist enterprise toward the end of the British Mandate period.
Some of the earlier slides depict sites whose appearance eventually changed beyond recognition, or were entirely destroyed. Among the historical sites appearing on these slides are the old Western Wall plaza, the Allenby Bridge over the Jordan River, the White Mosque of Ramle, Jerusalem's Ottoman-period railway station, Tombs of the Maccabees (prior to the planting of the Ben Shemen Forest), Masada, and more. In addition, there are dozens of slides documenting settlements established by the Zionist enterprise in its early years, including the kibbutzim Degania, Mishmar Ha-Emek, and Kfar Szold; Tower and Stockade settlements; Haifa's Shemen factory; and more. Some of these slides show early Jewish settlers – halutzim and watchmen. A few of the slides present archaeological finds, maps, and plans; several of these are from neighboring lands such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq.
Some one hundred slides are housed in a wooden box. The majority of slides bear labels handwritten in Hebrew and in English.

Approx. 8.5X8.5 cm. Condition varies. Overall good condition.. Several slides in fair condition, with cracks or fractures. Some damage to wooden box.

Der Judenstaat, Versuch einer modernen Lösung der Judenfrage ["The Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question"], by Theodor Herzl. Vienna-Leipzig: M. Breitenstein, 1896. German. First Edition.
Theodor Herzl's historical landmark, the first work to ever articulate Herzl's Zionist vision of a Jewish state.

86 pp., approx. 23.5 cm. Good condition. Uneven edges. Some stains. Minor tears, repaired, to edges of some leaves. Traces of an inked-stamp on a few pages. New binding with leather spine (gilt lettering on spine), slightly worn.

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.
Reference:
• 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.