Forty-eight original woodblocks and etching plates made by Joseph Budko. [Berlin and Jerusalem, 1910s to 1940].
Including:
· 19 woodblocks used for printing the woodcut illustrations to the Jubilee Edition of Haim Nahman Bialik's Writings, 1923 (this edition, considered a masterpiece of Hebrew printing, was designed by Budko; the poetry volume features nineteen illustrations. These woodblocks were used for printing all nineteen illustrations). The illustrated poems include: "In the City of Slaughter", "The Talmud Student", "And If the Angel Should Ask", "On the Slaughter", "Seer, Run Away", "Daughter of Israel" and others.
The titles of poems were handwritten on the margins or verso of most woodblocks. One woodblock is also inscribed with a line from the coresponding poem.
· A metal relief printing block (attached to a wooden block) – a letter from Haim Nahman Bialik (from July 28, 1923), thanking Budko for the illustrations he created for his poems.
· 18 woodblocks used for various works, including some of Budko's most well-known woodcuts: "Jews" (1920), "Friday Night" (1921), "Sabbath Night" (1921), "The Family" (1921), "The Ten Commandments" (1923), "HaPilpul" (1924-5), "The Tailor" (1929), "A Man Like Me Will Not Run Away" (1930), "The Pioneer and His Old Father" (1934), "Jerusalem" (1936); a two-sided woodblock – one side used to print the work "Dream" (1920) and the other used for the work "After Receiving the Sabbath" (1921); and more.
· Ten metal etching plates: "The Market Square in Plonsk" (with an etched dedication to Budko's future wife, 1915), portraits of old Jewish men (two plates, with the etched signature "Budko 5683 [1923]), "Thou shall not Kill" (1925), "He Who Finds a Wife Finds a Good Thing", and more.
Enclosed: an uncarved wooden cube, with a pencil sketch (preparation for a woodblock?).
A total of 48 woodblocks and etching plates. Size varies. Most plates in good condition. Significant rust damage to a few plates.
Literature: Joseph Budko and H. N. Bialik's Complete Works Edition of 1923, Modern Hebrew Poetry and Art in Harmony (Hebrew) by Alec Mishory (Am Oved, 2006).
1. Artist's estate.
2. Private collection.