Eretz HaZvi, a portfolio with twelve prints by Aharon Halevi. Jerusalem: Ayala / Dvir, 1929. ?Twelve prints depicting the landscapes of Palestine, based on biblical verses. Foreword by Yitzhak Ben Avraham Katz. The first illustration in the the portfolio – a basket with the Seven Species under a palm tree – was chosen as the logo of the Volcanic Center (Agricultural Research Organization).
On the cover of the portfolio appears a dedication handwritten by Aharon HaLevi, in Hebrew (possibly, the portfolio was dedicated to Dr. Mordechai Ze'ev Broda, 1869-1949, a rabbi and Zionist activist, for his 60th birthday).
Enclosed with the portfolio is a large leaf (folded in half) with an English and German text about Aharon HaLevi and his agricultural and artistic work, alongside a list of the biblical verses to which the illustrations refer.
The painter and nature-lover, Aharon HaLevi (1887-1957) immigrated from Chernihiv (Ukraine) to Palestine in 1906, worked in sowing, gardening and cultivation of plant species and was one of the first painters of the vegetation of Palestine and of its views. During the years 1912-1914, he worked in Bezalel.?[1], 12 leaves, 38.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases and small tears to margins. A long tear and several restored tears to margins of cover. Loose leaves.
Enclosed leaf: 49X34.5 cm. Creases. Stains and small tears.