Eight reference, travel and research books dealing with the geography and history of Palestine and its surroundings. Germany and Palestine, 1845-1963. German.
Including:
• "Palästina, historisch-geographisch mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Helmuthschen Karte für Theologen und gebildete Bibelleser" [Palestine, Historic-Geographic… for Theologians and Educated Bible-Readers], by the Orientalist Friedrich August Arnold. Halle (Germany): Eduard Anton, 1845.
• "Die Topographie Jerusalem's" [The Typography of Jerusalem], by Wilhelm Ludwig Krafft, a theology professor at the Bonn University. Bonn: H.B. König, 1846. Includes two folded hand-colored plates (out of seven) – a map of Jerusalem and a sketch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• "Occident und Orient, eine kulturgeschichtliche Betrachtung vom Standpunkt der Tempelgemeinden in Palästina" [West and East – a Cultural-Historical Examination, from the Standpoint of the Templer Community of Palestine], by Christoph Hoffmann (1815-1885), the founder and spiritual father of the Templer community, one of the founders of the German Colony in Haifa and Jerusalem. Stuttgart: J.F. Steinkopf, 1875. First edition.
• "Durch Syrien und Kleinasien, Reiseschilderungen und Studien" [Through Syria and Asia Minor, Travelogues and Studies], by Roman Oberhummer and Heinrich Zimmerer. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, 1899. With a folding map and 16 picture-plates.
• "Bibliotheca geographica Palaestinae", catalog of writings by travelers and pilgrims who visited Palestine between the years 333 and 1878, by Reinhold Röhricht. Published by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1963.
• And more.
Size and condition vary.

A large sketch for a "membership certificate" of the "Association of the Hebrew Gymnasium in Palestine", made by the artist Jacob Stark, a Bezalel student. Jerusalem, [1906].
Ink on thick paper. Signed: "J. Stark, Bezalel, Jerusalem" (Hebrew).
A sketch for a certificate presented to "founding members" who donated 250 Francs for the foundation of the "Herzliya" Hebrew Gymnasium in Jaffa. On the right appears the figure of Moses holding a book under his arm, and on the left – the figure of Jacob; on the top appear illustrations of scientific instruments on the background of a rich library, and on the bottom, two silhouettes depicting the towns of Jaffa (viewed from the sea) and Jerusalem, flanking the emblem of the "Association of the Hebrew Gymnasium in Palestine", integrating the seven-branched Menorah.
In the center of the sketch is a text describing the aim of the organization: "To found a Hebrew school which will give its students, in addition to national education, practical, commercial education in the junior and higher grades, to prepare them for the university and the polytechnic".
The "Herzliya" Hebrew Gymnasium – the first Hebrew high school – was established in Jaffa in 1905 under the name "The Hebrew Gymnasium" (HaGymnasia HaIvrit). In 1909 the school was relocated to Herzl Street in Tel-Aviv and was renamed after Herzl. During the first year it operated as a private school in the home of Dr. Yehudah Leib Metmann-Cohen and his wife, and the second year was opened in October 1906 with about 40 students; it was then reported in the newspaper "Hashkafa" (edited by Eliezer Ben-Yehudah): "about twenty founding members gathered in Jaffa, each one donating 250 Francs, and thus the keystone was placed for the 'Gymnasium fund'. A supervising committee of seven people was elected among the founding members…"; from this citation can be assumed that the certificate printed after this sketch was awarded to the 20 founding members only.
The artist, Jacob Stark (1881-1915), painter and typographer, was born in Poland. He immigrated to Palestine in 1906 and was one of the first Bezalel students. This sketch was one of the first works he created in Palestine.
Approx. 70.5X51.5 cm. Fair-poor condition. Many creases and fold lines. Long tears. Open tears and a large piece missing in the right margin (affecting the sketch). Pieces of tape on verso. A number of comments in pencil.