Bidspirit auction | Ha'Nagar - a Volume containing

Ha'Nagar - a Volume containing all the Issues Printed - Jerusalem, 1928 - with Articles by the Artists of Bezalel and Illustrations by Shmuel Melnik - Extremely Rare! - ”A professional journal for the art of wood: painting - gilding - engraving - upholstering and the like”. Edited by M. Cohen. Illustrations and decorations: Shmuel Michel Melnik. Fascinating, extraordinary issues, rich with important information about the wood industry and its various fields: furniture, design, machinery, woods and more. The articles are accompanied by nice, impressive illustrations. Among the writers, the teachers and students of the ”Bezalel” School of Art. The illustrator was also an important Bezalel artist: Shmuel Melnik, whose works were well-known and who illustrated the columns of the Al-Aqsa mosque! This journal greatly affected the preference of Hebrew products over products of countries abroad. Before us is an extremely rare volume which includes issues 1-12 from 1928 - the only year in which the journal was published. In the article that begins the first issue, the editor explains the importance of the journal: ”at this time, when most craftsmen are in economic distress, at this time of crisis, there is essential need for such a journal. It is time to wake up!” The editor lists several reasons for the necessity of the journal, among them: ”the journal will explore the economic possibilities of the profession in Israel and will make an effort to publish them…”. He also notes that the journal ”will gather information from our ancient literature regarding the development of the profession in general and the history of our nation in particular”. Each of the issues includes important articles, illustrations and pictures, advertisements related to the field and explanations of ”professional words, which are uncommon”. Includes articles by Boris Schatz (the founder of ”Bezalel”) and Mordechai Narkis (the director of the Bezalel museum). Among the writers are also Yosef Weitz (one of the heads of the Jewish National Fund) and Avraham Krinitzi (the future mayor of Ramat Gan). Each issue also contains news such as ”The Value of Old Furniture” with a description of auctions that offer ancient furniture. The second issue contains an article reviewing the ”friendly party in honor of ”Ha'Nagar” and the speeches given during the party, including that of Boris Schatz. The third issue contains a fascinating article by Boris Schatz on the creation of ornamental utensils from olive wood - an article on a personal note in which Schatz reveals the background for the establishment of a special workshop for olive wood utensils at ”Bezalel. The second part of the article contains pictures of such objects made נט ”Bezalel”. Then there is a series of articles by Mordechai Narkis: ”Ritual Articles made of Wood”. In the fourth issue there is a special article titled ”Tikun Shavu'ot - Th eTen Commandments for Craftsmen, with the Patshegen Avraham Commentary”. The Commandments and their commentary are arranged in the shape of a leaf of the Talmud and are written in Talmudic language. The fifth issue introduces ”Shir Ha'Nagar” (The Carpenter's Poem) by Kadish Yehuda Solomon– a lovely poem written especially for the journal. In the ninth issue, an interesting article: ”The National Library and its Furniture”. The rest of the issues contain other interesting articles and much information. The volume is decorated with dozens of illustrations and drawings of the artist Shmuel Michel Melnik, ”who has been an artist for thirty years, twenty of them in Israel, and dedicates much of his time to this journal…” (from the opening article of the first issue). The volume also contains rare photographs taken by Melnik especially for the journal. In the first issue (pp. 7) appears a poem by Melnik. The poem end with a statement: ”Any carpenter who does not have the journal ”Ha'nagar” (The Carpenter) is not a carpenter”. There is also a series of articles by Melnik on the subject of ”Painting Materials” . Shmuel Michel Melnik (1885-1943) one of the first artists in Israel immigrated to Israel in 1908 and settled in the old Yishuv of Jerusalem. There, art was not needed so he painted placards. At the same year he started learning at the ”Bezalel” School of Art and was one of its first students. Later, he founded in Jerusalem, together with the artist Meir Ruzin, ”The First Artistic Workshop in the Land of Israel”. Melnik was invited to paint in palaces and rich houses in Jordan. In 1913, he painted the ceilings of the ”Messiah's palace” in the Bukharim neighborhood of Jerusalem. In 1915, he painted murals and decorated the columns of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. During the British Mandate, he painted sets for the theater and opera. In addition to all his activities, Melnik wrote a German-Hebrew dictionary for the painting professions with hundreds of entries. At the end of the volume before us,