Bidspirit auction | Early and Rare JNF Collection

Early and Rare JNF Collection Box – ”The Date-Palm Box” – 1908 - Early JNF collection box, known as the ”Date-Palm Box”. [Germany (or the United States), ca. 1908]. Tin sheet, embossed and printed. The second official collection box issued by the Jewish National Fund. The box is decorated in light blue, white and gold with symbolic motifs, including date palms representing Jewish growth in the Land of Israel, Stars of David and a lion. The front bears the initials ”JF” and the Hebrew inscription ”קרן קימת לישראל” [Jewish National Fund]; the reverse bears the German inscription ”Das jüdische Land dem jüdischen Volk” [The Jewish land for the Jewish people], while its Hebrew translation, ”ארץ ישראל לעם ישראל” [The Land of Israel for the People of Israel], appears on the right-hand side. The opposite side bears the German name of the fund: ”Jüdischer Nationalfonds”. A small plaque bearing a serial number is affixed to the top of the box, beside the coin slot. The hatch for emptying the box is soldered shut. Suspension loop on the reverse. The Jewish National Fund (KKL / JNF) was established at the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901 as an organization for raising funds from Jews worldwide for the purchase of land in Palestine and the advancement of Jewish settlement. In its early years, the JNF administration opposed the use of collection boxes for fundraising. However, after various local initiatives to produce such boxes proved more successful than anticipated, this method of fundraising was officially adopted. The first box, dating from 1904, was made of tinplate in the form of a small book and was used to collect donations in private homes and shops, and in various private and public Jewish institutions. Ca. 1907, the design of the box was revised to incorporate more distinctly Zionist motifs, as exemplified by the present box. Until 1999, this model was regarded as the first official JNF collection box; that year, however, it was discovered to be the second model. These two designs preceded the next stage in the development of the JNF collection box – the Blue Box. Reference: Shaul Ladany and Dotan Shulman, The Blue Box, Jerusalem: JNF, 2014, pp. 25-35. Height: 12.5 cm; width: 10 cm; depth: 5 cm. Fair condition. Wear, stains and some rust. Minor losses to printed decoration. Bends.