Irving Berlin (1888-1989) is one of this country's most famous song writers. Among the best known of his thousands of pieces are God Bless America,White Christmas and Alexander's Ragtime Band. (My favorite piece has always been Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning which appeared in the 1943 movie This is the Army.) Russian Lullaby, which was published in 1927 may not be one of his better known compositions but it still is fun to go through this sheet music. Written as a waltz for ukulele or banjulele banjo, the lyrics begin, "Where the dreamy Volga flows, there's a lonely Russian rose..." Ah, well those were the good old days. Berlin had no musical education so that after writing the lyrics and coming up with a tune he would turn to arrangers for help. Russian Lullaby was arranged by May Singhi Breen. The sheet is in fine condition with slight smudging on the cover, handling creases and a small separation at the bottom of the cover's crease.

This is a Mourning Book provided at a Spring, 1934 memorial service in Vienna commemorating the death of Joachim Josef Feigl at the age of 74. It contains prayers and readings, in German with some Hebrew, for the service; a list of the dates for future Yahrzeits (There are, however, two such included lists that differ by 1 day.); and some explanations of the prayers and rituals (suggesting that the intended audience did not have an extensive knowledge of Jewish customs). On one page there is an empty space which had been meant for a photograph of the deceased but was unused. Some one has pasted on an inner page the newspaper announcement of the death and there is a handwritten entry on the inside front cover noting the Yahrzeit for their mother. What is truly remarkable about this poignant item is its cover with an Art Nouveau depiction of a woman in Greek garb, wreath in hand, arm resting on a tombstone below a tree. The image is embossed with a silvered ink stamping. As a piece of ephemera, this small book brings us back in time to the traditions of assimilated German Jewry. The item is in fine condition. The corners of the cloth clad cover are slightly beaten up and the back cover is beginning to separate.

dimensions: height – 9“, width – 6 1/8“

The Shapiro's Kosher Wine advertisement may well be a major icon of Jewish-American culinary art. The concept of, "the wine you can almost cut with a knife" reminds us of a taste from past Shabbats - some may remember with a shudder and others with fondness. But while the Schapiro's winery is now gone, Manischewitz fortunately still soldiers on. This Schapiro's ad is printed on card stock and presumably was meant to hang in a store. Undated, but probably from the middle of the 20th century; note the price of a bottle in the lower right. The card has been restored and backed onto acid-free linen. Small pieces of the upper and lower left corners have been replaced; there are small repaired tears along the left, right and bottom edges. Overall the image is clean and bright - a striking piece of ephemera.

height - 10 5/8"; width - 20 3/8"

Tooled leatherette bindings in the “Bezalel” style were commonly sold to tourists in Palestine and then Israel during the 20th C. Now they are primarily interesting as memorabilia from a bygone era This particular binding covers a photo album and comes probably from the early years of the State of Israel. Typical of such bindings was the beaten copper insert, which in this case has the image of David’s Tower as seen from outside the Old Jerusalem City Walls. The color is unusual in that more subdued browns or blacks were the norm. The copper plate has a notable dent on the right and two creases in the upper left; and the copper surface is oxidized as would be expected in a piece this old The pages are all blank and the tooled surface is in remarkably good condition. The string holding the pages and cover together is original and in good condition, though slightly dirty.

height – 7 7/8”, width – 10 7/8”, maximum depth – 3/4”

The striking image on the March/April, 1931 cover of the Yiddish magazine Der Hammer (The Hammer) is of a worker with a hammer & sickle lapel pin holding a rifle in his outstretched arm. Behind this iconic revolutionary figure is a troupe of soldiers, presumably come to put down the worker’s revolt. William Gropper was a left-wing artist who, with other American artists, used his talents to fight against the social inequities of the 20’s and 30’s. Der Hammer was one of the many "radical" magazines with which he was associated. The image is signed in the lithograpic plate by the artist. This rare cover (approx. 12” x 8 ¾”) is in good condition. There are minor losses on the lower 2 corners, small scattered abrasions and minor foxing above the outstretched arm. The colors as befits the figure remain vibrant.