Bidspirit auction | MARCUS-SZALIT, RAHEL. Suite of 18

MARCUS-SZALIT, RAHEL. Suite of 18 graphite and ink drawings, illustrations to 'Der König der Schnorrer' by Israel Zangwill. Each signed by the artist ”R. Szalit-Marcus” and dated “1921” in the lower right corners (two of the drawings are not dated). Of the 18 drawings, 17 are matted and of these, 16 are titled in pencil in German, on the mat. The handwriting is unidentified, perhaps but not necessarily Szalit-Marcus’. Of the 18 drawings, 17 are mounted with a cardboard mat (passepartout) and backed with paper. All the mats exhibit foxing spots and age stains around the edges. Seven of the drawings have some foxing in the image and another five have light foxing in the image; the rest are clean. The one unmounted drawing has a 6cm horizontal closed tear in its top right corner. The 16 titled drawings are, in alphabetical order: * 1. Am Fischmarkt. * 2. Beim Stulger [sic] * 3. Beim Telerderhändler [sic] * 4. Beim Vorstand der Synagoge. * 5. da Costa und Jankele im Thater [sic] * 6. Da Costa und sein Diener. * 7. Frau da Costa wird [indecipherable] * 8. Frau Rabbi Pöckelhering. * 9. Grobstroh und da Costa. * 10. Grobstroh und die Bettler. * 11. Im Càfé [sic] * 12. In der Loge. * 13. Jankele. * 14. Mittagmahl beim Rabbi Pöckelhering. * 15. Rabbi Pöckelhering. * 16. Rat der Fünf. Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.5 inches (19 x 25 cm). 1921 LOST FOR 100 YEARS: SUITE OF 18 ORGINAL DRAWINGS DATED 1921, BY THE ARTIST RAHEL SZALIT-MARCUS TO ILLUSTARTE ISRAEL ZANGWILL'S “THE KING OF SCHNORRERS.” The drawings’ titles and the research detailed below conclusively prove that these are illustrations by Szalit-Marcus for the story The King of Schnorrers by the Anglo-Jewish author Israel Zangwill (1864-1926). The King of Schnorrers is Zangwill's picaresque novel, a collection of amusing tragicomic episodes concerning one ”Manasseh Bueno Barzillai Azevedo da Costa.” The first English edition of The King of Schnorrers was published in London in 1894 by Heinemann. The first German edition was published three years later, in 1897, under the title Der König der Schnorrer (Berlin: Cronbach). An interesting coincidence is that the third German edition was published by Cronbach in Berlin in 1921, the same year these Szalit-Marcus drawings are dated. This may indicate that Szalit-Marcus created these drawings for this third edition. Whether or not this is correct, they were not used in this edition, nor any later one. Despite the mention of the Szalit-Marcus illustrations in numerous respected biographical sources, no edition of The King of Schnorrers with illustrations by Szalit-Marcus exists, in any language. Moreover, no mention can be found anywhere of the existence or survival of the original The King of Schnorrers illustrations, which thus could be considered as having been lost for the past 100 years. More recent information on the matter was provided by Sabine Koller, Professor of Slavic-Jewish Studies at the University of Regensburg, Germany. In 2012, Professor Koller published an article titled “Mentshelekh un Stsenes: Rahel Szalit-Marcus illustriert Sholem Aleichem” [People and Scenes: Rahel Szalit-Marcus illustrates Sholem Aleichem] in Leket: Yiddish Studies Today, ed. Marion Aptroot, et al (Düsseldorf) pp. 207-231). In her article, Professor Koller states, ”Fenster and Sennewald mention [illustrations by Szalit-Marcus for] Martin Buber's ‘Stories for Children, ’ as well as [for] Israel Zangwill's ‘The King of Schnorrers.’ I have not been able to locate these .” (see pp. 210, footnote 17). In private correspondence (January 2017) Professor Koller writes: ”I would have liked to have found proof for the fact that the illustrations were published, but I could not find out anything. Nor have I seen these illustrations.” In April 1968 the Tel Aviv Museum of Art hosted an exhibition entitled “Memorial Exhibition: Jewish Artists Who Perished in the Holocaust” curated by Dr. Haim Gamzu. Three works by Rahel Szalit-Marcus were included and are listed in the exhibition catalogue. Item number 207 (not illustrated in the catalogue) is described as an “Illustration to 'King of the Schnorrers' by Zangwill, 1921 / Charcoal on paper, 25x20 / Signed and dated lower right.”The list of institutions and private collectors who lent items to the exhibition states that item 207 was lent by Asher and Nehama Rosenblum of Ramat Gan, Israel. The Rosenblum Collection was a widely renowned Israeli collection of Jewish art. Interestingly, of the 18 drawings in the suite, one is marked on the verso in Hebrew “Asher Rosenblum.” None of the other 17 drawings are marked similarly. This may indicate that this is the drawing that was lent by the Rosenblums to the exhibition. CONCLUSION: Based on the above empirical data, it can be concluded that: * These 18 drawings are the original illustrations Szalit-Marcus prepared for Zangwill's The King of Schnorrers.