Obj. ID: 56330
  Ephemera  Emissary (Shadar) Letter, Jerusalem, circa 1900

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

Prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, religious establishments in Eretz Israel were dependent on contributions from abroad for their survival. Such institutions included Yeshivas, Orphanages, Soup Kitchens, Traveler Hostels, Hospitals and a variety of other organizations, both large and small. To raise money emissaries were sent from Eretz Israel to visit Jewish communities abroad, to solicit contributions, and to bring the money back. In order to assure the donors that the requests were legitimate, emissary letters – Ktavei Shadar in Hebrew – were prepared and signed by the Rabbis and directors of these institutions. Such documents were both hand-written and printed in great variety.

Elaborate, with gold printing, for David Ze’ev. From the illustrations it is clear that the printer is A.M. Luncz, even though his name is not printed on the document.

Abraham Moses Luncz (December 9, 1854–1918) (Hebrew: אברהם לונץ) was a Russian scholar and editor born at Kovno, Russia. At age 14 he came to Jerusalem. Luncz suffered from early blindness, and founded, in conjunction with Dr. Koisewski, an institution for the blind at Jerusalem.

He owned a Hebrew printing press in the Ezrat Yisrael neighborhood, across the street from his own home in Even Yisrael. From there he issued a number of works by Palestinian scholars, Estori Farḥi's Kaftor wa-Feraḥ and Josef Schwarz's Tebu'ot ha-Areẓ being the first works published. He also produced a travel guide to Israel.  As of 1904, he had in press a new edition of the Jerusalem Talmud with commentary and introduction.

In the exploration of the Holy Land, Luncz has rendered great services from the historical, geographical, and physical standpoints, through his guide-books for Palestine, his Palestine annuals, and his Jerusalem almanac:

Netibot Ẓiyyon we-Yerushalayim: Topography of Jerusalem and Its Surroundings (vol. i, 1876)

Jerusalem, Jahrbuch zur Beförderung einer Wissenschaftlich Genauen Kenntnis des Jetzigen und des Alten Palästina (Hebrew and German, 6 vols., 1881–1903, Hebrew: ירושלים, שנתון לידיעת ארץ ישראל)

 Literarischer Palästina-Almanach (Hebrew; since 1894).

Emissary:                        David Zeev