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Obj. ID: 36312  JMP Otto Geismar Printed Esther Scroll, Berlin, 1936

© Jewish Museum in Prague (JMP), Photographer: N/A, .

6 image(s)

Name/Title
JMP Otto Geismar Printed Esther Scroll | Unknown
Object Detail
Date
1936
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Geismar, Otto (Nathan) (book illustrator)
Lessmann, M., Printing House in Berlin
Weisenberg (scribe in Berlin)
(Unknown)
{"2779":"(1873\u20131957) was active for more than three decades (1904-1936) as an art teacher at the Jewish Community School in Berlin. In 1930, he visited Palestine and stayed for a few months. In 1939, he and his wife moved to Brazil and, after World War II, to England. He also illustrated two Passover haggadot published in 1928 in Berlin (ID 35668 in the Index) and in 1941 in Amsterdam, as well as an illustrated book about the Chanukkah festival."}
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community
Unknown |
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Period Detail
Collection
Category
Material/Technique
Printed text and illustrations on paper
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
The scroll: 210x2420 mm.
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Hallmark
Iconographical Subject
Condition
The scroll is preserved in very good condition; only the first sheet shows slight cavities.
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Description

This is a paper scroll with printed text and illustrations. It opens with a prefatory panel that includes the title of the book - מגלת אסתר ("The Book of Esther") - in large, bold Hebrew letters, and informs the reader that it is illustrated with drawings by Otto (Nathan) Geismar. It also includes a note about copyright to Herbert Löwenstein (Tel Aviv 1936) and that the book was printed by M. Lessmann in Berlin. Above and below the prefatory panel, there are two depictions of King Ahasuerus. Other narrative scenes from the Book of Esther, 17 in total, separate columns of the text that are tall and narrow. Some scenes are grouped and placed one below the other, whereas others appear individually and occupy the entire space between the text columns. The final part of the scroll is not illustrated. The majority of illustrations are labeled in Hebrew. Below the last text column, the name of the scribe - Weisenberg - appears. All illustrations and texts in the scroll are printed in black ink.

Custom
Contents

The Book of Esther in Hebrew

Codicology

The scroll is formed of 3 paper sheets containing 12 columns of the text with 42 lines, except for col. 10 which has 11 lines divided into two half-columns.

The vocalized text of the Book of Esther is printed in Ashkenazi stam script with tagim, in black ink. It reproduces text written by an expert scribe (rather than moveable type) and it shows scribal practices of typical Ashkenazi megillot, such as enlarged and diminished letters in the names of Haman's sons and other enlarged letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29).

Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Signature
At the beginning of the scroll there appears a note saying that the illustrations are by Otto Geismar, the printing house is M. Lessmann in Berlin, and the copyright is owned by Herbert Löwenstein. Below the last column of the text in the scroll, there is a Hebrew colophon by Weisenberg, the scribe from Berlin: כתב יד סופר ווייסנברג ברלין
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks

A short biography and Geismar's immigration card are available https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/bearing-witness/esther-scroll.asp (accessed on 24.10.2020).

Other copies of the megillah are stored in the Jewish Museum in Prague (inv. nos. 095.541 and 084.999), in the MAHJ in Paris (Inv. 2009.17.015 and Inv. 2000.16.169), in the JTS Library in New York (S282 and S474), belongs to the Gross Family Collection (see ID 35191) and other institutional and private collections.

History/Provenance
Other numbers of the scroll: 2001/0357 and Est 8 T.
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography

The images of the scroll are available on http://collections.jewishmuseum.cz/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/221868 (accessed on 24.10.2020).

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Researcher
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconsdivuction
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Language Editor
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Donor
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