Beschreibung:

Collection of items from the estate of Itamar Ben-Avi (Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda), Hebrew journalist, author and Zionist activist, the son of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the driving spirit behind the revival of the Hebrew Language. [1930s]. 1. Wilhelm Gesenius' Hebraisches und Aramaisches Handworterbuch uber das Alte Testament… von Dr. Frants Buhl. Leipzig, 1899. Thirteenth edition. Hebrew and Aramaic (Biblical)-German dictionary. On the introductory page is a dedication in the hand of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda to his son, Itamar (Ben-Zion): "To Ben Zion, a souvenir, 22 Kislev, [1911], Eliezer". Beneath Eliezer's dedication, Itamar added his own – "And from me to the municipal library in Netanya, Ben-Zion". Another dedication in Itamar's handwriting appears on the first title page: "To the Netanya Municipal Library, Itamar Ben-Avi". In addition, the dictionary's pages contain dozens of corrections and notes in the hand of Itamar Ben-Avi (some of the notes may be in the hand of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda). A fascinating note in his hand appears on p. 902, dated July 1938, in Romanized Hebrew: "Hear hear, father and mother who are in heaven! The dictionary of our language in Latin letters has finally been completed… after seven years of work, with relative peace in our land, and without black frames [obituaries] in our newspapers! Thank the Lord! And may Judah gain her independence, even this coming September". 2. Leaves with lists of Hebrew words, transliterated using the Latin alphabet, in Itamar's hand. [9] leaves. 3. Leaves in the hand of Itamar Ben-Avi, containing literary writings (prose segments). [7] leaves + [1] note. 4. "My First Dream", a written passage in the hand of Itamar Ben-Avi. [2] leaves. 5. A poem in the hand of Itamar Ben-Avi. [1] leaf, written on both sides. 6. Three telegrams sent by Itamar Ben-Avi to his wife Leah. U.S., 1937. Itamar Ben-Avi continued his father's enterprise of developing the Hebrew language, himself inventing many Hebrew words. In parallel, he supported the international Esperanto language, calling for the Romanization of the Hebrew alphabet in order to facilitate the transformation of Hebrew into a "Jewish Esperanto". Based on this ideology, in 1928 he published a Hebrew newspaper in Latin letters called "The Palestinian Week" (Ha Savuja ha Palestini), and in 1933 he founded the weekly "Deror", also written in Romanized Hebrew; neither survived for long. As appears from the current collection, during the 1930s he also composed a Romanized Hebrew dictionary (as far as we know the dictionary was never published). Size and condition vary. The dictionary is in fair condition. Leaves in fair to good condition.