The Collection | Shapell Manuscript Foundation (original) (raw)

Theodor Herzl, Hurt and Frustrated, Considers Quitting-in 1896, the First Year of the Zionist Movement

Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 195

Herzl requests from the Lemberg Zionists a copy of a letter in which he reputedly said that an English millionaire was willing to sacrifice 150 million guilders – a "gross distortion or silly misunderstanding" of what he actually said. He is also hurt by the tone in which he was discussed in this connection - so much so, in fact, that he is considering resigning from the Zionist movement.

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Theodor Herzl Sends Postcard From Jerusalem to Menachem Ussishkin Ahead of Meeting With Kaiser Wilhelm

Card Signed

2 pages

SMC 207

In 1898, Theodor Herzl came to Jerusalem to ask Kaiser Wilhelm to appeal to the Turks for the creation of a Jewish state under a German protectorate. He sent Menachem Ussishkin a postcard from the Holy City.

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Heartsick, Max Nordau Writes About the Death of Theodor Herzl

Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 235

Max Nordau co-founded the World Zionist Congress with Theodor Herzl, and was his psychiatrist and friend. Here, still reeling from Herzl's death, thanks an American journalist for not only writing an article about Herzl, but also for his kind depiction of Nordau in the article.

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Beset By an Ally-Turned-Detractor, Theodor Herzl Says It's a

Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 331

Theodor Herzl asks Ulla Wolff how much she wishes to be paid for her article in his newspaper Die Welt, insisting that frankness is the best way to avoid awkwardness between friends. He goes on to be even more candid, and describes his acrimonious split with one-time editor of the newspaper, Saul Raphael Landau, writing that it is a "miracle from God" that Herzl himself hasn't become an antisemite.

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Herzl Signed Photo Commemorating His Visit in Jerusalem With Kaiser Wilhelm II

Signed Photograph

2 pages

SMC 332

Photo of Herzl signed on the verso with a reference to the day he spent in Jerusalem.

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A Rare Signed Photo of Theodore Herzl

Signed Photograph

2 pages

SMC 335

A rare signed photograph of Theodore Herzl, addressed to Fraulein Fini Ungar of Vienna.

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Theodor Herzl, Hustling and Bustling, Sends Thanks for a Joke

Calling Card

1 page

SMC 515

A cordial Herzl inscribes his thanks, on his personal calling card, "for the good joke," and apologizes for not answering a friendly letter "in the hustle and bustle of recent days."

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Theodor Herzl Asks Jewish Sculptor Samuel Friedrich Beer to Show

Calling Card

1 page

SMC 516

Theodor Herzl asks his friend, the sculptor Samuel Friedrich Beer to show an acquaintance, a Mr. Simon, around his studio.

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Theodore Herzl Writes a Condolence Letter, Seemingly in Connection With Anti-Semitic Attacks

Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 729

Theodor Herzl writes a condolence letter amidst an outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks beginning in Vienna, and sweeping through Austria.

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Theodor Herzl Sets Out to Establish the First Zionist Congress and Vows

Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 731

Theodor Herzl tries to garner support for his vision of a Jewish State amongst the Hasidic Jews of Europe. Herzl sets forth his ecumenical vision, where Jews would be free to practise (or to not practise) their religion in their own way, with no "falling out over matters of religion." Herzl mentions the first Zionist Congress, confident that the Jews will obtain their ancestral homeland of Palestine.

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Theodore Herzl Admits to Exhaustion But Swears to Continue

Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 732

Theodore Herzl admits to exhaustion but vows to continue the "great campaign" for as long as he is able.

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Theodor Herzl Writes of a Matter Unknown, He Says, Even to His Editor, Amidst the Dreyfus Affair

Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 736

Theodore Herzl writes excitedly about a matter unknown to his editor, Edward Baher. He doesn't want his correspondent to lose one day on this scoop, so Herzl returns his manuscript immediately. Given the date of the letter, it's very likely that it has to do with Dreyfus's having just been brought back from Devil’s Island to face a second trial in Paris.

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Thedore Herzl Considers an American Lecture Tour

Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 739

Theodor Herzl considers, and ultimately rejects, a lecture tour in the United States.

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Herzl Directs U.S. Zionists to Force McKinley to Protest Turkish Discrimination of Jews in Palestine

Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1680

In 1900, the Ottoman Empire officially barred Jews from visiting the Holy Land. The Italian government immediately protested this violation of human rights, which distinguished between Jewish and Gentile Italian citizens. Here, Theodor Herzl aims to introduce the debate to Congress or Senate so that a country as powerful as the United States would emulate Italy's example, inspiring other countries to follow suit.

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Theodor Herzl Signed Photograph, Taken in Basel, Switzerland

Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 2316

Perhaps the most iconic photo of Theodor Herzl, taken on the balcony of the Three Kings Hotel in Basel, Switzerland, in December of 1901. Signed.

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