The Song of Solomon [The Song of Songs].

Jerusalem, Shulammite, 1950s. . Tall 4to (34 x 24.5 cm); 26 colour-illustration plates protected by tissue guards, publisher's blind-stamped cloth with an insert of a copper embossed plate depicting the queen of Sheba, corners slightly rubbed; slight partial yellowing to last couple of pages and slight rubbing marks to top corner of one of the plates; text in English and Hebrew; [32] ll.
A magnificent publication of the Song of Songs, illustrated by Ze'ev Raban, personally dedicated to Prof. Boris Schatz, the founder and then manager of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Following a personal invitation from Schatz Raban moved to Palestine in 1912 and joined the faculty of Bezalel, where he taught until 1929. This edition is based on the first edition of the work, published in Berlin in 1923.

Ze'ev Raban, born Wolf Rawicki (1890-1970) was a leading painter, decorative artist and industrial designer of the Bezalel School, and considered to be one of the founders of the Israeli art world. He was born in Lodz, Ploland, studied there, then in Munich, Paris and Brussels. His illustrations show an eclectic mix of European and Oriental styles, as can be seen in his biblical works, which include the Book of Ruth, the Book of Job, the Book of Esther, the Passover Haggadah and the offered title.