Description
An eclectic mix of materials relating to the history of Tel Aviv. Included are census materials, advertisements from the 1920s
and 1930s, maps and completion certificates for buildings constructed between 1935-1948, postcards, photographs, municipal
documents, land deeds, visa and employment certification requests, flyers and publicity for cultural events, movie handbills
before 1948, and business ads.
Background
Eliasaf
Robinson, a native of the city of
Tel
Aviv, began to gather the materials relating to Tel Aviv in the 1960s, when he was still a teenager. He belongs to the fourth
generation in a family dynasty of booksellers and is the most prominent antiquarian book dealer in Israel. The Jewish settlement
that became the city of Tel Aviv was established in 1909. Almost everything in this collection dates from before 1948, the
year that the State of Israel proclaimed its independence. The collection documents a vast range of private and public activity
in Tel Aviv during its first four decades. Above all, the materials in the collection demonstrate the effectiveness of one
of the twentieth century?s boldest and most effective acts of social engineering: the revival and enforced use of the Hebrew
language. The modern, largely secular, urban Hebrew culture that emerged there during the 1920s and 1930s is the basis of
the Israeli culture of today. The photographs, postcards, maps, architectural plans, and construction permits in this collection
also document the growth of the "White City" of Tel Aviv, which in March 2003 UNESCO proclaimed a World Heritage Centre. This
recognition was based on the city's "synthesis of outstanding significance of the various trends of the Modern Movement in
architecture and town planning in the early part of the 20th century."
Restrictions
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain
permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.
Availability
Collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.