Shana Tova' card - 'New year Greeting and souvenir from jerusalem, Palestine of Pressed Natural Flowers gathered from the hills and mountains in the Holy Land' - with a handwritten dedication and signature of Chaim Weizmann: "To my dear friend Avraham Shapira Agot Givench Yar" [Happy New Year]. At the top of the card is the date 'Elul תרע"ט (1919)' also in the handwriting of Weizmann. The recipient of the blessing is Avraham Shapira, 'elder guards' of the Land of Israel.
In October 1919, Weizmann returned to Eretz Israel from the Paris Peace Conference. His request to enter it was rejected by the British military authorities, but Colonel Richard Meinerzgen bypassed them and arranged his entry directly in front of the Foreign Office. Weizmann, who was then at the height of Zionist activity after a meeting with Amir Faisal, and after extensive activity at the Peace Conference in Paris, met daily with many personalities, and for the first time in his life, he hired a bodyguard - Avraham Shapira - Receives the blessing. Shapira immigrated to Eretz Israel from the Ukraine in the late 19th century, and was active in the defense of the Petah Tikva colony for about 30 years, and even served as an escort to Baron Rothschild.
The rare card itself - on one side was a dried flower 'Flower from the Land of Israel', in front of it a Star of David, greetings in English, and a quote from psalms, on the back of the card printed a poem by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi 'Ode to Zion'.
Provenance: Gerard Silvain Collection.
Size: 16x13 cm. Stains. Good condition.
