The Historama Alex Ben-Arieh P.O.Box 32128 Tel Aviv, Israel 61321 Tel/Fax: +972-3-546-1971 Mobile:  +972-547-680-086 e-mail:   alex@historama.com

Welcome to the history shop! I've been collecting coins and other assorted antiques for almost 25 years. My ambition has always been to work in history - to study historical events, preserve their memory by specializing in their artifacts, and promote interest of and awareness in history. To these ends I opened this online shop. The specific areas of my interests are Israel, Europe and wartime from the 19th Century to the present day. The items I carry range from all types of currency, militaria and documents to maps, posters, photographs, architectural memorabilia (primarily Bauhaus), small fashion accessories from the early 20th century (glasses, pens, watches), Judaica and Eretz Israel.

As a collector myself, I can say that I deal with many areas of interest to me. Nevertheless, one of my goals in opening this shop is also to promote Israeli memorabilia to the collecting and researching community. Few online dealers carry Israeli/Jewish memorabilia, and the area is little-promoted on the internet. While many collectors and dealers, like myself, delve into German militaria and Third Reich memorabilia, there is a whole world of worthwhile historical and collectable memorabilia in Jewish-Israeli history, and I hope to promote further interest in this field here as well. As such, when you have dealings with my shop you will encounter not just a simple dealer of artifacts but a keen and enthusiastic collector as well. I hope my interests in history will kindle yours, and I look forward to making your acquaintance.

Best Regards, Alex

On the occasion of my grandmother's 94th birthday, this site is dedicated to my family roots and specifically to her (Tamara Kendzierska Z''L, 1913-2008) and to the memory of her husband, Gunter Leo Klehmann (1899-1973). Gunter was a successful salesman, a proud German and Zionist, who visited Palestine in 1935 but decided that the place wasn't for him and returned to Germany; for turning down Palestine he was fortunate to meet his wife, Tamara, in the period after he returned; rounded up during Kristallnacht, he escaped together with Tamara on black market visas to Peru on Christmas Day 1938, on the freighter "Imperial"; arrived in Peru almost penniless, with some family pictures and one Singer sewing-machine from which he and his wife eventually established the successful "Blanca Nieves" linen factory in Lima; left Peru in 1971 with the change of government and settled in Israel, where Gunter enjoyed his final years in the Promised Land surrounded by surviving friends and family. My grandparents' perserverence enabled future generations of the family to go to university and grow up in a balanced and established environment.

Why Collect Israeli Memorabilia: This question will invariably come up: why collect Israeli memorabilia? The most direct answer probably is "because Israel is History". What I mean by that is that Israel represents history; Israel's daily presence is history itself in the making; Israel is nation-building taking place before our eyes. Now, why should that interest anyone? I suppose the best answer to that is simply that the story of Israel and of her people is a saga with universal application: many elements of the Jewish-Israeli experience are relatable to the experiences of other nations and people. On the fundamental level, this experience is also a very human one - broadly, a story of rise and fall (of the Jewish people during Roman times), and rise again (in the present times); of slavery (in ancient Egypt) and freedom (the Exodus); dispersion and subjugation (from 79 AD until 1948) and triumph (from 1948 onwards).

In order to comprehend the magnitude of the history Israel represents, we need to remember that Israel and the Jewish nation she represents have been central to the course of world history for over 5,000 - and world history of the past two centuries in particular, has been heavily influenced by the forces that have brought Israel about (anti-Semitism, emancipation, the development of the modern Left and Right-wing ideologies, the Holocaust and World War II; for the religious - also the Bible), and by Israel's existence itself. -------- At first glance, it's easy to understand why Israeli memorabilia has not gained wider attention for the past 60 years: for many the land is far away; the language is not similar to any other - and is not easy for a layman to understand; Jewish or Israeli culture may seem intimidating or strange to some; and in the climate of political correctness, the policies of its governments have stirred up controversy. The Jewish-Israeli experience is not a smooth nor easy one to absorb either. The Jewish experience alone is a complex history of dispersion, and in the wake of upheavals the rise of Israel fostered or created - Palestinian refugees, the hundred-year crisis in the middle east, the age of terrorism - it's possible that the country's memorabilia may have been overlooked by foreign collectors wary of identifying too closely with a nation associated with controversy.

Ironically, this has not been the problem with Third Reich memorabilia but perhaps that is because it's much easier on the conscience to consign that regime to the study of "evil" outright as opposed to grappling with the complex moral and diplomatic issues posed by the Arab-Israeli conflict. Nevertheless, in order to give the outsider some sense of direction as regards how he should approach the idea of collecting Israeli memorabilia - and without wishing to inject a political tone into our writing or work - let us suggest to the visitor to at least appreciate Israeli history and memorabilia with cautious respect or pride. Without at least that minimum degree of motivation there is probably no other factor to fuel interest in approaching Israeli collectibles.

-------- Israeli memorabilia has much variety and depth to offer to enthusiasts and collectors: the nation's contemporary history includes the presence and influence of the Ottoman Turks and of the British; the nation's founding includes periods of sporadic, early development (pre-1917); periods of transition and upheaval (1918; 1936-39; 1947-48); wartime; periods of foreign rule (pre-1918, 1921-47); periods of insular development, national establishment and national development; periods of conquest, with civilian and military authorities, and periods of consolidation or retreat.

In spite of the rich history that contemporary Israeli collectibles represent, what gives her artifacts character and breathes life into them is the human element that brought about the creation of those articles: the basic trait of the Israeli character is existentialism; an expression of human impatience and individual boldness set against a backdrop of overwhelming burdens and odds; a national character whose needs all had to be met "yesterday"; whose occasion for the declaration of independence after 2,000 years in exile was set only the day before the date itself (and then on a budget of 150 Palestinian Pounds); and whose political and military leadership for years has approached challenges by observing: "first they will tell us why we cannot succeed, and then we'll go ahead and do it".

Israeli memorabilia is not the history of cold committee decisions and paperwork; important Israeli collectibles are not the product of investment, pre-planning, foresight or exactitude. Unlike most other collectibles for instance - German especially - the mark of history is clearly visible on Israeli memorabilia precisely because of their crudeness, because the pressure of history forced its Israeli participants to produce artifacts at the very moment of their need and not much before. The object captures a moment of history in the making. What gives beauty to Israel's collectibles is her makers' efforts to combine artistry with practicality; and what gives value to her collectibles is the historic significance of their existence in the first place. And between the need and the creation lies the very human tale of how these pieces were even assembled at all. When a collector holds up a piece of Israeli memorabilia, he is not holding up merely an object, he is beholding an artifact crafted by man under pressure by history. The object itself is history.

Coins: The area of contemporary Israeli coins reaches deep into the late-mid 19th century and spans key periods of history. Her modern numismatic history begins with Jewish settlement tokens minted against a backdrop of circulating coins of the Ottoman Empire. With the conquest of the British, the land sees the production of Mandatory coinage and tokens, followed thereafter by the appearance of Israel's own coins (who, in turn, evolve through several forms of monetary reform and sprawl into government medals and telephone tokens). Israel's first coins were produced from confiscated aluminum, hand-fed into and stamped out of a converted American steel press, under military guard during the height of the War of Independence.

Stamps: Modern Israel's philatelic roots are deep, covering many periods of history compacted into a sliver of time. The country's philatelic character is as rich in variety as it is in beauty. Her philatelic treasury include foreign post office issues mixing in with circulating Ottoman stamps; British military and then intricate Mandatory issues; Jewish 'National Fund' labels, followed by emergency local issues; transition-period stamps and franks; Israeli issues and stamps for occupied and administered territories. Israel's first stamps thoughtfully represent images of the coins of the Second Commonwealth of Jewish nation, from 2,000 years before - only that owing to their hurried production before the declaration of independence, they are called "Hebrew Post" as the name of the soon to be declared state had not been decided yet.

Currency: Israel's modern history and national development also finds expression through the development of her currency. The period begins with Ottoman notes and transforms into local, Jewish emergency chits and registered checques during the Great War. The introduction of Mandatory British-inspired notes brings with it gradually developing chits and tokens for Jewish public transportation and store coupons. The end of the Second World War produces a short burst of confinement camp notes. The evacuation of the British and the establishment of Israel brings with it a slew of primitive emergency and transitional notes along with several varieties of circulating issues. Subsequent years see the notes become more intricate in design while changing in denomination. Israel's first currency notes are small, simple pieces whose hand-made woven designs coins them the name 'carpet notes'.

Militaria: Israel's organized militaria draws its roots from rare pieces of the Zion Mule Corps and Jewish Legion of the First World War. Subsequent items derive from the Palestine Police organization, various youth movements, different Jewish paramilitary formations and then from the underground organizations. The regalia of the Jewish Brigade Group presages the production of the Israeli army's own military insignia, badges and accoutrements whose influences run from British and French designs, to local and American flavors. The Israeli armed forces have fought (and won) six major wars in less than 60 years, and have also fought (and won or stalemated) numerous terrorist, guerilla and civil unrest campaigns. Though generally considered the best armed force in the world, the Israeli military is a citizen-army whose appearance is reflected by her soldiers: professional but informal and understated, not standing on ceremony. Israel's army insignia, designed in 1948, is a stylized Star of David with a sword and olive branch in the middle. Though straightforward in its regalia, elite soldiers will be rewarded rare badges and honors no matter how simple their metal or manufacture, but as is the case with us here it is also not uncommon for whole classes of paratroopers to graduate without receiving a cheap, though coveted, paratrooper badge - because of alleged budget cuts!

Documents: A dense production of papers and small objects document the life and development of Israel. These include artistic objects, posters and photographs in the Bauhaus style; an intricate bureaucracy of paper for administration: of licenses, austerity period coupons, identity cards, tax stamps and television license stamps; emotional 'Eretz Israel' memorabilia, featuring the nation's founders and emblems on pins, postcards, book covers, silver cases or kitch.

-------- Like the rough and unpolished path of Jewish-Israeli history, in Israel's crude and standard pieces lies the real value of her memorabilia. Their value lies in their historic significance, for they are powerful symbols of the spirit of the Jewish people and of the rebirth of the Jewish Nation - a people central to the course of world history. Israel's memorabilia attests to the presence of a nation that still possess a national and biblical mission whose influence pervades the world today as it has for the past 5000 years, and whose actions affect the entire world; few nations today can argue that they still have a national mission or manifest destiny left to fulfill. Finally, the existence and development of Israel's modes of currency, military insignia or her political, economic, cultural and governmental documentation attest to the modern-day triumph of ordinary people who have survived and overcome extraordinary circumstances.