Archive of Photographer Sam Frank – Photographs and Negatives from the First Decades of the State of Israel – 1950s ...

Archive of Photographer Sam Frank – Photographs and Negatives from the First Decades of the State of Israel – 1950s to 1970s
Archive of about 1200 photographs, about 50 contact prints and hundreds of negatives from the estate of photographer Sam Frank. Israel, ca. 1950s to 1970s.
The photographs in the archive, many of which were taken during the 1950s, follow the first decades of the State of Israel and encompass most aspects of life in the newly established State. The photographs show the institutes of the state in various events – Herzl's burial in Jerusalem (negatives), the 23rd Zionist Congress (1951), the visit of US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in Israel (1953), the burial of Baron Rothschild in Israel and more; cultural institutions and events – "HaBimah" theater at the transit camp of Tira (1951), the "Ohel" theater, many concerts and theater plays, a chess championship (presumably 1951), car races, and more; social and educational organizations – the activity of WIZO and the "Mikveh Yisrael" school; and other varied subjects – factories, the Tel-Aviv zoo, occupational therapy at the military hospital of Tel-Aviv (the "Tel HaShomer" hospital), IDF soldiers, the editorial staff of HaAretz, demonstrations against the Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany and Menachem Begin's speech, archeological discoveries in Ashkelon, new immigrants in transit camps, the members of the Karaite community of Egypt in Moshav Matzliach, and more.
Alongside these photographs, which are of a journalistic and documentary character and were presumably commissioned by various bodies, the archive contains many street photographs, depicting people of all strata of the Israeli society.
Enclosed are two certificates from a national photography competition of the Government Press Office and the "American Fund for Israeli Institutions" held in 1952. The certificates indicate that Frank won first prize for the photograph "Towards a New Life" and commendation for another photograph. They incorrectly give his name as Shmuel Frank, although Frank's Hebrew name was Shimon, and are signed, among others, by the painter Reuven Rubin.
Enclosed: approx. 40 photographs (reproduced from the original photographs) of Jerusalem during the 1920s and 1930s; ten photographs of President Chaim Weizmann alongside his wife Vera as well as in various official events, all by Rudi Weissenstein, stamped "Tzalmania Pri-Or" (Pri-Or Photography studio); several photographs by other photographers, including Boris Karmi.
Some of the photographs are stamped on verso with photographer's stamp; however, most of them are mounted to leaves in groups, by subjects. The mounted photographs are mostly captioned on the leaves (English). The contact prints are also mounted to leaves and are summarily captioned.
Size and condition vary; most of the photographs are approx. 5.5X5.5 cm. Good overall condition.