Albert Schweitzer – Six Paper Items with Presentation Inscriptions to Members of the Dayan Family, Handwritten and ...

Albert Schweitzer – Six Paper Items with Presentation Inscriptions to Members of the Dayan Family, Handwritten and Signed by Schweitzer – Gabon, 1961

Six printed paper items with handwritten presentation inscriptions by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Albert Schweitzer, to members of the Dayan family. Gabon, 1961.
Six paper items with presentation inscriptions by Albert Schweitzer (Handwritten in German), to Moshe, Ruth, Assaf (Assi) and Ehud (Udi) Dayan. All are signed by Schweitzer and dated January 3, 1961.
1-3. Three pictures of Albert Schweitzer sitting at his office desk. One picture inscribed to Ehud, another to Assaf, and a third to Moshe and Ruth Dayan.
[3] ff., 10X14.5 cm. Good Condition. Stains (many stains to one picture). Minor tear to one picture.
4. Picture of islands in the Ogooué river, Gabon, with a long inscription handwritten by Schweitzer. According to the inscription, the picture depicts the place in which Schweitzer first formulated the idea of "reverence for life" ("Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben"), which became his life philosophy. At the bottom of the page, a short, handwritten presentation inscription to Moshe and Ruth Dayan.
15X21 cm. Good condition. Stains (mostly to verso).
5. "Plan of the Hospital of Dr. Albert Schweitzer at Lambarene"; with a legend. Handwritten presentation inscription to Moshe and Ruth Dayan above the legend.
Approx. 30X23.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Creases and fold lines. Tears to edges (some open).
6. Hopital du Docteur Albert Schweitzer. Illustration of the hospital founded by Schweitzer in Lambaréné, Gabon, with a legend in French. Presentation inscription to Moshe and Ruth Dayan.

Approx. 21X30 cm. Good condition. Stains. Horizontal fold line and minor creases. Few minor tears to edges.

Enclosed: two large photographs of Albert Schweitzer (one damaged, with creases, closed and open tears).

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), physician, philosopher, and musician; native of Alsace, then part of the German Empire. Schweitzer was awarded the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophical teachings, exemplified by the idea of "reverence for life" (German: "Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben"), an ethical stance which emphasizes the intrinsic value and sanctity of life itself, be it human lives, animal lives or nature as such.
Schweitzer made a name for himself as a theologian and an organ player; at the age of 30 he began studying medicine, with the intention of engaging in humanitarian aid work in Africa. In 1913, Schweitzer and his wife, Helene Bresslau Schweitzer, established a hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, situated on the banks of the Ogooué river, then under French colonial rule, where he worked intermittently for many years. The hospital served the local population; its funding came from Schweitzer and from donations he raised in America and Europe. The money awarded to Schweitzer by the Norwegian Nobel Committee was used to establish a Leper colony in the vicinity of the hospital.
In 1960 Ruth Dayan visited Schweitzer in the Lambaréné hospital, where she spent about four weeks, alongside her friend, Clara Urquhart. Urquhart was a friend of the 85 years old Schweitzer, and regularly visited him in his hospital, taking care of his correspondence, and busying herself with translating his writings to English. Dayan spent her time in the hospital volunteering in the various hospital wards, befriending the doctors and nurses. She was deeply impressed with Schweitzer, whom she perceived as a person strictly abiding by his own creed of "reverence to life". She dedicated an entire chapter of her autobiography to her time in Lambaréné and her impressions of the doctor, his philosophy, and his work.

Provenance: Estate of Ruth Dayan.