Five Early Photographs from the Colonies of Palestine – Rosh Pinna and Zichron Ya'akov – Late 19th Century

Five Early Photographs from the Colonies of Palestine – Rosh Pinna and Zichron Ya'akov – Late 19th Century
Five early photographs documenting the colonies (moshavot) Rosh Pinna and Zichron Ya'akov in their early days; possibly taken by Elie Scheid, Baron Rothschild's chief supervisor of colonies in Palestine. [Late 19th century].
1. The first houses of Rosh Pinna, photographed from a nearby hill. Seen in the photograph are the synagogue, the administration building and the houses of the settlers.
2. The main street of Zichron Ya'akov. The synagogue appears in the center. Standing on the balcony of the house on the right is Judah Leib Wormser, an official of Baron Rothschild in Zichron Ya'akov.
3. A group of people on the main street of Zichron Ya'akov. On the right: Judah Leib Wormser.
4. Houses in Zichron Ya'akov.
5. The interior of the Ohel Ya'akov synagogue in Zichron Ya'akov (built in 1886).
The photographs are mounted on card and are captioned by hand (in pen; in French) on the mounts. Pen marks on some of the photographs.
The First Aliyah colonies Rosh Pinna and Zichron Ya'akov were founded in 1882 and received the support of the philanthropist Baron Edmund James de Rothschild.
Elie (Eliyahu) Scheid (1841-1922), Baron Rothschild's chief supervisor of colonies in Palestine, managed the affairs of the Jewish Yishuv and the array of clerks who were sent by the Baron to the colonies during the years 1883-1900, from his place of residence in France. Scheid assisted in buying land, encouraged Hebrew-language education in the schools of the colonies and promoted the interests of the Carmel company for marketing wines manufactured in the Baron's wineries. Scheid visited Palestine many times. In one of his letters, he notes that during his trip to Ramat Gilad he used three mules to carry his personal belongings, which included photographic equipment. These photographs were possibly taken by Scheid on one of his journeys.
5 photographs, 16X21 cm. mounted on card. Good condition. Stains on photographs and mounts, including minor dampstains. Minor blemishes. Tears (some open) to edges of mounts, some of them reinforced with tape.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.