Collection of Autographs of All of the Members of the First Knesset - Album, 1949-1950

Collection of Autographs of All of the Members of the First Knesset - Album, 1949-1950
"Collection of Signatures of the First Knesset Delegates" - complete autograph album, with autographs of the First Knesset members. Gathered, edited and arranged by a teenager from Tel-Aviv, 1949-1950.
A nice decorated album with the autographs of all the members of the first Knesset with the addition of four members who were appointed during the term and one uncounted member - Yoram Geri (total of 131 autographs). The album was gathered during the years 1949 and 1950 by a young "autograph hunter", who mounted on the leaves, by the autographs, photographs of the signatories, caricatures cut out of newspapers, short biographies and information written by hand about the Knesset and its composition. Numerous autographs are accompanied by dedications, and several members signed twice - slightly different signatures.
Gathering autographs of Knesset members was common for a short while during the early days of the State of Israel, and young "autograph hunters" used to assemble at the entrance to the old Knesset seat and ask the passersby to sign. An "autograph market" developed among the collectors, with exchange rates based on the rarity of the autographs and the difficulty to obtain it.
The most desirable and unique signatures were those of members who were reluctant to sign and never did. Among those signatures were the ones of S. Yizhar (Yizhar Smilansky), Israel Gurfinkel (Israel Guri, father of the poet Haim Guri), and others. Those signatures were considered scarce and required resourcefulness. The youth were, more than once, sitting in ambushes, sent letters to the chambers and there were even cases of breaking into the Knesset corridors.
Total of 131 signatures. III, 126, IV-XI pp, (numbered by hand). Album: 22X17.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and creases.