“A Jewish State” – First American Edition of “Der Judenstaat” – New-York, 1904

“A Jewish State, an Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question.” By Theodor Herzl. Foreword and comments by Jacob De Haas. New York: The Maccabaean Publishing Co., 1904. First American edition. English.
The first American edition of “Der Judenstaat” [“The Jewish State”], Herzl’s revolutionary manifesto of Zionism, in which he outlined his vision of a Jewish State in Eretz Israel as a solution to anti-Semitism. First published in 1896 in Germany, “The Jewish State” is considered the most important Zionist publication ever. “It was Herzl’s book which really crystallized the idea of a national home for the Jews […] By his work he transformed the Jewish people from a passive community into a positive political force. That a Jewish State was created within 50 years of his death was due to the vision and the practical methods of Herzl, expressed in his manifesto of 1896.” (Printing and the Mind of Man).
Frontispiece photograph portrait of Herzl on the balcony of the Hotel Les Trois Rois in Basel, taken by E.M. Lilien.
XXII, 102 pp, good condition. Professionally restored minor tears to cover and title page. Gilt edges. Original blue cloth stiff cover, with gilt embossing of the book title and the author’s. In a custom clamshell case.