Synagogue of Alexandria – Large Hand-Painted Leaf – New York, End of 19th Century

The First Synagogue of Alexanderie in Egypt, by Prof. J. S. Kolbe. New York, [end of 19th century].
Lithographic printing on paper, hand-painted.
In the center of the leaf is a large illustration of "the inside of the Synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt"; on the right is the "outside". At the top of the leaf are the ark, the two Tablets of Law and two lions holding a Torah crown. Around the leaf are five illustrations of vessels and themes of the Temple and another 13 illustrations that portray Biblical scenes (described in English and Yiddish-Deitsch). The picture of the Synagogue of Alexandria was drawn by Yehoshua Yosef Kolbe (1807-1920). Kolbe was born in Warsaw or in Brisk and dedicated his life to the research of the First and Second Temples. For his research, he traveled to European cities and visited various libraries. He presented the conclusions of his research, accompanied by detailed sketches, in his book "Binyan Ariel" (he received approbations from leading rabbis from the East and West on his book and published it in Yiddish as well). He spent the last years of his life in Jerusalem.
In 1887, Kolbe published a similar leaf, by the name "Bible Sceneries", with an illustration of the inside of the Temple in its center, totally identical to this illustration of the Synagogue in Alexandria. See attached material.
56.5X70.5 cm. Frame 70X83.5 cm. Fair-poor condition. Tears, some lacking (primarily the bottom right corner). Tape repairs.