Megillat Esther(the Book of Esther) is read on Purim, which begins at sundown on March 7 this year. This 1940s postcard printed in pre-state Palestine shows micrography—a Jewish art form from the ninth century which uses tiny Hebrew lettering to make an image. This image of the whole megillah is by artist Tzvi Dushnik (1911-1979) who immigrated with his family to Palestine from Belarus in 1913.
The flying camel was the symbol of the Levant Fair, an international trade fair held in Tel Aviv to highlight Jewish Palestine’s economic success (a preview of Israel today being the start-up nation). Designed by architect Arie El-Hanani (1898-1985), the logo represents the connection between the east and the west. El-Hanani was a member of the team that designed Yad Vashem’s Hall of Remembrance.
