Bidspirit auction | Fascinating collection of sketches/blueprints of

Fascinating collection of sketches/blueprints of the Palace hotel (now Waldorf Astoria) in Jerusalem, 1927. From the Weizmann estate; belonged to Tuvia Dunia, the Jewish builder and brother in law of Dr. Chaim Weizmann.. The Palace hotel was built in 1928-29. ”The Palace Hotel was built in 1928-9 at the initiative of the Supreme Muslim Council during the term of Raghib Nashashibi, British-appointed mayor of Jerusalem. It was the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, who signed the agreement with British contractor Baruch Katinka for the Palace. In One Palestine Complete: Jews and Arabs Under The British Mandate, Tom Segev describes the complex and delicate dealings that surrounded construction. Katinka reasoned that a Jew would never get the job and entered into a partnership with an Arab contractor. Together, the two of them worked with Tuvia Dunia, another Jewish builder, and Chaim Weizmann's brother-in-law to conclude the deal with the Supreme Muslim Council. The Mufti demanded that preference be given to Arab workers and that Friday would be a day of rest. However, in the interest of business, he chose Katinka (and not the Arab contractor) as his confidant. Five-hundred workers completed the four-story building within 11 months, despite taking ten days off for the August 1929 riots. Their speed was unsurprising. The contract stipulated that if the Palace was not competed within 13 months, there would be a 1,000 pound fine for each day of delay; they weren't willing to take the risk. The results of the 70,000-pound investment were impressive: Designed by Turkish architect Nahas Bey, this was an eclectic mixture of Greco-Roman, Renaissance, Gothic, Romanesque, neo-Moorish and Mamluk elements...” (The Jerusalem Post)