In the air, in the sea, on the ground

The flowers go to Zahal

A lovely illustrated napkin with a surprisingly accurate 3 color print from the series "Souvenir of Israel". I love the cosmopolitan feeling! And the little dog!

 

Peekaboo, I see you!

Peekaboo - Kikar Malchei Israel 8 Tel-Aviv. Steak-bar Restaurant.

A sweet napkin for Peekaboo - Steak-bar and a restaurant. It was located in Kikar Malchei Israel  no. 8 (Malchei Israel square), now days Rabin square in Tel-Aviv. I couldn't find any information about this place or what's in its spot today. If you have any idea don't be shy and comment :)

Peekaboo - logo

The design is a mess but has it's grace. I really like the unique typography of the logo.
It seems like there was a so-so success with having a continuous visual language in this logo. Letters are also kinda wobbly so I guess it might be hand drawn. Still I really love the innovative design of the letter "Aleph" - א  (third from left).

Harpaz

I found the name Harpaz hiding in the corner. Is it the credit for the print house or the designer? If so, I think it's the first time I noticed a credit for a designer on a napkin.

A souvenir of Mugrabi

A lake, a tower, a colosseum and a cinema (?)

on the back

This napkin from the "Souvenir of Israel" series shows some hot spots to remember.
A rather detailed illustration and a rich 3 color print. It displays the landscape of Tiberias and sea of the Galilee, Jerusalem's "Citradel" (Migdal David), the ancient Roman colosseum in Caeserea and then, a surprise. Mugrabi cinema hall in Tel-Aviv.
Unlike the citradel and colosseum that still remain standing in a very impressive condition after hundreds of years, Mugrabi cinema hall didn't survive a whole century. It was opened to business in 1930 and became an important cultural center and one of the most popular hang-outs in the early days of Tel-Aviv.
Unfortunately it was burned in 1986 and demolished in 1989.. Now days you can find a depressing parking lot where it stood, but probably not for long. Another big luxury residence is planned for this area instead of reviving the cinema hall. I guess the future residents will have a nice home theater system in their luxury apartment to watch films instead.

Got a flight tonight

In the running year I've been finding myself up in the air sipping Bloody Maries and chocking on dust flavored marble cakes more than I could have ever imagined. Today, just recovering from a very long flight back to Tokyo, from the deeps of my jet lag haze,  I found some lovely napkins from the 60's skies.

El Al airlines, Israel's flag carrier's logo in his 60's version (just before it was recreated by the great designer Dan Reisinger in 1971). A simple one color print for this airplane napkin. Simple and elegant!

El Al airplane napkin (plus some Bloody Mary stains)

And a big one

Another napkin from a past El Al flight. This time you can see the logo after (or before?) some changes. The basic structure of the logo was mostly kept, but in this version the logo was built up from star-of-David fractals.. 

On the other side of the napkin you can also find the nicely adapted Hebrew logo.

 El Al star of david logo

We are all made of stars - the Hebrew version

The last flight napkin comes from Arkia - Israel's biggest inner flights company of those days.

The logo has also changed since, but still keeps the orange and blue principle.

Arkia - old logo

Israeli Japonism

A post dedicated to my beloved Japan.

These two beautiful napkins were also found in my mom's collection. Both show a western (or Israeli to be more accurate) interpretation of Japanese art and design. Or anyway, what people thought was in those days..

opened (plus some age stains)

folded

The first napkin is made out of very very delicate and soft paper which almost crumbled in my hands.

Not the usual rough type I'm used to find in the collection.

It shows a loose handed draw of probably mountain Fuji and 2 pagodas surrounded by a pink Sakura (cherry) or plum blossom. The illustration seems to have all the means to create a "Japanese" atmosphere but still there's something about the little details that feels like it's not the real thing we're seeing now. 

Stuff like the shape of the Sakura (cherry) flowers, the loose stroke and the background coloring make you feel that the artist might have never been to Japan and probably had drawn it with the aid of a photo and some and a hunch.

Anyways, this napkin is a real beauty. The 4 color print, special paper and the nicely cut edges show a good technical skill. A keeper!

opened

folded

The second and also adorable napkin shows a lovely scene with some busy geishas. Here the hand drawing is pretty loose too. Maybe to cover for some lack of reference.. Seems like the shrine or temple was assembled with some quick strokes because the illustrator had no idea how a real one looks like. No Google in those days. Anyway he added some bells at the corners just in case.

Holiday in Tiberias

Ganei Hamat Hotel - Logo

These two napkins are from the Ganei Hamat hotel in Tiberias. Now days the hotel is known as Rimonim Mineral Tiberias Hotel (After being Holiday Inn for many years) and has been quite famous for its mineral hot springs and for the big debate in the 80's with the ultra orthodox Haredi group when ancient bones were found buried in the hotel's territory while building an annex. History aside, check out the awesome 3 colors combination at the first napkin! 

They almost managed to create the green palm tree without being completely out of line. The second is the one color contour version of the hotel's logo. Is it the hotel's logo in two design versions? 

Dunno. If you have any idea you're welcomed to comment.

All night long

Le'Haim - Cheers

I can't stop thinking of this Lionel Richie's sticky 80's song looking at those 2 lovely napkins. Great party feeling with floating bubbles and cocktail glasses. Just great!
I really like the 3 color use for the Le'Haim napkin. The color print is relatively quite accurate and the combination and patterns create a vivid and vibrant feel.
The second one makes me feel like dancing tango by a lamp post. Le'Haim!