Historicana, established in 1987 by its sole proprietor and owner, Irvin Ungar, specializes in the buying and selling of rare books, manuscripts and historic works of art.
Our specialized areas of interest include the fields of Americana, l9th century American literature, books signed by Presidents, Judaica, and the works of Arthur Szyk. Our inventory also features highspots in the general field of rare book collecting. A selection of our inventory can be viewed throughout www.historicana.com.
In addition to our regularly issued catalogues, we have issued lists of H.L. Mencken, Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain, a History of Zionism catalogue entitled "The Birth of a Nation: The Jewish People and the Land of Israel". For collectors of Passover Haggadot, we have published a Collector's Haggadah Catalogue featuring over 1000 haggadot from 1695-Present.
Among the highspots we have sold are: First Editions of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates signed by Lincoln, The Federalist Papers, Melville's Moby Dick, and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. Other sales have included important letters by Albert Einstein, a highly important letter by Theodor Herzl on the cause of zionism before the English parliament, and numerous books written and signed by Presidents of The United States.
Collection development is our specialty. We offer both beginning and advanced collectors a broad range of services including consultation, appraisal and representation at auction. Our clients include museums, prominent institutional libraries, and a wide variety of private collectors.
Historicana regularly participates in approximately 6 to 8 shows yearly throughout the United States. We cherish our ongoing personal relationships with our clientele, and invite you to get to know us and share your collecting interests with us.
Irvin D. Ungar is Founder and CEO of Historicana, a rare book and manuscript business (established 1987) based in Burlingame, California. Mr. Ungar, a former rabbi, also is a specialist in historic Judaica including books, maps, broadsides, photographs, autographs and manuscripts.
Mr. Ungar's interest in Judaica led to his discovery, in 1989 of the art of Arthur Szyk, the great 20th century illuminator. A Polish Jew who immigrated to the United States in late 1940, Arthur Szyk was the leading political artist in World War II America, who, sadly fell into obscurity following his death in 1951. Recognizing the aesthetic and cultural value of Szyk's artwork and social justice messages, Mr. Ungar prepared a national public education campaign to reintroduce to the art world and the American public to this master illuminator and political caricaturist, whom Eleanor Roosevelt had described as a one-man army against fascism.
In 1997, Mr. Ungar became President of the Arthur Szyk Society, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the renaissance of Arthur Szyk's art, which organizes exhibitions, lectures, publications and other public programs throughout the United States. The Society is succeeding in creating a revival of national and international interest in the artist and his work through its programs and special outreach efforts.
Mr. Ungar also is a curator of special exhibitions and a widely published writer on subjects relating to Arthur Szyk and Judaica. He served as guest curator for the following exhibitions: The Cartographer's Vision: 400 Years of Holy Land Maps, at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley (May 15 - Sept. 11, 1988); Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk, at The Spertus Museum, Chicago (August 16, 1998 - February 28, 1999); Arthur Szyk: Manuscript Illuminator, Political Artist and Advocate for Humanity, University of Scranton Art Gallery, Scranton, PA (November 29, 1999—February 11, 2000); Arthur Szyk: Artist for Freedom, at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (December 9, 1999—May 6, 2000). Ungar has also served as the consultant to the United States Holocaust Museum for its exhibition: Art and Politics of Arthur Szyk (April 10- October 14, 2002). He is presently serving as the Curator for The Arthur Szyk Society and has organized its traveling exhibition program to college campuses and abroad.
Mr. Ungar's published works include: Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk, Chicago: Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies, (1998); The Collector's Haggadah Catalogue, 1695-Present, Burlingame: Historicana, (1994); and numerous articles. He has lectured worldwide, from Hebrew University, Jerusalem, to the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C to the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland.
Mr. Ungar received his MA in education from New York University, a second MA in sacred theology from the New York Theological Seminary, his rabbinical ordination from The Academy for Jewish Religion, and his BA in mathematics and economics from Washington and Jefferson College. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, he now resides in Burlingame, California, with his wife. His two children are students at UCLA.
