Two large photographs of members of the Agion family. Egypt, early 20th century

Two large photographs of members of the Agion family. Egypt, early 20th century

Two large photographs of members of the Agion family - A Jewish family of well-known merchants in Egypt owns the "Agion Brothers Bank" and many Jewish public buildings in Egypt, and later in Jerusalem. Early of the 20th century.

The "Agion" (The equivalent of the name "Kadosh"- "holy" in Hebrew) family was a famous merchant family in Egypt. The family name originally comes from "Aalion" - a village in Spain. The family immigrated to Thessaloniki and Alexandria in Egypt, where the name was changed to the Greek-sounding "Agion". The Agion family became famous in the Egyptian Jewish community mainly thanks to the "Agion Brothers Bank" which they owned, and Jewish public buildings they established, such as the school and the hospital in Alexandria which were named after the family. The building used today as "Beit Agion" - the house of the Prime Minister on Balfour Street in Jerusalem, was built for the Jewish banker and businessman Edward Agion [1883-1956], one of the richest people in Alexandria in those days. It was designed by architect Richard Kaufman and built between 1936-1938. In December 1935 Agion and his family immigrated to Eretz Israel. Starting in 1938, the family lived in Jerusalem in the "Agion House", which was designed in the best of Eastern architecture - the inner courtyard of the house was added to the house at the request of the Agion family - an element that wasn't accepted in the international style, but was accepted in Muslim construction. In 1941, King Peter II of Yugoslavia lived in the house for about two months. During the War of Independence, Agion allowed his house to be used as a hospital for the Irgun fighters. In 1952, the State of Israel purchased the house, and it was (and still is) used over the years by foreign ministers and prime ministers and became known as the "Prime Minister's House". Over the years, renovations were made to it, but The original construction lines can still be discerned.

Large photographs: 24x18 cm. and 24x19 cm. size includes the hard substrate: 37x26 cm. The photographs are described in English handwriting: "Rebecca Agion (Moreno) and the girls", "Elijah Agion and the family". glued to the photographer's hard cardboard. Very good condition.