The 1st Zionist Congress 1897 official protocol: book 'Zionisten-Congress in Basel (29. 30. und 31. August 1897) Officielles Protocoll', published by 'Erez Israel' Verlag & printed by Jacob Dux, Vienna 1898; 200 pages. The official transcript of the proceedings of the First Zionist Congress, including an 8 page appendix at the end with the names and locations of persons worldwide who sent telegrams and letters to the Congress. It was from this Congress that Theodore Herzl, its leader, famously noted in his diary (3 September): "Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word - which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly - it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it." The book is professionally rebound with leather on board, gold-stamped title on spine, and retaining the title section of the orignal paper jacket of the protocol (front & back - both with spill marks); tightly bound, all pages intact, flat & pristine - a few light pencil notations in places but not detracting from the quality of the volume - one of the nicest copies seen on the market. Ex Libris bookplate on the inside cover from Viktor Achter: Achter (1905-1981) appears to be the son of the German cloth manufacturer Viktor Achter (1874-1957), served as the chairman of the Nazi Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1942-45, after the war he worked as a professor, textile entrepreneur and lawyer; appointed Knight of the Pontifical Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem in 1957, and in June 1992 his extensive library was auctioned by Hauswedell & Nolte in Hamburg.