This is among a several drawings I purchased together by Dr. Arthur Tilo Alt (1931-2019)--a scholar and professor of German in Yiddish language and literature in the Judaic studies program at Duke University--which came from his estate in Younsgsville, NC. Born in Java, Indonesia, Alt's family returned to their native Germany in 1933, where Tilo grew up in West Berlin, ultimately moving to the U.S. in 1956 to study at the University of Texas. While I have not done extensive research, all indications are that Alt (Jewish I assume) lived in Berlin during WWII, which is the period during which these drawings would have been made--making these poignant drawings seem all the more so, and also like significant historical documents. 

I am not certain if Alt's father was a carpenter, but what appears to be a refrigerator at far left, and row of potted tulips on the shelf at right, suggest a domestic setting for this depiction of a man planing a table with array of tools hanging on the wall. Very quiet and very beautiful I think. And on the reverse a pencil drawing of sailor on sailboat marked S.U.

11 1/8" x 8 1/4". Pencil and watercolor on natural colored construction paper. Unevenness and tears to the right edge, small tears coming in from the edges in general, a tiny fold to the upper right corner, and few small stains. I believe that what appears to be a "3J" likely refers to his Alt's class in school.

Arthur Tilo Alt. Education:  Doctor of Philosophy, University Texas, 1964; diploma Yiddish Language & Literature, Columbia University, 1974.

Career: Instructor, Duke U., Durham, North Carolina, 1961-1965; assistant professor, Duke U., Durham, 1967-1977; associate professor, Duke U., Durham, 1978-1988; professor German and Judaic studies, Duke U., Durham, since 1989; assistant professor, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 1965-1967. Visiting assistant professor Columbia University, New York City, summers 1967-1968.