The Mystery of the Vilna Gate-Caper

...is yet to be resolved.

Okay, I've been quite intensively researching the origins of the famed Vilna-gate title-page that appears in most modern gemaras:


Yup, this old thing. Anyway, I've made some interesting discoveries, which will be for another time, when I'll have more koach to write about it.
What boggles my mind is that no one seems to care who made this. It's an engraving, and from a base look, it's quite good. But who made it? Nothing. Nadda. Now, researching different versions and editions, I managed to make out some signatures - but their meanings are unclear.

I hope to go later this week to the NLI (National Library of Israel) in hopes of maybe digging up more info. I'll be quite bummed if they don't have an answer.

For me it'll be an adventure, though. This'll only be my second time at the NLI, and actually walking up to a worker there for info...well, hope it'll turn out alright.

Will update eventually.

Wojtek, or: Every Artillery unit has an awesome symbol than Keren-411

I watched today a short video about an Asian bear who was adopted during WWII by the 22nd Artillery Unit in the Polish Army whom they named Wojtek (happy warrior). Wojtek was eventually drafted into the unit and assisted greatly during ensuing battles and made it to the rank of corporal.
Eventually, the unit adopted a new insignia: Wojtek holding an artillery shell (now my profile pic).

And I'm left here wondering, as an art-and-graphics enthusiast and a former artillery corpsman, why in Hashem's Name, does every artillery unit have a cool symbol but mine?

Meet the 411th Battalion, Gdud "Keren". Keren means either horn or ray. The proginators of the battalion decided to go with the latter. And lo and behold, Keren's insignia is...a Howitzer on a sun backdrop. A sun? Seriously? Instead of blasting our enemies with explosive fire, we'll give them milk 'n' cookies and hugs 'n' rainbows 'n' pretty suns.

Oy gevalt...

I've seen an artillery insignia that has a shell designed like a shark. I've seen one with a tiger, one with a dragon (albeit, a lame-looking one, but still cooler), one with a stag, etc. But we get stuck with a pretty sun...sigh.

Why couldn't we have gotten some kind of horned creature? A rhino, a goat, a stag, a ram, even a unicorn...

Just some maddening thoughts I have on the subject...