Auction 94 Part 2 Rare and Important Items

Neviim Rishonim with Commentary of the Radak – Soncino, 1485 – Incunable – First Edition of Radak's Commentary

Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Sold for: $13,750
Including buyer's premium

Neviim Rishonim – Shoftim, Shmuel and Melachim, with a commentary by R. David Kimchi – the Radak. [Soncino: Joshua Solomon son of Israel Nathan Soncino, 1485]. First edition of Radak's commentary on Neviim Rishonim. Without the book of Yehoshua. Incunable.
The initial word of each book is decorated with fine woodcut illustrations of flowers and animals.
Most of the book was printed in two columns, the text of the Neviim to the right in square script, with the commentary on the left, in Rashi script.
Colophon on final leaf, stating that the book was completed on 6 Cheshvan 1485 in Soncino.
Marginal inscriptions and glosses on several leaves.


[145] leaves. Originally: [168] leaves. Lacking 23 leaves, including 22 leaves at beginning of volume – book of Yehoshua (including original blank leaf at end of Yehoshua), and additional blank leaf at end of Shoftim. Collation (independent pagination for each book) – Shoftim: i-ii8, iii5 (lacking final leaf – originally blank leaf); Shmuel: i-viii8; Melachim: i-vi8, vii12. Missing leaves replaced in photocopy. 27 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including minor dampstains and traces of past dampness. Marginal open tears to several leaves, repaired with paper. Several leaves remargined (presumably supplied from a different copy). Stamps (indistinct) and handwritten inscriptions. Fine, new leather binding, placed in matching leather case.


For a detailed description of this edition, and regarding copies with typographical variances, see: P. Tishby, Kiryat Sefer, LXIII, 1990-1991, pp. 603-608, 622-625.
Regarding the text of this edition, see: Ch.D. Ginsburg, Introduction to the Massoretico-Critical edition of the Hebrew Bible, New York: Ktav, 1966, pp. 803-807; A.K. Offenberg, Hebrew Incunabula in Public Collections, Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1990, no. 27.

Incunabula and Early Printed Books
Incunabula and Early Printed Books