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Manuscript, machzor comprising the Amidah prayers for Rosh Chodesh, the three festivals and High Holidays, selected piyyutim for these days and the Passover Haggadah, according to Italian rite. Illustrated miniature manuscript on a single sheet of parchment cut into roundels. [Italy, late 15th or early 16th century].
Miniature manuscript, Italian semi-cursive script on both sides of a sheet of parchment cut into roundels. The roundels are arranged in seven rows of seven roundels each; diameter of each roundel approx. 5.5 cm; altogether 49 conjoined roundels (98 written "pages").
This unique format allows for dynamic use of the manuscript, enabling the reader to fold the various roundels into different configurations in order to expose the appropriate prayer segments. Upon completion of the prayers, the entire manuscript can be folded to the diameter of a single roundel, and be easily stored and carried. Due to its limited size, the manuscript does not include the full prayer texts, rather an abridged version comprising selected sections (the Haggadah appears in full).
Ornamental initial word panels with foliate designs – delicate leaves and branches in green, pink and burgundy. The illustrations include an angel blowing a shofar next to a trumpet bearing figure (at the beginning of the Kol Nidrei prayer), the four sons from the Passover Haggadah, Rabban Gamliel, other figures in contemporary dress (a figure holding a wine goblet near the blessing over the second cup, figures wielding matzah and maror, and more), and animals (leopard, rabbit, and more). Although generally the artist confined his illustrations to the individual roundels, he occasionally overstepped the boundaries of the design. The wicked son is shown in the roundel above that containing the simple son and appears to be stepping down through the two spaces, his sword poised, as the simple son, cowering below, looks up to him. In other depictions, the figures are placed halfway between two roundels, the fold between the two units occurring at the waist of the figure.
There are only a few Christian and Muslim manuscripts that bear some similarity to this manuscript; the best-known of them is the Codex Rotundus, a "book of hours" (Christian devotional) manuscript scribed and illuminated in Bruges during the 15th century, known as the Rotundus due to its circular shape. Likewise, several manuscripts of the Quran cut into miniature octagons were produced in Iran and Turkey in the 16th and 17th centuries (though written on paper rather than on parchment).
None of these manuscripts, however, include the most striking and unique features of the manuscript offered here – namely, its miniature dimensions, it being written on a single sheet of parchment that can be folded to pocket size, and it being written in Hebrew. These three features make this manuscript an extremely rare and exceptionally unique item.
There are only two known Hebrew equivalents of the present manuscript:
1. In April 2018, a similar manuscript from the 15th century, without illustrations, was sold in Kedem; comprised of 76 roundels and containing the year-round machzor – High Holidays, three festivals and Rosh Chodesh (lacking title page roundel). See Kedem Auction 61, item 3.
2. A similar manuscript is held in the Skirball museum, Los Angeles (the Sally Kirschstein collection). It comprises 64 roundels – written on one side only, with the Passover Haggadah, and features only two illustrations – matzah and maror.
Another item which must be mentioned in this context (despite the obvious differences) is a small medal-shaped box holding 19 hand-colored conjoined roundels (4.2 cm in diameter) showing scenes from the life of Joseph Siskind Oppenheimer ("Jew Süss"), printed in Württemberg in 1738.
See Hebrew description for a list of the piyyutim included in this manuscript
[98] pages. Parchment sheet: approx. 40X40 cm. Diameter of roundels: approx. 5.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor damage and tears. Stains (dark stains to some roundels). Ink and paint faded in some places. Placed in silver case.
Provenance:
1. Private collection.
2. Private collection (since 1984). Acquired by the present owner at Sotheby's NY, February 1 1984.
This item will be available for viewing at University Archives, Wilton, Connecticut, by appointment through Kedem
Meshal HaKadmoni, by R. Yitzchak ibn Sahula. Many woodcut illustrations, mostly hand colored. [Italy]: Gershom son of Moses Soncino, [ca. 1497]. Incunabula.
Meshal HaKadmoni, the first illustrated Hebrew book, was first printed by Gershom Soncino in Brescia, ca. 1491. This is the second edition of the book, also printed by Soncino.
The author, R. Yitzchak son of Shlomo ibn Sahula, was a philosopher, physician and kabbalist. Born in Spain in 1244, he presumably passed away in late 13th century. His composition Meshal HaKadmoni is a collection of fables, parables and poems, striving to inculcate ethics and positive attributes. Various animal fables are employed by the author as moral allegories. The composition takes the form of a dialogue between the author and his opponent, who argue over the importance and necessity of cultivating moral virtues.
The book includes many woodcuts illustrating scenes from the parables and fables, depicting both animal and human figures. The illustrations originate in the manuscript of the author, R. Yitzchak son of Shlomo ibn Sahula (now lost). They were copied in later manuscripts, and were printed for the first time by the Soncino family.
The present copy comprises 76 woodcuts (out of 81). The book is lacking three leaves (which originally featured five woodcuts). Some of the missing text was completed by hand in Italian script (from the period of the printing of the book).
The present edition includes two illustrations omitted from the first edition (pp. 53a and 61a), as well as an illustration original to this edition (the final illustration in the book). Most illustrations are hand-colored.
Poem in praise of the book on p. 1b, set in a woodcut frame.
Large woodcut on first page – printer's device of Gershom Soncino, depicting a walled tower with two guards, set on a background of acanthus tendrils and flowers. Caption above the woodcut: "Gershom the printer, son of R. Moshe… of Soncino". The verse "The name of the Lord is a tower of strength; the righteous runs into it and is strengthened" is inscribed above and below the tower. This device only appears in the present book, Soncino later used a different, simpler device (see: A. Yaari, Diglei HaMadpisim HaIvriim, Jerusalem 1944, no. 5, note on pp. 123-124).
The Soncino family were prominent printers in the 15th and 16th century, and particularly in the incunabula period. They established their first printing press in Soncino, Italy, ca. 1483, and later wandered through various Italian cities with their printing equipment, resuming their printing operations wherever they settled. One of the prominent members of this family was Gershom Soncino, printer of the present edition.
Incomplete copy. [63] leaves. Originally: [66] leaves. Lacking three leaves: sixth leaf of first gathering (text of recto replaced in manuscript over a page and a half, followed by a blank leaf); two leaves of second gathering – first leaf (blank leaf bound in its place) and eighth leaf (entirely replaced in handwriting). (Book originally comprised nine gatherings; gatherings 1-8 with eight leaves each, gathering 9 with 2 leaves. Present copy: gathering 1 – 7 leaves, gathering 2 – 6 leaves; other gatherings complete).
Approx. 19 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains and dark stains (traces of past dampness to first leaf with printers' device, with large, dark dampstains). Tears, including open tears affecting text (open tears to inner margin of leaf [2] with book title, affecting text, repaired with paper on both sides of leaf; open tear on leaf [6], affecting text). Worming, affecting text in several places (worming to inner margins of some leaves, close to spine, affecting text in approx. six final leaves). Upper margins trimmed close to text, affecting text in several places, with some loss (margins of first leaf trimmed, with damage to upper part of woodcut border). Several places reinforced with paper. Some detached or loose leaves. Handwritten inscriptions. Early leather binding, damaged (open tear to upper part of spine), partially detached, with extensive and significant worming. Placed in a new slipcase.
Exceptionally rare edition. Does not appear in the NLI catalog (which only includes a microfilm of the incomplete JTS copy), and to the best of our knowledge has never before been offered at auction. Offenberg lists only 8 extant copies, scattered in 7 libraries throughout the world, including some incomplete copies (see below).
Literature:
M. Marx, Gershom Soncino, in: Sefer HaYovel LiChevod Alexander Marx, New York 1943, pp. I-X.
Sh. Iakerson, Catalogue of Hebrew Incunabula from the Collection of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York and Jerusalem, 2004-2005, pp. 362-367.
Hebrew Incunables, a Bibliographical Essay, by Lazarus Goldschmidt, Oxford, 1948, p. III, footnote 6.
A.K. Offenberg, Hebrew Incunabula in Public Collections, Nieuwkoop 1990, no. 60; Catalogue of books printed in the XVth century now in the British Museum. pt. 13 (2004), Hebraica, p. 76.
Bound at the beginning of the book:
• Mehalech Shevilei HaDaat, by R. Moshe Kimchi, with commentary by R. Eliyahu HaLevi Ashkenazi – HaBachur. [Pesaro: Gershom Soncino, ca. 1515]. Second edition. Printed without title page. First page blank. Colophon: "Printed by the printer from the Soncino family, who resides in Pesaro".
[4]; [12]; [18] leaves. Leaves bound out of sequence. Originally: [22]; [12] leaves. [12] leaves of part II bound in middle of part I, after leaf [4]. Good-fair condition.
• Leshon Limudim, grammar, by R. David ibn Yichye. [Constantinople: David and Samuel sons of Nahmias, 1506]. First edition.
[60] leaves. Good condition. Stains. Minor tear to final leaf, slightly affecting text.
• Pirkei Eliyahu, on the rules of Hebrew grammar "brief rules about letters, vocalization and other topics", by R. Eliyahu HaLevi Ashkenazi – HaBachur. [Pesaro: Gershom Soncino, 1520]. First edition.
[19] leaves. 19 cm. Good-fair condition. Many stains, including dark stains and dampstains to title page and other leaves. Leaves trimmed close to text, slightly affecting text in several places. Many handwritten inscriptions.
Copy of R. Yitzchak Lampronti, with his signatures on the title pages and first pages of all four books. R. Yitzchak Lampronti (1679-1756), scholar, physician and leading Italian rabbi. Rabbi and yeshiva dean in Ferrara. His disciples served as rabbis of prominent Italian communities. He was famous for his monumental work, the Pachad Yitzchak series – first halachic encyclopedia, part of which was printed in his lifetime.
Other signatures and inscriptions (including: "My acquisition, Moshe son of R. Meshulam of Camaiore"). Marginal glosses in Italian script. Censors' signatures on final (blank) page of Meshal HaKadmoni.
Die ganze Welt in einem Kleberblat, Welches ist der Stadt Hannover meines lieben Vaterlandes Wapen [The Whole World in a Clover Leaf, which is the Coat Of Arms of my Beloved Hometown of Hannover], hand-colored engraving. [Germany, late 16th century or 17th century].
A figurative map depicting the world in the form of a clover leaf. The three parts of the clover leaf represent the three continents of the Old World – Asia, Europe and Africa; a part of the New World – America – is seen in the bottom corner of the map. At the center of the trefoil, and therefore in the center of the world, is Jerusalem.
The map was first published in the book "Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae" (Travel Book through Holy Scripture; 1581) by German cartographer Heinrich Bünting, and soon became one of the most recognized and beloved images of Jerusalem. America, whose discovery led to a transformation in cartographic representations of the world, is depicted in this map in the bottom corner, as a minor addition to the Old World.
The clover leaf design is a tribute to Bunting's hometown Hanover, the arms of which show a trefoil, as indicated in the title of the map.
In Jerusalem itself, the map became most popular when the new city started growing, partly due to the Universitas bookshop, which sold color reproductions of the map as souvenirs. In 2009, a large model of the map by artist Arman Darian was placed at the entrance to the City Hall of Jerusalem.
Engraved map: approx. 25.5X35.5 cm, in an approx. 58.5X69 cm double sided frame (showing both sides of the map). Good condition. Minor blemishes. Unexamined out of frame.
Jewish & Israeli History and Culture
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Kedem’s Jewish & Israeli History and Culture department offers a wide range of rare and historically important items related to the Jewish people and the land of Israel – early maps and Holy Land travelogues, posters, postcards, photographs, letters and autographs, books of poetry and prose, scholarly works and bibliographies, early children’s books, and much more.
Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinical Letters
Kedem is one of the leading auction houses in the field of Jewish books and manuscripts.
Kedem’s Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinical Letters department focuses on some of the main fields of Judaica, offering incunabula, rare and important Jewish works, first editions of Chassidic books, letters and autographs of leading Rabbis and scholars, early and unknown works, illuminated manuscripts, and more. Besides books and manuscripts, the department offers a wide range of unique Jewish items, including early Torah scrolls and Esther scrolls, amulets, Ketubot, rare documents and photographs.
Objects - Judaica, Israeliana & Numismatics
This department offers both Jewish ceremonial items and items created in Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine. The first category includes objects used in the synagogue and in the traditional Jewish home; the second category includes olive wood objects, ceramics, Bezalel artifacts, and more. The department also offers pins and badges, Jewish medals, scrips, banknotes and coins.
Objects are sometimes included, as a separate chapter, in Kedem’s Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinical Letters and Jewish & Israeli History and Culture auctions.
Israeli & International Art
Kedem’s Israeli & International Art department offers various works of art, ranging from early Bezalel works to contemporary art by leading Israeli and International artists. Art is sometimes included, as a separate chapter, in Kedem’s Jewish & Israeli History and Culture auctions.
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