Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].

Square script, vocalized. Commentaries and instructions in smaller script, unvocalized. Fine decorations throughout the manuscript.

Colophon of scribe at end of Hoshanot (p. 14b): "I the scribe, dust and ashes, Yaakov Yehoshua son of Zerach Uri Katzigin of Asti, 1801".

Piyyutim for Simchat Torah begin on p. 16b. Written in large letters, in frames, without a commentary.

The commentary on the Hoshanot is copied from the Shaar Bat Rabim machzor, Part II, Venice 1715, leaves 333-337. The commentary begins: "The proofreaders say, we ardently desire to know and make known why the commentator did not comment on the Hoshanot piyyutim… But we found an excellent and sufficient commentary in the Italian rite machzor…".

Leaf 15 was bound at a later time, with verses to recite after the conclusion of Hoshanot (with an Italian caption stating that the prayer should be recited "while the chazan is saying the names"). On the margins of the leaf: "Asti, 25th Tishrei 1884".

Inside the board is an ownership inscription: "Brothers Hartom son of Refael Binyamin".

[22] leaves. 27 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dark stains. Marginal tear to one leaf. Cardboard binding, with light damage.

Provenance: Collection of Rabbi Prof. Eliyah Shmuel Hartom, Jerusalem.

The Apam Rite

"Apam" is an acronym for the communities of Asti, Fossano, and Moncalvo. All three communities were established by Jewish exiles from France who settled in the Piedmont region of Italy after being expelled from France in the 14th century. Once in Italy, most Jewish émigrés from France adopted the customs and traditions of the communities that absorbed them, and only these three communities clung to the French traditions they arrived with, thus preserving the ancient French rite. The French rite resembles the Ashkenazic rite, but differs from it both in its own particular versions of some of the prayers, and in the distinctive piyyutim that are peculiar to it. Siddurim associated with the Apam rite were never printed, and they survive only in manuscript form (on the Apam rite see: Zunz, Rites of Synagogue Liturgy, Breuer-Fraenkel Hebrew translation, Jerusalem 2016, pp. 64-65; Goldschmidt, Leket Shichchah UPeah LeMachzor Apam, Kiryat Sefer XXX, Jerusalem 1955, pp. 118-136).

"Himlen in Opgrunt" ["Heavens in the Abyss"], by Chaim Krul (Krol). Lodz: Achrid, 1921. Yiddish, with an additional title page in Polish. Linocuts by Esther Karp.

A volume of poetry by Chaim Krul. The entire book – cover, illustrations, and text – is filled with linocut watercolor illustrations by Esther Karp. Illustrations created in watercolor. Copy No. 72 from an edition of 200 numbered copies. The title page bears a personal dedication, handwritten by the artist (in Yiddish): "[To] the dear Alia Tcherniak, from Esther, Warsaw, July 14, 1922".

Esther Karp (1897-1970) was born in Skierniewice, Poland. Her father, Lipman Karp, owned a photography studio. After graduating from the local gymnasium (high school), Karp moved to Vienna to study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. In the early 1920s, following her graduation from the academy, she moved to Lodz and became a member of the "Yung-Yiddish" group. Karp continued her career as a painter after moving to Paris in 1925. She suffered from emotional disorders for much of her life, and spent her last years hospitalized at the Ste. Anne psychiatric hospital in Paris.

The Achrid publishing house in Lodz was also responsible for publishing other books designed by "Yung-Yiddish" artists, including a volume of poetry by Rachel Lipstein with linocuts by Dinah Matus (see Kedem Auction Catalogue No. 56, Lot 154).

Collection of some 130 paper works from the estate of the Safed artist R. Yosef Zvi Geiger. [Safed, late 19th and early 20th centuries].

Assorted collection, including works and items from the estate of R. Yosef Zvi Geiger of Safed, constituting an important example of Jewish folk art in Eretz Israel at the turn of the 20th century. Most items in the collection were created by Geiger himself, some are dated in pencil, and some bear Geiger's estate stamp (in the form of his signature).

The collection includes:

• Some 15 papercuts – intricate and delicate color works, most created for Sukkot and Shavuot – "Shavuos'l" or "Roizele" papercuts decorated with flowers, buds, birds, deer, etc. Some are accompanied by biblical verses.

• Some 25 Sukkah decorations – mostly three-dimensional decorations intended for hanging – animal figures, pennants and others – and colorful posters. The decorations are made of paper, wood and fabric threads.

• Some 90 sketches for various works – illustrations of animal and flower figures, Mizrach and Shiviti plaques, various decorations for Sukkah, Shavuot, Passover and Purim, various certificates (membership certificates, ketubot, notices, illustrations of figures and animals) and more. Most sketches are drawn in pencil or ink on tracing paper.

Enclosed are several works by other artists: • Two large pencil sketches (for woodwork or plasterwork?), signed "Acher Birnbaum" (one dated 1909, Jerusalem). • Lithographed micrography by "the young Samuel Shulman of Jerusalem, in Safed" – illustrations of the Western Wall, Temple Mount, Mount of Olives and surroundings [Jerusalem, late 19th century]. Two copies, one colored. • Lithograph – illustration depicting the Binding of Isaac. [Jerusalem? Ca. early 20th century]. Three copies. • The English Royal Family, color lithograph with portrait of the British royal family in the days of Edward VII (1841-1910). • And more.

Yosef Zvi Geiger (1870-1944), native of Safed. One of the most prominent public figures in Safed. He served as general secretary of Safed's "Kolel" institutions, and his home was a regular meeting place for the "gaba'im" (managers) of the various local Kolelim and congregations. The Yishuv's foremost newspapers – including Havatzelet, HaLevanon, and HaZefirah – regularly published his articles. He also served as a scribe for the Kolelim, and assisted illiterate members of the community by writing letters on their behalf. Geiger was renowned in Safed for being both a gifted scribe and talented painter, entrusted with producing beautifully scripted documents. Among his extant works are splendid "Mizrah" and "Shiviti" plaques, calligraphic and illustrated title pages for "donors' books", certificates for donors and greeting letters, and papercuts in the Eastern European style. His contemporaries recall the beautiful "ketubahs" (marriage documents) he produced for the city's couples, decorated with gilt lettering and floral and vegetal designs; and the artworks he created to adorn the walls of the local synagogues, including gilt-lettered plaques. Among his many special talents was his ability to inscribe micrographic texts onto grains of wheat; he could fit several verses from the Bible onto a single grain. In the (Hebrew) book of memoirs by Yosef Zvi's grandson, Benjamin Geiger, entitled "One of the Elders of Safed, " Benjamin writes that his grandfather also specialized in engraving in stone (and inscribed several headstones in Safed). Benjamin also relates that Yosef Zvi was a lover and champion of the Hebrew language, and in his efforts to promote the language he would put up signs with words in Hebrew on the walls of study rooms and yeshivas throughout the town, so that children would get to know these words. He personally taught the language to his children and grandchildren, ensuring they would become entirely fluent.

Size and condition vary. Overall good condition.