Alphabetum Hebraicum, addito Samaritano et rabbinico. Rome: Congregationis de Propag. Fide [Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith], 1771. Latin and Hebrew.
Latin booklet for the study of Hebrew; motto on verso of title page (in Hebrew and latin): "The Holy Tongue is the mother of all tongues". At the end of the booklet, Hebrew translation of three Christian prayers: Lord's Prayer (Oratio dominicalis), Ave Maria (Salutatio Angelica) and Apostle's Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum).
The book was printed by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide). It opens with a preface by Italian philologist Giovanni Cristofano Amaduzzi (1740-1792), professor of Greek at the University of Rome La Sapienza and superintendent of the press of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.
The Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (since 1982 – the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) was founded by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 to arrange missionary work on behalf of the various religious institutions. It established its own library and press in Rome, as well as a seminary for the training of missionaries (Collegium Urbanium) and encouraged its people to study Hebrew and other languages that they would encounter in their missionary work.
16 pp., 17.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears and minor blemishes to inner margin of title page (minor damage to imprint). Inner margins of title page and several other leaves repaired with paper. Rebound in card boards with leather spine.