Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde, by Bernard Picart. Five out of nine volumes. Amsterdam: J. F. Bernard, 1723–1737. French.

Five volumes of the monumental work "Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World", compiled and edited by the author and printer Jean Frédéric Bernard, and illustrated by the great 18th century engraver, Bernard Picart (as Jean Frédéric Bernard chose to remain anonymous, the work was printed under Picart's name only).
The present incomplete set includes the first volume, dedicated to the history and customs of the Jews and the Roman Catholics, comprising important essays on various branches of Judaism and Jewish communities: Orthodox Jews, Ashkenazi and "Portuguese" (Sephardic) Jews, Samaritans, Karaites, Sadducees, Pharisees, Chinese Jews, and others, with several fine engravings, among them: a depiction of the dedication of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, depictions of various Jewish customs, ceremonies and jolidays, such as the wearing of phylacteries, Bedikat Chametz, the Passover Seder, Sukkot, the Marriage ceremony, Circumcision, Pidyon HaBen, Simchat Torah, various ceremonial utensils, and the ceremonies of the Catholics.
The remaining four volumes are dedicated to the customs of the Anglicans, Quakers, and Anabaptist Christians (vol. IV, 1736); the customs of the Muslims (vol. V, 1737); the customs of the people of the West Indies (vol. VI, second printing of 1723); and the customs of the people of China, Japan, and Persia (vol. VII, 1728). These volumes contain dozens of engraved plates, in–text engravings and illustrated initials. Overall, the five volumes in the present lot contain more than 150 engraved plates (many of them double–spread). One plate missing from vol. IV.

5 Vols. Number of pages varies, 44 cm. Leather bindings, with blemishes and wear.

Exhibition:
• Only on paper: Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection, CD, 2005.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.396.

“Nathan Levi Iudeorum Propheta Gasæ natus / Nathan Levi den Propheet der Joden gebore van Gasa” [“Nathan Levi, Prophet of the Jews, Native of Gaza”]. Engraving by Cornelis Meyssens, printed by Martinus van den Enden, [probably Antwerp, ca. 1660–75, possibly 1666].

Abraham Nathan ben Elisha Hayyim HaLevi Ashkenazi, commonly referred to as “Nathan of Gaza” (1643–1680), kabbalist, native of Jerusalem, resident of Gaza, served as the prophet of the Sabbatean movement and stood out as one of its most prominent figures.
This engraving was evidently printed simultaneously with the printing of the engraving bearing the portrait of Sabbatai Zevi (see previous item).

Rare.

Approx. 17X12.5 cm. Very good condition. Minor creases. One corner cut off. Matted.

Provenance: Private collection.

Der Gantze Jüdische Glaube [The Whole Jewish Belief], by Antonius (Anton) Margaritha. Augsburg: Heinrich Steyner, 1530. German (and some Hebrew). First edition, first issue (March 1530); printing details from the colophon.

An anti–Semitic, polemic work by the apostate Anton Margaritha (1492–1542), a descendant of a well–known family of rabbis in Germany; son of R. Shmuel Margolies Rabbi of Regensburg and grandson of R. Yaakov Margolies Rabbi of Nuremberg. Several in–text woodcuts, including woodcuts depicting Jews at the synagogue (after woodcuts printed in Johannes [Josef] Pfefferkorn's book 'Ich heyß ain büchlein der juden peicht' [Augsburg 1508]).
The work claims to expose the true face of Judaism, mocks Jewish customs and makes serious accusations against the Jews. Margaritha warns his Christian readers against having contact and trading with Jews, cautions them not to consult with Jewish physicians and portrays a negative picture of the Jewish Sabbath and the custom of using a "Sabbath Gentile". One of the worst allegations targets the political loyalty of the Jews, who are portrayed as treacherous subjects and supporters of enemy countries, headed by the Ottoman Empire.
This work deeply affected Martin Luther, who was inspired by it to write his anti–Semitic book "On the Jews and Their Lies".
Alongside its wide influence on anti–Semitism in early modern history, the book is also considered a valuable source of information about the daily life of Jews and their customs during that period. This work includes, among others, the first translation of the Jewish prayer book for a non–Jewish readership (see: Between Judaism and Christianity(ies), between Ethnography and Polemic: Antonius Margaritha's Writing on the Kabbalah in 'The Whole Jewish Belief' [Hebrew], by Daniel Lehmann).
The grim accusations against the Jews made by Margaritha in this book led to a public debate, conducted in 1530 before the Imperial Committee, that convened in the Reichstag of Augsburg, in the presence of Emperor Karl V. Margaritha's opponent in this debate was the well–known Jewish lobbyist Rabbi Joseph ben Gershon of Rosheim (Joseph Loanz). After Joseph ben Gershon refuted Margaritha's claims against the Jews, Margaritha was banished from Augsburg.

[199] pages (gatherings A–Z4, a–b4). 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases and minor wear. Minor tears. Marginal open tears to final leaves, repaired with paper, with minimal damage to text. Stamps of the Berlin Jewish library on a few leaves. Inscriptions and glosses. New parchment binding.

Exhibition:
• Glaubensfragen: Chatrooms auf dem Weg in die Neuzeit, Ausstellungskatalog des Ulmer Museums und des Museum of the Bible, Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, David Trobisch and Gabriele Holthuis. Ulm, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016, p. 66-67.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.331.

Four incunable leaves from the Latin and German editions of the Weltchronik (the Nuremberg Chronicle) by Hartmann Schedel. [Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1493].
1–2. Two leaves from the Latin edition: • Leaf CCLIII, hand–colored: on one side, Jews are depicted supposedly torturing to death the child Simon of Trent; on the other side, three other woodcuts, also colored: a comet; Christian king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway; and Hercules Duke of Ferrara. • Leaf CCLVII: on one side, Jews are seen being burned alive during the pogroms in Sternberg (Mecklenburg, Germany). In October 1492, in what is known as the Sternberg Pogrom, 27 Jews were burned alive for allegedly desecrating the host. On the verso, cityscape of Constantinople.
3–4. Two leaves from the German edition: • Leaf XXXII, hand–colored: a seven–branched candelabra on both sides. • Leaf XXXV, hand–colored (attached to leave XXXII): on one side, five ancient Roman gods are depicted, and on the other, eight sibyls (prophetesses).

Size varies. Overall good condition.

Provenance: Private collection.

Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten [Jewish Oddities], by Johann Jacob Schudt. Four parts in two volumes. Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1714–1718. German, with some Hebrew, Yiddish and Latin.

"Jewish Oddities" was published between 1714 and 1718, introducing one of the most comprehensive studies on Judaism until then: more than 3,000 pages documenting the minute details of Jewish life, dress, language, prayers, holidays and customs.
Although the book did not address any particular community, most of the information it contains was gathered in the author's city, Frankfurt, and it provides a valuable documentation of the Frankfurt Jewish community. Several of the texts copied by Schudt (in Hebrew and Yiddish) are unknown from other sources: a Selicha authored by Rabbi Shmuel Schotten Katz following the great fire in the Jewish Quarter of Frankfurt in 1711; the Purim play "Ahasuerus–Spiel" (of which most copies were burnt following a rabbinical decree; the text was preserved only thanks to Schudt); two versions of women's incantations for childbirth; regulations of the Jewish community forbidding luxuries; and more.
Besides its documental value, the book is considered a landmark in the history of modern anti–Semitism, mainly due to a special chapter dedicated entirely to a description of the Jewish body – its shape, colors and smells (this chapter is considered a harbinger of racist anti–Semitism in Europe).

The book features several engravings (some as separate plates and some in–text), including a portrait of the author, an engraving depicting Jacob blessing Joseph's sons, an engraving depicting two festive processions held in Jewish communities in Germany in 1716 for the birth of Leopold Johann, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Carl VI, and an especially offensive engraving of the Judensau ("Jews' Sow").
One leaf missing from part I.

Two volumes. Vol. I: [11] ff., 159, 180–580 pp. (pp. 81–82 missing); [4] ff., 432, 383, [1] pp. + [5] engraved plates; Vol. II: [4] ff., 358, [1] pp., [15] ff., 320, 447, [1], 192 pp., [19] ff., 48 pp., [31] ff. + [5] engraved plates. Approx. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Inscriptions. Minor worming. Minor perforations and marginal tears (few open tears to leaf corners). Vellum bindings. Wear, stains and minor tears to bindings.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.350.