Auction 94 Part 1 Important Items from the Gross Family Collection
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Illuminated manuscript, Mincha and Arvit for weekdays and Shabbat, with Shir HaShirim and Kabbalat Shabbat. [Baghdad], 1897.
Complete manuscript, masterfully scribed and decorated throughout. Pocket format. Semi-cursive, square Oriental script. Enlarged, decorated initials, with floral ornaments in various colors. Each page of text enclosed in a border. Additional ornaments.
Includes: Patach Eliyahu, Mincha and Arvit for weekdays, Shir HaShirim, Kabbalat Shabbat, Arvit for Shabbat, piyyutim and Kiddush for Friday night, Birkat HaMazon, Mincha for Shabbat, Havdalah, blessing of the moon, Amidah prayer for the Three Festivals, and Hallel.
"Carpet page" on the first page, with a LaMenatze'ach Menorah in the center, containing the name of the scribe and year of writing: Ezra Tzion Menashe Aharon Shlomo Yitzchak Eliya Sofer, 1897. Additional "carpet page" on the final page, stating the name of the scribe. Additional inscription on p. 37a: "Tzion Sofer".
A few of the ornaments were colored in watercolor, while most were colored in colored pencils or pastel colors (perhaps at a later date).
[1], 98 leaves (late foliation, in pencil). Approx. 11.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor ink fading in several places. Several leaves detached or loose. Original leather binding, with leather clasps; minor defects to binding.
Reference:
1. The 'Shiviti – Menorah', dissertation by Esther Juhasz. Jerusalem, 2004, p. 435 (Hebrew).
2. 101 Sacred Hebrew Songs, edited by Yair Harel and Uri Kroizer. Jerusalem, the Hebrew University, [2017], p. 26 and p. 88.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, IQ.011.002.
Manuscript, piyyutim and songs. [Kurdistan, ca. 19th century].
Tall, narrow format. Most pages of text are set in a colorful border (watercolor), comprised of dozens of different vegetal and geometric designs. Colorful illustrations of flowers, large birds, floral bouquets or stylized medallions at the end of some piyyutim; some piyyutim with ornamented headings.
Includes: piyyutim by various poets, mostly from Sephardic lands; poems and passages in Kurdish and Persian; piyyutim for Shabbat and festivals; notes, blessings, tales; poems by emissaries from Eretz Israel, including a piyyut in honor of the Senna (Sanandaj) community (in Persian Kurdistan), and more (see Hebrew description for detailed list of piyyutim).
The songs were written for Sasson son of R. Shlomo, and the latter's signatures appear in several places (including a calligraphic signature). Stamps of Rachamim son of Sasson.
Some piyyutim have a heading with the name of the author or its function, such as: "By R. Eliyah for Shabbat", "By R. Shmuel for Shabbat Shirah", "By R. Yisrael, 7th day of Passover", and more.
[79] leaves. Incomplete manuscript. Leaves rebound out of sequence (from leaf 37 onwards), some upside down. Approx. 21 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Marginal open tears, occasionally affecting text or border, repaired with paper. Several leaves with large open tears affecting text (some leaves mostly lacking). New binding.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Light and Shadows: the Story of Iran and the Jews. Tel Aviv, Beit Hatfutsot, 2010 (Hebrew).
2. Syiur Selichot, by Mishael Vaknin. Tel Aviv, 2023 (Hebrew).
3. The Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts, by Ora Schwartz-Be'eri. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 2000.
4. Only on Paper, Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection. Chicago, Columbia College, 2005.
5. Light and Shadows: The Story of Iranian Jews, edited by David Yeroushalmi. Los Angeles, Fowler Museum at UCLA / Tel Aviv, Beit Hatfutsot, 2012.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, KU.011.006.
Decorated manuscript, anthology of works in Aramaic and Judeo-Persian. [Kurdistan, or somewhere else in the Persian region], 1860.
Persian-Oriental script. All the pages are framed, including many pages decorated in color with text frames and fine floral decoration. The scribe's colophon "the young Moshe" (in one place: "the young and small Moshe son of Chaim"), with the year of writing "1860", in many places (usually at the ends of the works). His calligraphic signature appears on one of the decorated pages: "Moshe son of R. Chaim". In several places he writes: "I wrote for Chaim son of R. Aga, 1860".
The anthology comprises the following works: A Hebrew translation of the Aramaic "Second Targum" on Esther; Targum Yonatan in Aramaic on the Song of the Sea; the Aramaic Targum on Song of Songs; a Persian tafsir of the Aramaic Targum on Song of Songs; Targum of the Ten Commandments, an expanded Aramaic Targum; a retelling of Megillat Esther in Persian verse; "Targum Hikavtzu for Shabbat", a Neo-Judeo-Aramaic Targum of R. Yehuda HaLevi's piyyut "Gather [hikavtzu] and listen, sons of Jacob"; Tafsir of the Binding of Isaac for the morning service – a Neo-Judeo-Aramaic piyyut by R. Mordechai son of Nissan Sardasht; a recounting of Moses' passing in Aramaic, preceded by a Reshut for Simchat Torah, with the poem "None rose as great as Moses; none rose as choice as Moses"; prayer for rain for Shemini Atzeret; prayer for dew for the first day of Pesach; Aramaic Targum on Megillat Ruth.
[152] leaves. 19 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains, ink stains and dark stains (affecting text in several places). Tears and wear to margins. Open tears to first leaf, affecting text, repaired with tape. Inscriptions. New binding.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, KU.011.008.
Two works by Jewish apostates to Christianity, bound together:
1. Ein Sermon, durch Paulum Weidner… den Juden zu Prag Anno MDLXI den 26. Aprilis in irer Synagoga geprediget [Sermon preached by Paulus Weidner… in the Jewish synagogue in Prague on the 26th of April, 1561, which brought about the conversion of some of the community members to Christianity]. Vienna: Raphael Hofhalter, 1562. First edition. German. Some of the letters on the title page are printed in red. Printer's device on last page.
The rare first printing of a Christian sermon, which the Jews of Prague were forced to attend in 1561 at the command of Emperor Ferdinand I.
In the year 1560, holy books were confiscated from the Jews of Prague, the largest and most important Jewish community in the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and transferred to the capital city Vienna to be inspected by the church censor – the Jewish apostate Paulus Weidner (born Asher Yehudah son of Natan Ashkenazi). A year later, in March 1561, Emperor Ferdinand I decreed that the Jews were to gather occasionally in the synagogue and listen to the sermons of priests preaching for conversion. First and foremost of the preachers was the apostate Weidner, whose first sermon was held in the Jewish synagogue of Prague on April 26, 1561 – and that is the sermon that was printed in this work. A dedication to Emperor Ferdinand I is printed at the beginning of the work.
The apostate Paulus Weidner von Billerburg (1525-1585) was born in Udine, Italy, to a Jewish family of German origin, with the name Asher Yehudah son of Natan Ashkenazi (his brother is R. Shlomo son of Natan Ashkenazi, who served as a doctor and diplomat in the territory of the Ottoman Empire). He studied medicine at the University of Padua, and was invited to work as a doctor in Carinthia, Austria, although as a rule, Jews were forbidden from residing in the area. In 1558, he converted to Christianity in Vienna together with his family, and soon afterwards he was granted a title of nobility. Weidner composed books and worked to make converts for his new religion; he served as doctor to the Austrian emperors, as dean of the faculty of medicine, and as rector of the University of Vienna. In 1582 he was granted the right to use the noble title "von Billerburg".
2. Der gantz Judisch Glaub [The Whole Jewish Belief], by Antonius Margaritha (Anton Margaritha). Frankfurt am Main, 1561. German.
Third edition of the polemical antisemitic work by the apostate Antonius Margaritha (1492-1542), scion of a famous rabbinic family in Germany, son of the Rabbi of Regensburg Shmuel Margaliot and grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Margaliot. Several in-text woodcuts, including woodcuts depicting Jews at the synagogue.
This work, which claims to expose the true face of Judaism, mocks Jewish customs and makes serious accusations against the Jews. Among other things, Margaritha warns his Christian readers against having contact and trading with Jews, cautions them not to consult with Jewish physicians and negatively portrays the custom of using a "Sabbath Goy" (this work deeply affected Martin Luther, who was inspired by it to write his book "On the Jews and Their Lies"). This work includes the first translation of the Jewish prayer service for a non-Jewish readership.
As a result of the grim accusations against the Jews made in his book, Margaritha was invited to a public debate, conducted in 1530 before an 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.
Two works bound together. [66]; [116] leaves. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and light wear. Worming, slightly affecting text. Handwritten notation on the margin of one of the leaves. Decorated ancient leather binding, somewhat damaged, and restored (new endpapers). Stamped with the name of the owner and the year 1567 on the binding.
Source: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.185 / NHB.333.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item nos. 40623/374844.
First editions of two of the important works of the famous humanist and Hebraist Johannes Reuchlin, bound together:
1. De rudimentis Hebraicis liber primus[-tertius] (Rudiments of Hebrew, Book 1-3), by Johannes Reuchlin. Pforzheim (Germany): Thomas Anshelm, 1506 (printing details from colophon). First edition. Latin, with some Hebrew and Greek.
Johannes Reuchlin's pioneering and groundbreaking work, Rudiments of Hebrew – a Hebrew dictionary and grammar book, the first of its kind printed in Ashkenazic lands for Christian scholars. This book, based on Radak's Sefer HaShorashim, was known to have high impact on the development of the scientific study of the Bible and Jewish texts and study of the Hebrew language by Christians in the Renaissance period. Although the work is written in Latin, the leaves are arranged from right to left.
A large woodcut showing Reuchlin's coat of arms on the penultimate leaf; the printer's emblem appears on the other side of the leaf. At the beginning of the book are six pages in handwriting (replacing missing pages); many glosses and notations in Latin and Hebrew on the margins of most of the leaves.
2. De arte cabalistica ["On the Art of Kabbalah"], by Johannes Reuchlin. Haguenau: Thomas Anshelm, 1517 (printing details from colophon). First edition. Latin, with some Hebrew and Greek.
First edition of the seminal work of Christian Kabbalah. The title page features a large woodcut of Reuchlin's coat of arms.
The work, dedicated to Pope Leo X, is written as a three-way conversation between the Jewish Kabbalist Simeon son of Elazar (a fictitious character whose name is meant to be reminiscent of R. Shimon bar Yochai), a Spanish Muslim and a Pythagorean philosopher. In the spirit of the Renaissance, in his book Reuchlin strives to return to "the basics" as he perceives them, namely Jewish Kabbalah and Pythagorean philosophy, whose origins he traces back to Moses. He then takes these "basics" and interweaves them into Christian theology.
This book does not have a missionary agenda and was not in fact aimed at Jews; rather, Reuchlin addresses his fellow Christians, attempting to familiarize them with the sources of their own religion and thus deepen their faith. The book's concept of "Kabbalah" does not mean only the mystical and esoteric, but rather Jewish sources in general; the approach adopted in the book derives broadly and indiscriminately from extra-Biblical Jewish traditions, in the belief that the Christian faith would be incomplete without properly addressing these realms of Jewish thought, namely the Oral Torah (the Talmud and midrashic literature) and esoteric material (the Kabbalah, the "Zohar", the writings of R. Yehuda HeHasid, R. Abraham Abulafia, R. Joseph Gikatilla, and others(. This concept is founded on the belief that, like the Bible itself, all of the above were delivered to Moses at Mt. Sinai.
Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522), German philosopher and humanist in the Renaissance period, and one of the founders of modern Hebraism. Propounded a tolerant stance toward the Jews, invested much of his energies in enriching his fellow Christians with the wisdom of Jewish sacred writings and Greek philosophy, and in teaching them the Hebrew and Greek languages. Studied Hebrew under Jakob son of Jehiel Loans and under Rabbi Ovadia son of Jacob Sforno. Continued with advanced studies in Kabbalah in Italy, and was influenced by the writings of Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494). Reuchlin was considered to be among the fathers of the Reformation, even though he personally placed himself in opposition to that movement and remained steadfast in his loyalty to the Vatican throughout his life.
In the famous debate that erupted between him and the Jewish apostate Johannes Pfefferkorn, Reuchlin emphatically denounced the burning of the Talmud. Consequently, and because of his devoted study and teaching of Jewish religious texts, he found himself targeted by Church institutions. His work "Augenspiegel" ("Eyeglasses") was banned and condemned in a decree issued by Pope Leo X in 1520.
Two works bound together. [1], 261, [1], 262-374, 387-542, 545-589, [1], 589-616, 616-620, [5] pages. 12 pages are missing (pages 375-386; at the beginning of the book the pages 376-381 are filled in in handwriting; they were apparently filled in in the year 1526); [4], LXXIX, [1] leaves (some misfoliation).
Reference and exhibition:
1. The Kabbalah of Johannes Reuchlin and its Historical Significance, by Joseph Dan, in: From Rome to Jerusalem: Joseph Baruch Sermoneta Memorial Volume – Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought, vol. XIV. Jerusalem, 1998, pp. 455-485 (Hebrew).
2. Glaubensfragen: Chatrooms auf dem Weg in die Neuzeit, by Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.173 / NHB.174.
These works are documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item nos. 40611 / 40612.
Nos los inquisidores, contra la heretica pravedad, y apostasia. En esta Ciudad y Arcobispado de Mexico... [We the inquisitors, against acts of heresy and apostasy, here in the city and archbishop of Mexico]. Mexico City, 15 February 1650. Spanish.
Official document, signed by the heads of the inquisition in the kingdom of New Spain (colony of the Spanish kingdom on the American continent; present day: Mexico and central America), with wax seal; directive to report Marranos continuing to secretly practice Judaism.
At the top of the document, woodcut of the emblem of the Spanish inquisition in the New World – the American continent, followed by a printed warning against Conversos secretly practicing Judaism, with identifying details – wearing elegant clothing on Shabbat, not lighting fire on Shabbat, covering food with a clean cloth (covering challah?), and more. The document also mentions other heretics living on the American continent – Muslims (Secta de Mahoma), Protestants (Secta de Lutero), and Gnostic Christians (Secta de los Alubrados), as well as a list of forbidden books. Statement at the end of the document instructing anyone who knows, sees or hears of a person performing the rituals listed in the document to report him to the Inquisition.
Dated 15 February 1650, with the signature of three apostolic inquisitors: Juan de Sancto Mathía Sáenz de Mañozca y Murillo (1611-1675; later bishop of Santiago de Guatemala), Bernabé de la Higuera y Amarillo, and Francisco de Estrada y Escobedo, with the signature of the secretary Don Eugenio de Saravia.
The New Spain colony was founded in 1525 on the territory of North and Central America, and its first settlers included Marranos, who had been persecuted by the Inquisition in their homeland – Spain. In 1571, the inquisition sent representatives abroad, established branches in the colony, and began persecuting Marranos throughout the New World.
The purpose of documents such as the present one was to instruct the representatives of the Inquisition and the public, and they contain a wealth of information about heretics and their sins, according to Catholic faith. It was not unusual for these documents to contain information which had been lost to the communities of Marranos themselves, and they served as a rare source of information for the Marranos regarding the mitzvot and traditions which they had forgotten.
5 leaves. Approx. 31.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases. Minor tears and several holes (primarily to margins). New binding and endpapers, slightly worn. Traces of pasting to endpapers and inside binding.
See similar document held in the Bavarian State Library, with identical signatures but without wax seal (item BV001661107).
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.203.
Orden de las Oraciones cotidianas por estilo seguido y corriente, con las de Hanucah Purim, y Ayuno del solo, como tambien de las tres Pascuas, de Pesah, Sebuoth, y Sucoth [Prayer book for all year round, for holidays and special Jewish occasions]. Amsterdam: David Tartas, [1681]. Bound together with Calendario de Ros-Hodes, fiestas y ayunos, que los Hebreos celebran cada año [Calendar of New Months and holidays], a calendar for the years 1680-1710 (with separate title page). Amsterdam, [1681]. Spanish.
Prayer book for all year round and for holidays and special occasions, in miniature format; bound together with a calendar for the years 1680-1710. Both the prayer book and the calendar were printed in Spanish only, and were intended for Marranos, conversos, and members of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities of Amsterdam.
Pocketbook (miniature) format, in elegant binding with silver floral ornamentation, including four corner ornaments, a pair of buckles, and additional silver ornaments that serve as hinges connecting the front and back covers to the spine of the book. Gilt edges, with floral patterns stamped onto edges of book block.
This style of binding is rather typical of bindings for 17th and 18th century European bibles and prayer books, especially from the Netherlands. However, this particular style is actually not commonly seen in Jewish sacred books from that period, and insofar as it does appear in a Jewish context, it is primarily in books belonging to Amsterdam’s Jewish communities of Spanish and Portuguese origin.
593, [1] pages; [40] pages (calendar). 9.5 cm. Very good condition. Minor blemishes.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.126.
Two volumes bound together: Orden de las Oraciones [Siddur for all year round, for holidays and special Jewish occasions], ending with a calendar for the years 1692-1701. Amsterdam, David Tartas, [1692]. Bound together with: Chamishah Chumshei Torah / Cinco libros de la ley divina con las Aphtarot de todo el año [Pentateuch, including the "haftarah" portions for all year round], with separate title page for the section with the "haftarah" portions. Amsterdam: David Tartas, [1691]. Spanish.
"Siddur" (prayer book) and Pentateuch with decorated title pages, both printed in Spanish only, and intended for Marranos, conversos, and members of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities of Amsterdam.
Both volumes are bound together in an elegant binding, including four silver corner ornaments and a pair of silver, column-shaped buckles. Additional silver ornaments serve as hinges, connecting the front and back covers to the spine of the book. The silver ornaments bear images of angels and small flowers. Gilt edges, with floral patterns along with images of birds stamped onto edges of book block.
This style of binding is of a type rather typical of bindings for 17th and 18th century European bibles and prayer books, especially from the Netherlands. However, this particular style is actually not commonly seen in Jewish sacred books from that period, and insofar as it does appear in a Jewish context, it is primarily in books belonging to Amsterdam’s Jewish communities of Spanish and Portuguese origin.
[2]. 1-2, 9-504 pages, [16] pages (calendar); [1], 436, [3], 128 pages. Three leaves missing at beginning. New endpapers. Bookplate.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.102.
Printed Aleph-Bet chart, with an abridged Birkat HaMazon, other blessings, Shema and several other prayer texts. Venice: Benjamin son of Aaron Polacco for Bragadin, [1728].
Chart for the instruction of Hebrew to children. The upper part of the leaf shows the letters of the Hebrew alphabet with various vowel points. The alphabet is flanked on the right by the first paragraph of Shema, kedushah and the morning blessings; and on the left by an abridged version of Birkat HaMazon and other blessings. The chart also features several Psalms and the bedtime service, with the Hashkivenu blessing and Psalm 91 (starting with Psalms 90:17 – Viyhi Noam).
The center of the leaf is occupied by a fine illustration of a class of students. Several students are seen studying by a table, with a winged figure hovering over them and showering them with treats. Near them is a teacher brandishing a whip, ready to hit a disobedient student.
Imprint at the foot of the leaf, including the name of the printers, the place – Venice, and the year 1728. Such charts were printed in Italy from the mid-17th century until the 19th century. Most of the charts were printed in a similar format, with the Aleph-Bet chart in the center and accompanying texts (with typographic variations). The illustration at the center of this leaf also appears in all other charts, with minor variations in the details (in earlier charts the illustration is a woodcut, while in later ones it is engraved).
Rare chart.
The present chart is listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a photocopy of the copy in the JTS library, New York.
For details about other Aleph-Bet charts printed in Italy, and about the variations between the illustrations, see: Italian Alphabet Charts, by Y. Yudlov, Kiryat Sefer, 62, 1988-1989, pp. 930-932.
43.5X34 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Folding marks. Minor open tears to folds, affecting text, repaired with paper (with handwritten replacement of a few characters). Handwritten inscription on verso.
Exhibition: Childhood, Moscow, The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, 2021.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 128.011.023.
Printed Aleph-Bet chart, with the morning blessings and Psalms, accompanied with fine woodcut illustrations. [Frankfurt am Main? ca. 1730].
Chart for teaching reading to children. The central panel presents the Hebrew letters with various vowels. The texts printed above it include Psalm 23 (to the right) and morning blessings with the verse of Shema (to the left). Seven fine woodcut illustrations surround the leaf. At the top of the leaf, a man and woman in contemporary dress are portrayed, and an illustration of King David praying at dawn with his harp. Four scenes depicting communal life appear beneath the text: lighting the Chanukah lights, a rabbi preaching in the synagogue, a wedding and the Havdalah ceremony. These illustrations appear in the Frankfurt am Main 1729 edition of Sefer HaMinhagim, thus the supposed place and date of printing of this chart.
Rare chart.
43X37.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Wear. Marginal open tears, and open tears and defects to center of chart in various places, affecting text, mostly repaired with paper (leaf professionally restored; section of text in upper part of leaf completed in photocopy).
Exhibitions:
1. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen, by Edward van Voolen. Amsterdam, Museumshop De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011, no. 46.
2. Childhood, Moscow, The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, 2021.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 128.011.019.
A different copy of this chart appeared in the Sotheby's New York catalogue, December 2013, item no. 114.
Printed Aleph-Bet chart, with morning blessings and Psalm, and many illustrations. [Germany? Fürth? ca. second half of 18th century].
Chart for instruction of Hebrew. The central panel contains the Hebrew alphabet with various vowels. To the lower-right of the chart, the text of the morning blessings with the verse of Shema are printed, while Psalm 23 is printed to the lower-left of the chart. The text in this chart is surrounded by various illustrations and ornaments, including the twelve zodiac signs; various biblical scenes, such as Akedat Yitzchak and the war between David and Goliath; a man holding a book and a woman carrying a bouquet, both in contemporary attire.
The illustration of the man holding the book appears in a very similar version in a calendar for 5549 (in book format), printed in Fürth in 1788, in the press of Itzek Zürndorf (see: the Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, B.1511).
Particularly rare chart, to the best of our knowledge the only extant copy. We are not aware of any other copies of this chart in institutions.
Approx. 43X35 cm. Fair condition. Many stains. Wear. Open tears, affecting text and illustrations, repaired with paper (leaf professionally restored and mounted on special paper).
Reference: Only on Paper, Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection. Chicago, Columbia College, 2005.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 128.011.002.
Printed wall calendar for 5355 (1594-1595). Mantua: Solomon son of Samuel of Norzi, [1594].
Large leaf, printed on one side. Detailed calendar of the months of the year, with the times of the molad, the Parashiot read every week, the dates of festivals and special days, the tekufot, and the Hebrew dates of Christian saints' days.
In the upper right-hand corner, printer's device of Solomon son of Samuel of Norzi (active in Mantua in the late 16th century): a black, blindfolded figure, flanked by a crescent and a star. The printers Samuel and his son Solomon of Norzi inherited the type from the descendants of the printer Meir son of Efraim of Padua (who printed a series of similar calendars in the 1560s-1590s), and he is mentioned as deceased in the lower-right corner of the calendar. (see: Diglei Madpisim, Yudlov, Jerusalem, 2002, illustration 14, pp. 41-42; and pp. 119-120, no. 29 [Hebrew]).
Listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a photocopy of the present copy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the sole extant exemplar.
The NLI catalogue (previously the Valmadonna collection) lists most of the calendars printed in Mantua in the 1560s-1590s in similar format. The present calendar is one of the very few lacking in the collection.
Approx. 46X34 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains and traces of past dampness to upper part of leaf. Worming and open tears to margins and center of leaf, affecting text and printed border, repaired with paper, with some handwritten text replacement (leaf restored with paper on verso).
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Italia Hebraica, Tel Aviv, Istituto di Cultura, 2007.
2. Only on Paper, Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection. Chicago, Columbia College, 2005.
3. Palaces of Time, Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe, by Elisheva Carlebach. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 2011 (a wall calendar similar to the present item appears on p. 63).
4. The Writing on the Wall, a Catalogue of Judaica Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library, London and New York, 2015, pp. 239-244.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 075.011.018.