Auction 87 - Jewish and Israeli Art, History and Culture
Including: sketches by Ze'ev Raban and Bezalel items, hildren's books, avant-garde books, rare ladino periodicals, and more
Bibliophile Edition of the "Wisdom of Sirach" – London, 1932 – Initial Letters Hand-executed by Graily Hewistt
Opening: $500
Sold for: $1,250
Including buyer's premium
The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, commonly called Ecclesiasticus, edited by Arnold Danvers Power. Chelsea (London): Ashendene Press, 1932 (indicated in the colophon). English.
Bibliophile edition of "The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, commonly called Ecclesiasticus" (also called "Wisdom of Sirach", "Ben Sira" or "the Book of Ecclesiasticus") – part of the Jewish apocrypha, attributed to Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira, apparently written in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period.
One of 328 copies printed on paper (25 additional copies were printed on vellum), in black and red. Initial letters hand-executed (in blue and green) by British calligrapher Graily Hewitt (1864-1952) and his assistants, Ida Doris Henstock and Helen Elizabeth Hinkley.
Orange limp vellum binding, with four ties (made by H. Smith and Son, Ltd.)
"Booksellers continually declare the Ashendene Ecclesiasticus to be the finest book from the private presses. These are the people who handle the books and know them better than anyone else, and there is good ground for this opinion" (Colin Franklin, The Private Presses, p. 60.)
[1] ff., 182 pp., approx. 29 cm. Good condition. Uneven edges. Abrasions and minor blemishes to cover.
Missing original slipcase.
Bibliophile edition of "The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, commonly called Ecclesiasticus" (also called "Wisdom of Sirach", "Ben Sira" or "the Book of Ecclesiasticus") – part of the Jewish apocrypha, attributed to Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira, apparently written in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period.
One of 328 copies printed on paper (25 additional copies were printed on vellum), in black and red. Initial letters hand-executed (in blue and green) by British calligrapher Graily Hewitt (1864-1952) and his assistants, Ida Doris Henstock and Helen Elizabeth Hinkley.
Orange limp vellum binding, with four ties (made by H. Smith and Son, Ltd.)
"Booksellers continually declare the Ashendene Ecclesiasticus to be the finest book from the private presses. These are the people who handle the books and know them better than anyone else, and there is good ground for this opinion" (Colin Franklin, The Private Presses, p. 60.)
[1] ff., 182 pp., approx. 29 cm. Good condition. Uneven edges. Abrasions and minor blemishes to cover.
Missing original slipcase.
Bookplates, Bibliophile Editions, Prints
Bookplates, Bibliophile Editions, Prints