Orden de Roshasanah y Kipur – Machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, translated to Spanish, by Abraham ben Salomon Usque. Ferrara: Printed by the author, 1553. Spanish, some Hebrew headings.
In the mid-16th century, Ferrara was the spiritual center of Italian Jewry. The rulers of Ferrara, the dukes from the House of Este, were sympathetic to the Marranos from Spain and Portugal, many of whom returned to openly practicing Judaism. The city housed a separate Spanish community, several synagogues and a printing press for Hebrew, Spanish and Portuguese books.
The printer of this machzor, Abraham son of Solomon Usque, was born in Portugal, fleeing the Inquisition to Ferrara in ca. 1543. There, he worked with the printer Yom Tov Levi Athias (a Spanish Marrano). The year this machzor was printed, the two printed the Ferrara Bible, the first bible with Ladino translation in Latin characters (the bible was published in two parallel editions: one for a Christian audience, dedicated to the Duke of Ferrara, and the second for the Jewish public, dedicated to Doña Gracia Nasi).
Usque's printer's device on final leaf – astrolabe set in a frame, surrounded by verses (see: Yaari, Diglei HaMadpisim HaIvriim, Jerusalem 1944, illustration 22 and pp. 133-134).
XXV-CCLXII leaves (i.e. XXV-CCLXXII. Misfoliated). Altogether: [248] leaves. Lacking 24 leaves at beginning of book (including title page). Good-fair condition. Many stains, including dampstains. Open tears to first leaf, not affecting text, repaired with paper. Minor marginal open tears to several leaves. Minor marginal worming to several leaves. Censorship deletions (some words scraped off on one leaf). Early binding, repaired.