Auction 6 - Books, Manuscripts and Rabbinical Letters

viewing at noon

Request for Tax Relief – from Jews of Rome and Ancona, 1789

Opening: $200
Sold for: $250
Including buyer's premium
Plea from Jews of Rome and Ancona to Pope Pious the 6th, with printed signatures of 12 Christian lawyers, who wished to help their Jewish neighbors. The plea protests against the terrible treatment of the Jews of Rome and Ancona (both "Provinces of the Pope"); the high taxes, various instances of discrimination, and serious crimes such as kidnapping and baptizing Jews by force. The petition also quotes laws of previous popes, who treated Jews with much more fairness, and requests the restoration of those former laws.
The plea was turned down. Italian. cover depicts woman holding scale.
[36] leaves, 33.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Torn edges.
Single pages and various
Single pages and various