Responsa and commentaries – She'erit Yosef, by R. Yosef Katz, rabbi of Kraków (brother-in-law of the Rema). Kraków: Isaac Prostitz, [1590]. First edition.
Copy with glosses handwritten by the author (one of them signed), and many glosses by a contemporary Torah leader.
On p. 31b, at the end of the second paragraph, the author added in his handwriting: "This needs more study", and at the foot of the leaf he added a gloss (partially trimmed), signed: "so says Yosef" (in a handwriting identical to that of his full signature – see following item).
Over twenty lengthy, scholarly glosses in Ashkenazic script from the time of the printing (some trimmed). It is apparent that the writer was a Torah leader in the times of the author, however we were unable to conclusively identify the writer. In his glosses, he challenges the author without hesitation, even dismissing his words in sharp terms.
In a gloss on p. 26b (erroneously marked 28), the writer mentions his work, presumably a commentary on the Tur or on Shulchan Aruch: "…as I resolved it in my commentary".
The contents of this gloss parallel teachings of the Bach in his commentary on the Tur, in this section, as well as the Shach's comments in his work on the Shulchan Aruch. We were however unable to conclusively identify the writer.
Most the glosses are found in the novellae and commentary section (on the Mordechai and Tur Choshen Mishpat), apart from one other lengthy gloss on p. 9a, by the same writer.
[6], 5-92; 32 leaves. Approx. 19 cm. Good condition. Stains. Tears and worming to several leaves, slightly affecting text. Old binding, damaged.
The book opens with [2] leaves comprising 4 responsa added after the printing was completed. These leaves were presumably added to only a few copies (see: Y. Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, no. 724).

Rabbi Yosef Katz Author of She'erit Yosef – Brother-in-Law of the Rema, Leading Halachic Authority, Rabbi and Yeshiva Dean in Kraków
R. Yosef son of R. Mordechai Gershon Katz (ca. 1511-1591), rabbi of Kraków, brother-in-law of the Rema and leading Torah scholar in his times. He was appointed dayan in the Kraków Beit Din in 1541, as a young man. With time, he was promoted to the highest panel of the Beit Din, sitting alongside R. Moshe Segal Landau and R. Moshe Isserles – the Rema (author of HaMapah on the Shulchan Aruch). The Rema later became his brother-in-law when he married Kreindel, the sister of R. Yosef Katz (in 1542, after the passing of the first wife of the Rema, Golda daughter of R. Shachna of Lublin). At the end of a ruling from 1558 (section 78 in the present book, last responsum in the responsa section), the community scribe lists the three dayanim in the following order: R. Moshe Landau, R. Yosef Katz, and the Rema. The Rema, when referring to this ruling in one of his responsa (section 17, 2), humbly writes that he was included as third dayan by default – "I am the least of them"
Apart from his position as dayan, R. Yosef Katz served as yeshiva dean in Kraków, and after the passing of the Rema, he was recognized as the foremost Torah disseminator and community leader in Kraków. He was reputed throughout the Jewish world as an outstanding Torah scholar, posek and halachic authority, and even his brother-in-law the Rema took his rulings into consideration and accepted his teachings. Amongst the Torah leaders who sent R. Yosef Katz their rulings and asked for his opinion was the Maharshal, who despite being known as a resolute individual who would not flatter anyone, writes of him with admiration and self-effacement, describing his own teachings as the discussions of a student before his teacher. One of R. Yosef Katz's Torah enterprises was the publication of Sefer HaAgudah by R. Alexander Suslin HaKohen of Frankfurt, in Kraków 1571, after toiling to proofread and correct it based on an old manuscript he obtained. A year before his passing, R. Yosef Katz brought to print his book She'erit Yosef, comprising for the main part responsa, as well as novellae and commentaries on the Mordechai (on various tractates) and on Tur Choshen Mishpat. She'erit Yosef spread rapidly after its publication amongst the Torah scholars of the generation, who discuss the novellae and rulings found in the book and quote them in their works. These include his contemporaries (disciples of the Rema and the Maharsha) R. Binyamin Aharon Slonik in his book Mas'at Binyamin and R. Yehoshua Falk, the Sema, in his book Derisha UPerisha. R. Yoel Sirkis, the Bach, who succeeded him as rabbi of Kraków, mentions him in his work; followed by R. Shabtai Katz, the Shach, who discusses his teachings several times in his work on the Shulchan Aruch.
His contemporary, R. David Ganz of Prague (disciple of the Rema), describes R. Yosef Katz in his book Tzemach David as bearing four crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, the crown of royalty and greatness, and the crown of a good name.
His epitaph reads: "…R. Yosef son of R. Mordechai Gershon Katz, rabbi and yeshiva dean here in Kraków for over fifty years…".
(For a detailed biography of R. Yosef Katz, see introduction by R. Moshe David Chechik at the beginning of She'erit Yosef, Zichron Aharon edition, Jerusalem 2017).