Collection of books by R. Yehosef Schwartz, first editions printed in Jerusalem. Complete set in good condition.
1-4. Divrei Yosef by R. Yehosef Schwartz, halacha and astronomy of Eretz Israel. Jerusalem, 1843. First title within elaborate woodcut border.
Bound with Tevuot HaAretz (part II of Divrei Yosef), Totzaot HaAretz and Maaseh HaAretz. Scientific and halachic study of Eretz Israel. Jerusalem, 1845.
[12] (originally: [8] leaves. The preface and errata were included twice), 70, [6] leaves; [2], 156 leaves; [1], 22 leaves; [1], 24-52, [3] leaves; (five title pages). 15.5 cm. Very good condition. Stamps. Early binding, with marbled endpapers and leather spine.
5. Divrei Yosef (Parts III and IV), Jerusalem, 1861.
Pri Tevua, Pardes, explanations and various scholarly topics suitable for all. Corrections and additions to Tevuot HaAretz, which was published in 1845. Illustrations on leaf [7].
[7], 247, [1] leaves. 16 cm. Very good condition. Stamps. Old binding.
6. Divrei Yosef (Parts III and IV – second "head"). Responsa. Jerusalem, 1862.
[4], 170, [1] leaves. 15 cm. Very good condition. Small marginal tear to title page. Stamps. Old binding.
R. Yehosef Schwartz (1804-1865, see: Gellis, MiDemuyot Yerushalayim, pp. 64-70), a kabbalist and outstanding Torah scholar. He was one of the first to engage in the study of Eretz Israel. A disciple of R. Avraham Bing in the Würzburg yeshiva, he concurrently studied geography and languages in the local university. While still in Germany, he began studying the land of Israel, and in 1829, he published a map of Eretz Israel in Hebrew and German (which was used by historians and geographers in his times). He immigrated to Jerusalem in 1833, where he was welcomed by his colleagues from Germany (founders of Kollel Holland and Deutschland), R. Moshe Saks and R. Eliezer Bergmann. R. Yehosef continued delving in the study of both hidden and revealed sections of the Torah his entire life, and studied kabbalah in the Beit El yeshiva for kabbalists. He pursued his historical and geographical studies of Eretz Israel, travelling from place to place and exploring the land. He determined the names of places based on the study of local languages, biblical and Talmudic sources. His identifications of places are accepted until this day, and his books still serve as basis for many discussions regarding Eretz Israel, whether from a Torah-halachic viewpoint or from the scientific-historic perspective. His series of books is named Tevuot HaAretz (after the main book in the series) and was published in Hebrew in Jerusalem. In 1850, Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine, an English translation of Tevuot HaAretz, was published in Philadelphia (with a map of Eretz Israel and the famous portrait of the author – who exchanged his European garb for Middle Eastern dress, even donning a Middle Eastern turban), and in 1852, a German translation of Tevuot HaAretz was published in Frankfurt.
Sh. HaLevy: 17, 31, 58, 62.