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Category: Libraries, Collectors & Auctions

Sotheby’s upcoming Important Judaica auction

Sotheby’s upcoming Important Judaica auction

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December is nearly here and that means that it is the height of Judaica Auction season. Following strong showings by Kestenbaum (Nov 13th), Greenstein (Nov. 24th), Kedem (Nov. 25th), the season reaches its culmination with an exceptionally rich offering of over 170 lots of Important Judaica by Sotheby’s New York. The auction will be held on December 4th, with public viewing, for four days only, from Sunday Nov. 30 through Wednesday, Dec 3. Sotheby’s annual auction features an outstanding array…

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David Sassoon, Bibliophile Par Excellence

David Sassoon, Bibliophile Par Excellence

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The article below is an annotated version of an article that appeared in the Inyan Magazine of HaModia, dated July 16, 2014. Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski addressed him as “Hanaggid” (The Prince). The Michtav MeEliyahu (Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler) came to his home to privately tutor his only son. Named after his grandfather, the founder of the Sassoon dynasty, David Sassoon was an outstanding Talmid Chochom, whose tremendous collection of sefarim and manuscripts, on which he expended much time and money,…

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Book Review: The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky

Book Review: The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky

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For many Seforim blog readers, the name ‘Abramsky’ will instantly be associated with the personality of Rav Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), the author of Hazon Yechezkel on the Tosefta. Born in Russia, imprisoned by the Soviets, released in the 1930’s after diplomatic intervention by the U.S. and Britain, he was for years the head of the London Beth Din before his retirement to Israel. But other readers will also know his son, Chimen (1916-2010), whose life followed a very different path,…

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Upcoming Kestenbaum Auction #51 – Alphonse Cassuto Collection Part 2.

Upcoming Kestenbaum Auction #51 – Alphonse Cassuto Collection Part 2.

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Kestenbaum & Co. will be holding an auction this Thursday, June 23. The catalog is available online at the Kestenbaum site (link). This auction includes the second part of the Alfonso Cassuto collection which is heavily focused on books originating or relating to the Iberian Peninsula. One can read more about that collection at the website or see the last auction catalog. In addition, there are a few controversial books of note. First, lot 136 is the exceedingly rare first…

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Upcoming Auction

Upcoming Auction

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Kestenbaum & Co. will be holding an auction next Thursday, Feb. 24th. On its site, it provides some highlights, and I wanted to point out a few others. Additionally, one can download the entire catalog by visiting the site. The first edition of R. Yosef Albo’s Sefer ha-Ikarim, Soncino 1485, being an incunabula is of course of note (lot 7). But, the colophon of this work is especially noteworthy. The colophon ends with “Ki mi-Tzion teitze Torah u-devar Hashem mi-Soncino.”…

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Upcoming Kestenbaum Auction

Upcoming Kestenbaum Auction

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Next week, Oct. 27, Kestenbaum & Co. is having an auction, and the catalog is availalbe online. Obviously, there are many items worth highlighting but I want to focus upon one general topic and select those lots that are relevant. The focus of this post is on translations and the vernacular. Lot 7 is the first book using Hebrew fonts to teach Hebrew to an American audience. This book, Grammar of the Hebrew Tongue, written by Judah Monis, was a…

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Illustrated Title Pages in Upcoming Auction Catalog

Illustrated Title Pages in Upcoming Auction Catalog

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This Thursday, Kestenbaum & Co. is having an auction. The catalog is available online and the viewing takes place this week. For those interested in some highlights, the website provides those. But, I wanted to highlight a theme that hasn’t been noted. First, a quick background regarding Hebrew book auctions. [Note, this is not a comprehensive attempt.] There are five auction houses that concentrate on Hebrew books, Kestenbaum, Judica Jerusalem, Asufa, Baronovitch, and, a recent entry, Kedem. While all five…

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Rabbinic Insults and Bibliographical Errors

Rabbinic Insults and Bibliographical Errors

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One of the more interesting pioneers of the haskalah movement was R. Shelomo Zalman Hanau (Katz). Hanau’s works mainly concern grammar and, in that vein, corrections to the siddur. Hanau’s first book, Binyan Shelomo, Frankfort A.M., 1708 was published when he was 21. This book focuses on grammar, but, as we have already discussed, was important in the development of the Siddur. (Additionally, see S.’s recent post on Hanau here.) This book is now up for auction, however, I must…

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Twenty-Five Years at the Valmadonna Trust Library

Twenty-Five Years at the Valmadonna Trust Library

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Librarian – Valmadonna Trust Library (London, England) When I first walked into the library in May 1982 I was struck initially by the smell of leather, then by the rows upon rows of fine bindings in burgundies, browns, beiges and creams packed neatly and tastefully on elegant open wooden shelves. Looking more closely I began to identify groupings: 16th century Italian locations with exciting names like Riva di Trento, Sabbionetta and Ferrara; whole areas of early Venetian printers – Bomberg,…

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Upcoming Auctions

Upcoming Auctions

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Additionally, the first edition of two important siddurim are here as well. The Siddur Sha’ar ha-Shamayim from R. Isaiah Horowitz, the Shelah (lot no. 174) and R. Y. Emden’s Siddur, (lot no. 101). Another important first edition of a liturgical work is R. Meir Ibn Gabbai’s Tola’ath Ya’akov (lot no. 187) with the rare poem page. Another work that contains a rare page is the Hon Ashir from R. Immanuel Ricci. (Lot no. 195) This work, a commentary on the…

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Upcoming December Auctions

Upcoming December Auctions

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In the next few weeks there are a bunch of auctions. First, is Sotheby’s auction of the “Delmonico” collection. This collection, of an anonymous collector, is amazing. It includes fifty incunabula with the balance of the auction being 16 and 17th century books. Included in the later portion are volumes of the first edition Bomberg Talmud printed on blue paper. These are the only known copies of these volumes. The incunabula includes the first edition of the Rambam’s commentary on…

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Baranovich Auction

Baranovich Auction

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Yeshiva Ahavas Torah, Baranovich is having an auction Wednesday, November 19th. One can download the catalog here. While I don’t intend to cover the whole catalog, I want to briefly highlight a few items. Those interested in early Hebrew/English primers (or English Hebraica) and the like should take a look at lots 12-17. For those interested in early 20th century American figures, such as Rodkinson and Eisenstein, see lot 62 for Eisenstein’s quasi-autobiography, Otzar Zikronoti . And for a polemic…

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Marc B. Shapiro: A Tale of Two Lost Archives

Marc B. Shapiro: A Tale of Two Lost Archives

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I have spent much of my professional life rummaging through collections of documents, mostly in well-kept archives, but sometimes also in hard-to-reach places in basements and attics. Fortunately, I have made some great discoveries in these places, but I will now tell you a story that doesn’t have a happy ending. It begins around fifteen years ago, when I was researching the life of R. Jehiel Jacob Weinberg. With the strength that only someone in his twenties has, I traveled…

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Upcoming Auctions

Upcoming Auctions

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Additionally, for those interested in incunabula, R. David Kimchi’s (RaDaK) Sefer ha-Shorashim, Naples 1490 is for sale. It is worth noting that a tremendous amount of incunabula – by my count some 96 titles! – are available online at the JNUL Digitized Book Repository including this edition of the Sefer ha-Shorashim. To have access to so many rare titles is extrodinary. Even if one has access to a library that has a few incunabula it is difficult to view them…

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