Auction 92 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Year-round machzor following Roman rite, Part I – weekday, Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh prayers, prayers and selichot from Chanukah until Shabbat Nachamu, Passover Haggadah, Shemoneh Perakim by the Rambam and Tractate Avot with the foreword and commentary of the Rambam; and Part II – prayers for Elul and the Tishrei holidays, selichot for public fasts, and other prayers. [Rimini: Gershom Soncino, 1521]. Two parts in one volume.
Third and rare edition of the Roman rite machzor, printed based on the first edition of the machzor, Soncino-Casalmaggiore 1486, with emendations.
Part I includes the Mi Kamocha piyyut for the Shabbat preceding Purim; and Azharot by R. Shlomo ibn Gabirol and R. Eliyahu HaZaken. Part II includes Megillat Kohelet and laws for various occasions.
Incomplete copy. Two parts in one volume. [2]-[5], [13]-[18], [25]-[72], [74]-[77], [79]-[132], [134]-[151]; [1]-[102], [104]-[137] leaves. Originally: [151;139] leaves. Lacking 20 leaves: title page, leaves [6]-[12], [19]-[24], [73], [78], [133] of part I; leaf [103] and final two leaves of part II. All missing leaves replaced in photocopy. 25.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains. Tears, including open tears to many leaves (large tears to several leaves), affecting text, mostly repaired with paper. Leaves trimmed with damage to text in some places. Censorship deletions in several places. Endpapers (presumably original) with many inscriptions bound at beginning and end of book. New, ornate leather binding. Slipcased.
The machzor was printed by the renowned Hebrew printer Gershom Soncino, one of the most prominent Italian Hebrew printers. Soncino traveled with his family and printing equipment through various Italian cities, printing Hebrew books wherever he settled.
See: A. Piattelli, Bibliografia shel Mahzorim ve-sidurim ke-minhag bene Roma, no. 9.
Provenance: Valmadonna Trust Library.
Roman rite machzor, Part II – two editions printed in Venice in the late 16th – early 17th centuries:
1. Roman rite machzor, Part II, prayers for Elul, the Tishrei holidays, and public fasts. Venice: Zuan (Giovanni) di Gara, 1587.
The machzor was published at the initiative of the partners R. Chananya Finzi, R. Moshe Abolaffio and R. Meshulam Bassan.
Title within engraved border.
The present machzor includes printed marginal notes containing textual variations, commentaries and practices, many of them by R. Moshe Provençal and other Italian Torah scholars. Additional comments were printed at the end of the machzor (leaves 345-347). These comments show kabbalistic influence, for the first time in an Italian machzor. These are followed by a list of errata to the comments printed in both parts of the machzor.
Censor's signature on p. 344b.
7, 9-34, [36]-347, [1] leaves. Lacking 2 leaves: 8, 35 (leaf 8 replaced with corresponding leaf; presumably printed in Mantua 1676, together with other leaves printed to replace missing leaves in machzorim and siddurim). Approx. 16 cm. Gilt edges. Fair-good condition. Many stains. Minor wear to some leaves. Tears, including open tears to several leaves, affecting text, repaired in part with paper. Open tears to title page, affecting engraved border, repaired with paper. Worming, repaired in part with paper. Early leather binding, with silver clasps. Blemishes to binding.
See: A. Piattelli, Bibliografia shel Mahzorim ve-sidurim ke-minhag bene Roma, no. 25.
2. Roman rite machzor, Part II, prayers for Elul, the Tishrei holidays, and public fasts. Venice: Giovanni di Gara for Giovanni Bragadino, 1606.
Title within engraved border.
This edition was printed based on the Venice 1587 edition, and it includes the printed marginal notes. The notes were emended in this edition (based on the errata from the 1587 edition).
40, 42-279, 281-347 leaves. Lacking 2 leaves: 41, 280. 14.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Worming, slightly affecting text. Inner margins of some leaves reinforced with paper, with damage to text in several places. Title page trimmed with minor damage to lower part of engraved border. Many inscriptions. Old binding, with leather spine. Wear and blemishes to binding.
See: A. Piattelli, Bibliografia shel Mahzorim ve-sidurim ke-minhag bene Roma, no. 30.
Roman rite machzor, Part I – weekday, Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh prayers, prayers and selichot from Chanukah until Shabbat Nachamu, Passover Haggadah, Pirkei Avot and Azharot; Part II – selichot and prayers for Elul and the Tishrei holidays, selichot for public fasts and other prayers. Venice: Giovanni Caleoni for Pietro, Alvise & Lorenzo Bragadin, 1626. Two parts in two volumes.
Printed based on the Venice 1587 edition, with printed marginal notes (see previous item).
Two leaves with a handwritten poem for shofar blowing were bound between leaves 40-41 of vol. II.
On the title page of vol. II, calligraphic signature of R. Avraham Chai Vivanti (1806-1876; rabbi of Ancona). Other inscriptions on the same leaf: "Yisrael Shlomo Chai". Additional inscriptions in Italian (mentioning Ancona) on the back endpaper of this volume.
Two volumes. Vol. I: 333, [2] leaves. Vol. II: 344 leaves. 14.5-15.5 cm. Gilt edges in vol. II. Vol. I in fair condition, vol. II in good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Worming, slightly affecting text. Wear to vol. I. Title page and some other leaves in vol. I detached. Tears, including open tears affecting text in several places, repaired in part with paper. Paper repair to title page of vol. I, affecting border. Early leather bindings (non-uniform), with gilt ornaments (owner's initials lettered on front and back board of vol. I: "R. S"; fine gilt ornaments to binding and spine of vol. II, with emblem of priestly hands topped with a crown on front and back boards). Blemishes to bindings (worming to binding of vol. II). Placed in slipcases (non-uniform).
See: A. Piattelli, Bibliografia shel Mahzorim ve-sidurim ke-minhag bene Roma, no. 36.
Provenance of vol. II: Valmadonna Trust Library.
Machzor Shaar Bat Rabim, Part I – prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and festivals, and Part II – prayers for the High Holidays and festivals of Tishrei, "following the rite of the Ashkenazi community", with the Hadrat Kodesh commentary, by R. Yitzchak son of R. Yaakov Yosef HaLevi. Venice: Bragadin, [1711-1715]. Complete set. Two parts in four volumes.
Fine engraved title pages at the beginning of parts I and II (vols. I and III).
This elegant machzor was published at the initiative of the Italian communities, who undertook to buy the printed copies. The machzor was printed and sold in individual gatherings.
Many handwritten glosses in vol. II, in neat Italian script. The glosses contain references, emendations, and textual variations for the piyyutim, comments regarding the customs pertaining to the prayer text, and more. In several places, the writer mentions the custom of his hometown, Casale. Inscription on the first leaf of vol. II: "Moshe Levi".
Four volumes. Vol. I: 228 leaves. Vol. II: 229-360 leaves. Vol. III: 193 leaves. Vol. IV: 194-372, 377-384 leaves. 39-39.5 cm. High-quality paper. Wide margins. Condition varies. Most leaves of vol. I in good-fair condition, some leaves in fair condition. Vols. II, III and IV in good to good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Traces of past dampness with mold to some leaves of vol. I. Wear to some leaves of vol. I. Worming. Tears to vol. I, including open tears (some large), repaired with paper. Three volumes in new bindings; vol. II in early leather binding with extensive abrasion (new paper labels to spine).
Lot 27 Italian Rite Siddur – Miniature Edition – Original Leather Binding with Clasps – Venice, 1731
![Siddur following Italian rite. Venice: [Bragadi., 1731]. Miniature format.Vocalized siddur for weekdays, Shabbat and festival](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale92_1/27_1.jpg "Italian Rite Siddur – Miniature Edition – Original Leather Binding wit")
![Siddur following Italian rite. Venice: [Bragadi., 1731]. Miniature format.Vocalized siddur for weekdays, Shabbat and festival](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale92_1/27_2.jpg "Italian Rite Siddur – Miniature Edition – Original Leather Binding wit")
Siddur following Italian rite. Venice: [Bragadi., 1731]. Miniature format.
Vocalized siddur for weekdays, Shabbat and festivals. Bound in original, gilt-decorated leather binding (decorations somewhat faded), with metal clasps.
The title page states: "Printed upon the request of the wealthy… R. Shimshon Canton".
195, 195-199 leaves. 6.5 cm. Gilt edges. Good condition. Stains. Leaves trimmed with damage to text. Wear and blemishes to binding.
Rare edition, listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a copy from a private collection; not listed in the NLI catalog.
See also: A. Piatelli, Bibliographia shel Mahzorim ve-sidurim ke-minhag bene Roma, no. 55.
Order of prayers following Eastern Ashkenazi rite, with laws and instructions in Yiddish. London: William Tooke for the partners Itzek son of Yedidia Segal, Moshe son of Gershon and Yaakov son of Yissachar Katz, [1770].
Siddur following Eastern Ashkenazi rite (Minhag Polin), with laws and instructions in Yiddish.
The first Hebrew books printed in England by Jewish printers were produced in 1770. This is the first Hebrew-only siddur to be printed in England (a Hebrew-English siddur was printed that same year by the printers and translators A. Alexander and B. Meyers, also in the press of William Tooke; these two editions have been confused one for the other).
Prof. David Latchman contends that this is the first complete siddur printed in England, see the following essay in his personal blog: The First Hebrew-Only Siddur Printed in England: An Almost Forgotten Treasure, from Feb. 3, 2022.
76 leaves. 21 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor marginal tears to several leaves, not affecting text. New leather binding.
Rare edition, listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew book based on a copy from a private collection. The siddur is not listed in the NLI catalog, nor in the British Museum or the Bodleian Library or any other public library.