Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
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Displaying 73 - 84 of 104
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $1,875
Including buyer's premium
Lengthy letter (2 leaves) from R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch. Riga, 23rd Adar II, 1932.
Typewritten on the Rebbe Rayatz's official stationery, with his signature – "Yosef Yitzchak"; with added words and corrections in his handwriting.
Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, who had left Soviet Russia a few months earlier and settled in London [his wife and two young children received an exit permit several months later, near the time the present letter was received; his two elder sons managed to leave only five years later]. At the beginning of the letter, the Rayatz blesses him: "…I was delighted to hear of your good health and that, thank G-d, your family members attained a permit to leave [Russia]; may G-d grant them success for everything to go smoothly, and may G-d protect your honorable sons, Mr. Moshe and Mr. Yaakov David, who are temporarily left in their place; may G-d help them to soon attain permits to come to you successfully".
The continuation and main part of the letter deals with the considerable efforts to send packages of flour and matzah for Pesach to the Jews of the USSR who were left behind the Iron Curtain [In the years following his departure from Russia, the Rebbe Rayatz initiated a complex international operation to raise funds and attain permits to send packages of shmura flour and matzot to the Jews of Soviet Russia. He was assisted by several leaders of the generation, including the Chafetz Chaim, R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky in Poland, R. Meir Hildesheimer in Berlin, R. Kook and R. Sonnenfeld in Eretz Israel, R. Yechezkel Abramsky in England and others. Letters were dispatched to rabbis worldwide, and various announcements were made and fundraisers were held. The efforts were centered in Riga, Latvia, where the Rebbe Rayatz resided, where the conditions were easier to get permits from the Russian authorities and send food packages. The sending of food packages to Russia was done by calling for individuals worldwide to send flour and matzah packages addressed to their relatives and to particular addresses sent to them by the committee in Riga].
In the present letter, the Rayatz briefs R. Abramsky on attaining shmura flour for the matzot, filling out forms for home addresses in Russia, and the way to send and raise funds: "Regarding the packages, after all the permits, the matter of store-bought [non-shmura] flour weighs on me. Thank G-d, I was able to send some hundreds of packages of flour for Pesach, and I hereby send you 270 addresses, and I ask you to see to it that they are filled out and that the packages are sent to them… The best way to send is through Latvia, as I saw that our friend R. Chaim Ozer sent many packages through Latvia, and from other places including Poland it was decided to send packages through Latvia… If you could act to have the Relief send flour for Pesach, in order to speed the matter I ask you to please inform me by telegram that you receive the amount that is on your account…". At the end of the letter, the Rebbe Rayatz adds in his handwriting: "Respecting him and blessing him".
A partial draft of the letter is printed in the Rebbe Rayatz's Igrot Kodesh (XI, letter 4215); the present letter is the original, in full, with many additions and changes compared with the printed version.
The recipient,
R. Yechezkel Abramsky, author of Chazon Yechezkel (1886-1976), head rabbi of the London Beit Din and a leader of Torah Judaism in Eretz Israel. President of the Council of Yeshivas, a director of the Chinuch Atzma'i system, member of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah and a dean of the Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak. In 1911 he served for a brief period as dean of the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Lubavitch, and was later appointed Rabbi of Smolyan with the assistance of the Rebbe Rashab. After the Soviet revolution he served as Rabbi of Slutsk (from 1923), where he joined the Rebbe Rayatz in dealing with public matters, and he was a member of the Committee of Rabbis which supported Torah schools, mikvaot and rabbis in Russia. During this period he was referred to by the code names Yemin Hashem Romemah (the beginning of the verse recited after the Amidah prayer for the name Yechezkel) and Tosefta (for his work Chazon Yechezkel on the Tosefta). At the end of 1930 he was imprisoned by the Soviets for his dedicated activity in support of Judaism; there he became acquainted with R. Refael Cohen. After leaving Russia he arrived in England in 1932, where he was appointed head of the London Batei Din until his 1951 retirement and immigration to Eretz Israel. Throughout that period he was in close relations and cooperation with the Rebbe Rayatz (and he was active alongside him and R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky of Vilna in the international effort to send food packages for holidays to Jews in Soviet Russia). He was also later involved with the Rebbe Rayatz's son-in-law, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, in public affairs. After his immigration to Eretz Israel he would go along with his friend R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin to deliver a lecture in the Chabad Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Lod (see: Melech BeYofyo, Jerusalem 2004, p. 670; based on Hamodia newspaper, Jerusalem, 16th Elul 1951).
[2] leaves, official stationery. 29.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and creases. Stains and light wear. Small marginal tears.
Category
Chabad – Letters
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $5,500
Including buyer's premium
Two letters (on one leaf) from Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Complete letter (10 lines) handwritten and signed by the Rebbe; written on the upper margins of a public-private letter (an identical letter sent to several individuals) for Shavuot. Brooklyn, New York, Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 1951.
Complete letter (10 lines) handwritten and signed by the Rebbe; written on the upper margins of a public-private letter (an identical letter sent to several individuals) for Shavuot. Brooklyn, New York, Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 1951.
The letter is handwritten and typewritten on the Rebbe's official stationery, with the Rebbe's signature (twice):
"M. Schneerson". Sent approximately three months after the Rebbe took on the mantle of Chabad leadership (10th Shevat 1951), addressed to the shochet R. Avraham Sender Nemtzov.
The upper letter, handwritten in full by the Rebbe, offers a deep Chassidic and kabbalistic explanation of the passage of the Passover Haggadah dealing with Lavan the Aramean. The Rebbe references various midrashic and kabbalistic books, and the Chassidic homily of the Rebbe Maharash in 1878. The Rebbe concludes:
"With a Chag Sameach blessing for the day after the Shabbat, in accordance with its intention as well as its literal meaning [the count to Shavuot begins "the day after the Shabbat", meaning the first day of Pesach; in 1951 that day coincided with the literal Shabbat],
M.Schneerson".
In the public-private letter printed later on the page, the Rebbe explains the meaning of Shavuot, and adds blessing and guidance:
"…It is known that during the festivals and holidays each year, the matters relevant to them awaken… And these days, the time of the giving of our Torah, are days of Segulah for the people that is a Segulah to receive the Segulah which is the Torah joyfully and internally… Each and every one of us must now do as much as we can to educate boys and girls in accordance with the Torah way… And all Jews are guarantors for one another… to influence… the education of Jewish boys and girls in his environment… to forcefully protest and fight every act or matter that is liable to disconnect them… from this education, that is liable to distance them from the Torah of the living G-d… With a blessing to receive the Torah joyfully and internally".
On the margins of the leaf are references and sources for topics and ideas cited in the letter.
This public-private letter was printed in the Rebbe's Igrot Kodesh (IV, 1029); the added letter handwritten by the Rebbe was not printed in Igrot Kodesh but was published in Olam Chesed Yibaneh, by R. Y. D. Rosenberg (X, Netanya 2018, p. 200).
[1] leaf, official stationery. 28 cm. Good condition. Folding marks. Rust stain to margin.
Category
Chabad – Letters
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Two handwritten documents from members of the Sforno family. Bologna (Italy).
1. Manuscript, appeal to the authorities of Bologna by Avraham Sforno. February 14, 1477. Italian.
An appeal calling for the involvement of the mayor and the court of Bologna in an episode of violence.
The appellant, Avraham son of Reuven son of Shmuel Sforno (uncle of the biblical commentator Rabbi Ovadia Sforno), a resident of Santo Stefano, Bologna, claims that a man named David Musetti, a Jew of Modena living in Bologna, was one of the two armed men who attacked him one night outside of his home, beating him and severely injuring him and his servant. Despite the fact that the attackers wore masks, one of Sforno's servants identified Musetti, and this document shows that the victim attempted to bring the attacker to justice.
The episode occurred in October 1476, next to Sforno's home in Guardia di Bologna, located on a hill in a forest outside of the city (today in the suburb San Ruffillo), where he and his family had fled from a plague that had broken out in the city.
As mentioned, Avraham Sforno mentioned here is the uncle (paternal brother) of Rabbi Ovadia Sforno, the biblical commentator.
See: R. Rinaldi, un inventario dei beni dell'anno 1503: Abramo Sforno e la sua attività di prestatore, Il Carrobbio IX, 1983.
The watermark matches paper manufactured in 14th-century Italy.
[1] leaf. Approx. 21X30.5 cm. Good condition. Light stains. Folding marks. Puncture to center of leaf, slightly affecting text. Minute marginal tears.
2. Manuscript, legal ruling regarding Avraham Sforno of Bologna. December 22, 1479. Latin.
Confirmation of a legal ruling handed out by the court of Bologna, sentencing citizen Matteo Salaroli to death for robbing the bank of Avraham Sforno (Abramo figlio di Rubino) of Santo Stefano Square, Bologna. In addition, Salaroli is ordered to repay the sum he robbed in full. The document notes that the defendant had robbed the same bank several times, that the sentence is final and that its execution was approved by the mayor.
See: M. G. Muzzarelli, Gli Sforno di Bologna, Zakhor 3, 1999.
[1] leaf (written on both sides). 31.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Puncture to bottom of leaf, not affecting text. Minute marginal tears.
The Sforno family, a family of bankers from Spain, one of the most prominent Jewish families in Italy, whose members included, most famously, the Biblical commentator R. Ovadiah Sforno (1468/1473-1549). After a long period of wandering throughout Italy, he settled in Bologna along with his brother Chananel, where he served as a posek and physician and was moreover a partner in establishing a Hebrew printing press (the first Hebrew book to be printed there was his philosophical book Or Amim, in 1537).
Category
Jewish Communities – Ketubot and Various Documents
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $8,750
Including buyer's premium
Decorated parchment ketubah for the wedding of Shemaiah son of Aminadav Cases and Mirele daughter of Yosef Rimini. Mantua, Friday, May 25 1668.
An early, elaborate ketubah from Mantua, richly decorated with colors, geometrical patterns, gold and silver dots, and a family emblem; the earliest Italian ketubah decorated with this pattern.
The text of the ketubah is written in square letters, within the center of an architectural frame featuring a pair of pillars and an arch, decorated with an interlocking geometrical pattern colored green, red, blue and gold, with silver dots; a large image of a crown is featured in the center of the arch. The margins of the ketubah are decorated with a wide frame – in the same colors as the inner frame – with geometrical patterns of interlocking circles. The medallion located at the upper end of the frame features an illustration of a pair of doves with the word "Shalom" in between them (apparently an allegorical illustration, perhaps alluding to the bride's family emblem of a rooster), and the medallion at the bottom of the frame incorporates the groom's family emblem – an erect lion holding a branch.
The bottom margins of the ketubah text contain the signatures of the witnesses: "Shlomo son of R. Binyamin of Formiggini" and "Gur Aryeh son of R. Moshe Hoshayah HaLevi". Handwritten notes appear between the lines of the dowry and at the end of the ketubah text: "Verona currency…".
The bridegroom was a member of the respected
Cases family, who were of Spanish origin and reached Tuscany and later Florence in the late 15th century. The family settled in Bologna and Mantua, where they were distinguished leaders of the Jewish community. Its members gained fame as scribes, rabbis and physicians.
The second witness,
R. Gur Aryeh son of R. Moshe Hoshayah HaLevi [Finzi], was a rabbi and kabbalist in Mantua in the latter half of the 17th century. He authored a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, printed with the Mantua 1722-1723 Shulchan Aruch edition published by his nephew R. Gur Aryeh (the second) son of R. Binyamin HaLevi Finzi. Other works of his, some kabbalistic, remain in manuscript. He was a friend of R. Moshe Zacuto (1625-1697), and the Chida reports that he heard the heavenly messenger teaching Torah to R. Moshe Zacuto (Shem HaGedolim, entry R. Moshe Zacuto).
R. Shlomo son of Binyamin Formiggini, the first witness, was a Torah scholar and kabbalist in Mantua, who served as the official scribe of the city's Jewish community.
Approx. 57X47 cm. Fair-good condition. Creases and stains, some dark. Folding marks. Tears, mainly to bottom part, including some open tears. Some tears are a few cm long. Some strips lacking, affecting decorations, some artistically repaired on paper. Several paper strips mounted on verso for reinforcement and repair of tears.
Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, June 16 2022, Lot 71.
Category
Jewish Communities – Ketubot and Various Documents
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Certificate of appreciation bestowed upon Dr. Ignaz (Yitzchak) Kuranda by the Gomlei Chasadim Chevra Kadisha of Prague. Color lithograph, Mittag & Wildner: Prague, dedication dated 5641 (1880-1881).
Large, elaborate certificate of appreciation, with a dozen illustrations depicting the ancient Jewish cemetery of Prague – featuring images of several of its distinguished and ancient graves – and the activities of the Gomlei Chasadim Chevra Kadisha in the city.
The eight illustrations depicting the cemetery document the graves of R. David Oppenheim, R. Mordechai Meisel – leader of the Jewish community in the time of the Maharal, the Maharal of Prague, R. David Gans, the noblewoman Hendele wife of financier Yaakov Bassevi, R. Avigdor Kara, R. Shimon Shapiro and R. Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo (Yashar of Kandia). The remaining four illustrations depict the activities of the Chevra Kadisha.
The center of the certificate contains printed blessings and dedications from the Chevra Kadisha, with the recipient's name and titles filled in by hand: "The man raised high, the all-around sage R. Dr. Yitzchak Kuranda, one of the ministers and advisors of the lands of the King of Austria, adorned in glorious ornaments by kings desiring his honor!".
Ignaz (Yitzchak) Kuranda (1811-1884) was a publicist, author and Austrian statesman born in Prague, who took an active part in Jewish community life in Vienna in the second half of the 19th century. Kuranda served as a representative in the Landtag of Lower Austria from 1861 and later served as president of the Jewish community of Vienna (IKG) from 1872 until his passing.
The bottom margins of the document contain the signatures of the representatives of the Chevra Kadisha in Prague: "Itzek R. Avraham Schitz", "Shmuel Taussig", "Kaufman Plahn", "Moshe R. Avraham Wohle Absan", "David Zoppert", "Zechariah Kuh", "Leib son of R. David Kuhe Segal".
This document is reminiscent, in design and layout, of Mizrach and Yahrzeit posters printed in central Europe during the 19th century which were distributed and sold commercially. Nevertheless, the present certificate appears to be an original work designed specifically for the Gomlei Chasadim society of Prague; we know of no other copies of this print, and it appears that even the illustrations printed here were specifically designed for this certificate, as they do not appear in other sources.
38X48 cm. Fair-good condition. Wide, complete margins. Creases, wear and rolling marks. Stains, some dark. Marginal tears, some reinforced with tape to verso.
Category
Jewish Communities – Ketubot and Various Documents
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $20,000
Including buyer's premium
Pharetra fidei catholice siue ydonea disputatio inter Christianos et Judaeos. [Presumably Cologne: Heinrich Quentell, ca. 1490-1500]. Latin.
Anti-Jewish work dating from the earliest years of the printing press, written by Theobald of Saxony, a convert from Judaism to Christianity. Hand-painted initials; words initialed with hand-painted capital letters.
This book was written at the height of the Talmud-burning campaign that took place in Paris in the 13th century, following a “judgement” at the hands of a French judicial/theological panel which found the Talmud “guilty, ” and subsequently “sentenced” it to burning. The book’s author, Theobald of Saxony (known also as Thibaud de Sézanne), was among the most prominent of the Jewish-born Christian theologians active in France at the time. Among scholars today, he is credited with having produced the historic translation of segments of the Talmud into Latin, “Extractiones de Talmud”. Printed at the time of the “trial”, it included only “incriminating” segments.
The present book was published around the time of the trial; it cites the Talmud to produce purported proofs promoting its argument against Judaism and what it stands for. It also offers biblical commentary from a Christian perspective, and varied evidence for the obsolescence of the Jewish prophecies. In addition, the work proposes that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish exile had come about as the result of Divine retribution for the fact that the Jewish people had rejected Jesus and his teachings.
Rare book. Not in NLI; only a handful of copies are found in American libraries.
[12] leaves (11 leaves of text and one blank leaf; 36 rows per column; 31 rows in final leaf). Approx. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor dampstains. Slight tears to edges of several leaves. New binding. Traces of notations on first leaf.
Goff P576; Hain Copinger 12912.
See: Gilbert Dahan, “Les traductions latines de Thibaud de sézanne”, in: Le brûlement du Talmud à Paris 1242-1244, Paris: Cerf, 1999 (French), pp. 95-120.
Category
Early Printed Books, Incunabula
Catalogue
![De Arte Cabalistica ["On the Art of Kabbalah"], by Johannes Reuchlin. Hagenau: Thomas Anshelm, 1517 (print det](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/230_1.jpg "\"De Arte Cabalistica\" by Johannes Reuchlin – Hagenau, 1517 – First Edi")
![De Arte Cabalistica ["On the Art of Kabbalah"], by Johannes Reuchlin. Hagenau: Thomas Anshelm, 1517 (print det](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/230_2.jpg "\"De Arte Cabalistica\" by Johannes Reuchlin – Hagenau, 1517 – First Edi")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $4,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $3,125
Including buyer's premium
De Arte Cabalistica ["On the Art of Kabbalah"], by Johannes Reuchlin. Hagenau: Thomas Anshelm, 1517 (print details from colophon). Latin, with some Hebrew and Greek. First edition.
First edition of the seminal work on the subject of Kabbalah as understood from a Christian perspective, by the German scholar Johannes Reuchlin. The title page features a large woodcut of Reuchlin's coat of arms: a knight's helmet bearing the inscription "ARACAP / NIONIS" ("Ara Capnionis"). Decorative woodcut initial; two illustrations of mystical symbols appear in the margins of one of the pages.
In this book, Reuchlin develops ideas he first introduced in his previous work, "De Verbo Mirifico." It is written as a three-way conversation involving the Jewish kabbalist Simeon ben Elazar (a fictitious character whose name is meant to be reminiscent of Simeon Bar Yohai, who, according to Jewish tradition, was the author of the "Zohar, " the foundational book on Kabbalah), a Pythagorean philosopher, and a Muslim. In the spirit of the Renaissance, in the present book Reuchlin strives to return to "the basics" as he perceives them, namely Jewish Kabbalah and Pythagorean philosophy, whose origins he traces all the way back to Moses. He then takes these "basics" and interweaves them into Christian theology.
This book does not have a missionary agenda and was never in fact aimed at Jews; rather, Reuchlin directs his attention to his Christian co-religionists, attempting to familiarize them with the sources of their own religion and thus deepen their faith. The term "Kabbalah" here is not at all restricted to the mystical and esoteric aspects of the Jewish faith, but rather to Jewish sources in general; the approach adopted in the book derives broadly and indiscriminately from extra-Biblical Jewish traditions, in the belief that the Christian faith is rendered incomplete and poorer in the absence of exposure to these realms of Jewish thought, namely the Oral Torah (the Talmud and midrashic literature) and esoteric material that includes the Kabbalah, the "Zohar", the writings of Rabbi Yehuda HeHasid [Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg], Rabbi Abraham Abulafia, Rabbi Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, and others, and mystical letter combinations and "Gematria" (Hebrew numerology). This concept is founded on the belief that, like the Bible itself, all of the above were delivered to Moses at Mt. Sinai.
Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522), among the most prominent of German humanist scholars in the Renaissance period. Outspoken proponent of an attitude of tolerance toward the Jews. Invested much of his energies in enriching his Christian co-religionists with the wisdom of Jewish sacred writings and Greek philosophy, and in teaching them the Hebrew and Greek languages. Studied Hebrew under Jakob ben Jehiel Loans and under Rabbi Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno of Cesena. Continued with advanced studies in Kabbalah in Italy, and was influenced by the writings of the Italian philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494). Reuchlin was considered to be among the fathers of the Reformation, even though he personally placed himself in opposition to that movement, and remained steadfast in his loyalty to Catholicism and the Vatican throughout his life.
In the famous debate that erupted between him and the German Catholic theologian and convert from Judaism, Johannes (Josef) Pfefferkorn, Reuchlin emphatically denounced the burning of the Talmud. Consequently, and because of his insistence on the need to study and teach the Jewish religious texts, he found himself targeted by the Church's institutions. His pamphlet titled "Augenspiegel" ("Eyeglasses") was banned and condemned by force of an official decree issued by Pope Leo X on June 23, 1520.
[4]LXXIX, [1] leaves (misfoliation), 28.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dampstains, and several ink stains, some dark. Closed and open tears to edges of title page and several other leaves, some mended with paper. Minute worming to title page and several other leaves, with minor damage to text. Hand signature on title page. One leaf detached. Modern parchment binding.
For further reading, see: Joseph Dan, "The Kabbalah of Johannes Reuchlin and its Historical Significance, in: Aviezer Ravitzky, ed., Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought, Joseph Baruch Sermoneta Memorial Volume, Mandel Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, 1998, pp. 455-485.
Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 5 June 2007, Lot 157.
Category
Early Printed Books, Incunabula
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Introductiones Artis Grammatice Hebraice, by Alfonso de Zamora. Alcala de Henares (Spain): Academia Complutensi in aedibus Michaelis de Eguia, 1526. Latin and Hebrew.
Book of Hebrew grammar, presenting one of the finest examples of Hebrew lettering from the earliest days of the printing press. Title page printed in red and black, with a Hebrew inscription spanning the width of the page; heraldic emblem – five red stars enclosed within a shield, adorned with flowers and dragons – of the Archbishop of Toledo, Alonso III Fonseca, the author’s patron, stamped in center; illuminated initials (woodcuts).
A shorter version of the contents of the present book originally appeared as one of the volumes of the "Complutum", or "Complutensian Polyglot Bible" (1520), the world’s first complete, multilingual Bible, widely regarded as one of the most noteworthy achievements of the early printing press.
The present copy represents the full, expanded edition of this one volume, published in 1526 by the same publishing house, the same printer, and using the same fonts as those of the original edition. The expanded edition of the volume also contains a lengthy section in Hebrew, not included in the original edition; it is titled: "Letter Sent by the Author from the Kingdom of Spain to the Jews of the State of Rome" (Hebrew). Though written entirely in Hebrew, a Latin translation appears underneath each Hebrew line.
Regarding the Hebrew letters appearing in this book of grammar (which uses the same font as the remainder of the "Complutensian Polyglot Bible"), Dr. Joshua Bloch, an eminent authority on Semitic languages and head of the Jewish Studies Department of the New York Public Library, writes that "virtually nothing like their beauty is to be met in the types of fifteenth-century printing".
The book’s author, a Jewish convert to Christianity, Alfonso de Zamora (ca. 1480-1558), was the editor of the Hebrew and Aramaic sections of the "Complutensian Polyglot Bible", the world’s first multilingual Bible. Work on this edition began just a few years after the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, upon the insistence of the "Grand Inquisitor", the Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1436-1517). Since most of the Hebrew speakers among the Christians of Spain were in fact converts from Judaism, the job of writing and editing the Hebrew section was entrusted to three learned Jewish converts. Chief among these scholars was Alfonso de Zamora, author of the present volume.
[223] leaves. 18 cm. Good condition. Numerous notations in margins, some in Hebrew. Stains. Open tear to edge of one leaf (not affecting text). Slight tears to edges of title page, professionally mended. Elegant leather binding, with stamped gilt impression on spine.
See: Joshua Bloch, Early Hebrew printing in Spain and Portugal, New York: New York Public Library, 1938; reprinted in: C. Berlin, (ed.), Hebrew Printing and Bibliography, 1976, pp. 46-47.
Category
Early Printed Books, Incunabula
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Sold for: $18,750
Including buyer's premium
"Juden Raus!", antisemitic board game, made for children in Nazi Germany; small-scale format, including official promotional leaflet. Dresden: Günther & Co. (distributed by Rudolf Fabricius, Neusalza-Spremberg), [ca. 1938]. German.
Display model version of the board game "Juden Raus!", referred to as "History’s most infamous board game" (see below). Children were instructed to locate and round up Jews, gather them at transfer points, and have them deported from there. The game was created toward the end of 1938, roughly a month after Kristallnacht and not long before the outbreak of World War II and the onset of the Holocaust. It was begun as a private initiative, without the official sponsorship of the Nazi Party, and it succeeded in attracting only minimal public exposure; according to some estimations, it was never actually distributed in commercial quantities. The game was regarded as highly unusual among boxed board games circulated in Nazi Germany insofar as it imposed on children the task of rounding up Jews and having them deported by train, whereas most boxed games at the time dealt with educating youngsters regarding the history of the Nazi Party and the biographies of its leading personalities.
According to Andrew Morris-Friedman and Ulrich Schädler, only two copies of the full-size version of the board game are known to be extant, one belonging to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York, and the other is found in the collection of the Institute of Contemporary History and the Wiener Library, London. To our knowledge, no other copies of the small-scale format version have survived.
The present version of the board game is identical in virtually every respect to the regular, original full-size version. At the center of the board is an illustration of a walled German city, encircled by six railway platforms. Inside the city itself is a main street, and along it thirteen circles marked in red to indicate Jewish shops and businesses. Each circle shows the façade of a shop or business, focusing on its Jewish name: "Cohen", "Stern", "Levin", "Gurstein", "David", etc. Next to the illustrations are rows of text in German rhyme; freely translated: "If you succeed in expelling six Jews, you are undoubtedly the winner!" / "Show your skill, gather up as many Jews as you can!" An illustration of an expelled Jewish family appears in the lower margin.
In addition to the game board, there is the original promotional leaflet bearing the name of the distributor, who appeals to storeowners, informing them of the existence of the new board game which, according to him, is turning out to be a "schlager" ("big hit") at the annual fairs of Leipzig, Vienna, and other such gatherings ("der Messeschlager von 1939/40"). Apparently, the game was never actually presented at any of the above fairs.
For additional reading, see:
• Andrew Morris-Friedman and Ulrich Schädler, ‘Juden Raus!’ (Jews Out!) – History’s most infamous board game, in: "Board Games Studies", Issue No. 6, 2003, pp. 47-58.
Game board: approx. 30.5X25 cm. Enclosed leaflet: approx. 21X15 cm. Good condition. Fold lines.
Provenance: Dr. Simon Cohen Collection.
Category
Holocaust, Antisemitism, Antisemitic Children's Books and Toys
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!["Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Erns](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/233.jpg "\"Der Giftpilz\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children’s Book, Nuremberg, 1")
!["Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Erns](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/233_1.jpg "\"Der Giftpilz\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children’s Book, Nuremberg, 1")
!["Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Erns](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/233_2.jpg "\"Der Giftpilz\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children’s Book, Nuremberg, 1")
!["Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Erns](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/233_3.jpg "\"Der Giftpilz\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children’s Book, Nuremberg, 1")
!["Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Erns](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/233_4.jpg "\"Der Giftpilz\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children’s Book, Nuremberg, 1")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,500
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $1,875
Including buyer's premium
"Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Ernst Hiemer. Nuremberg: "Der Stürmer", 1938. German.
"The Poison Mushroom", antisemitic children’s book published by the Nazi weekly magazine "Der Stürmer". Color illustrations by "Der Stürmer" cartoonist/caricaturist Philipp Rupprecht, who published his works under the pen name "Fips".
The first story tells of a mother teaching her son how to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones. The tale concludes with this statement: "The following stories tell the truth about the poisonous Jewish mushroom; they lay out the many different forms that the Jew assumes… The Jew the way he truly is: a devil in human form". This book was submitted as an exhibit at the Nuremberg trials, and was a factor in bringing about the convictions of the publisher and illustrator.
A handwritten dedication in German appears on the front flyleaf of the present copy: "To Party member Rühl, in recognition of your contribution to the establishment of the Nazi Party in the territory of Alsace – [author of dedication not indicated], Strasbourg, January 7, 1941". Apparently this copy was gifted to the German physician Helmut Rüh (1918-?), a medical doctor employed at the "Reich University of Strasbourg" who performed experiments on killing by means of gas at the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in the Alsace region. In a trial held in France after the end of the war, he was sentenced to death in absentia.
64 pages. 26.5 cm. Good condition. Original binding (printed paper binding; cloth spine and board edges). Minor blemishes.
Category
Holocaust, Antisemitism, Antisemitic Children's Books and Toys
Catalogue
![Der Pudelmopsdackelpinscher [literally: "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher"], by Ernst Hiemer. Illustrations by Wil](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/234_1.jpg "\"The Mongrel\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children's Book – Nuremberg, 1")
![Der Pudelmopsdackelpinscher [literally: "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher"], by Ernst Hiemer. Illustrations by Wil](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/234_2.jpg "\"The Mongrel\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children's Book – Nuremberg, 1")
![Der Pudelmopsdackelpinscher [literally: "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher"], by Ernst Hiemer. Illustrations by Wil](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/234_3.jpg "\"The Mongrel\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children's Book – Nuremberg, 1")
![Der Pudelmopsdackelpinscher [literally: "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher"], by Ernst Hiemer. Illustrations by Wil](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/234_4.jpg "\"The Mongrel\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children's Book – Nuremberg, 1")
![Der Pudelmopsdackelpinscher [literally: "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher"], by Ernst Hiemer. Illustrations by Wil](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/234_5.jpg "\"The Mongrel\" – Illustrated Antisemitic Children's Book – Nuremberg, 1")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,200
Estimate: $1,500 - $2,000
Sold for: $1,500
Including buyer's premium
Der Pudelmopsdackelpinscher [literally: "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher"], by Ernst Hiemer. Illustrations by Willi Hofmann. Nuremberg: Der Stürmer-Buchverlag, 1940. German.
A children's book published by the Nazi weekly "Der Stürmer". Eleven antisemitic "animal fables"; each "fable" describes a different allegorical animal – snakes, bacteria, hyenas, bedbugs, worms, locusts – all of which are analogies for Jews (at the end of each story is a short passage describing Jews with characteristics similar to the animal). The book's title – "The Poodle-Pug-Dachshund-Pinscher" – Is taken from a story describing Jews as a mixture of small and weak dogs.
This book is the third and last of the children's books published by "Der Stürmer", and is considered the most extreme of the three. In several places in the book, there are explicit references to the idea of exterminating the Jews: "The tapeworm and the Jew are both parasites for our species... If we want to be strong and healthy again, there is only one solution: extermination [Ausrottung]" (p. 83); "As long as Jews live in the world, there will be a Jewish danger in the world" (p. 91); "We call on all the children of the world!... The end of the Jewish parasite nesting in humans will free the world once and for all...!" (p. 95; this sentence concludes the book).
95, [1] pages. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Some stains. Small tear to margins of last two leaves. Cover stained and slightly worn, with minor abrasions to spine and edges.
Category
Holocaust, Antisemitism, Antisemitic Children's Books and Toys
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Official protection document (Bescheinigung) issued by the Swedish Embassy in Budapest; signed by Raoul Wallenberg. Budapest, August 15, 1944. German and Hungarian.
Official document, certifying that Mrs. Eva Terner is the wife of Wilhelm (Vilmos) Terner – an employee of Raoul Wallenberg at the Swedish Embassy in Budapest. Printed in Hungarian and German, with official embassy stamps.
In the margin of the German text appears the full handwritten signature of Righteous Among the Nations Raoul Wallenberg (an additional signature, in a single line without a clear form, appears next to the signature).
The name Wilhelm Terner (Wilhelm-Vilmos Terner) is mentioned in several official documents from the period of Wallenberg's activity to save Hungarian Jews:
• A recorded embassy protocol from January 1, 1945, mentioning Terner as one of the managers of the protected house on Revaigatan Street (the protocol notes that Terner refused to disclose the location of two Jews to members of the Arrow Cross Party after they threatened to execute him).
• An official request by the Swedish Embassy to release detained officials and holders of protective passports, in which Terner is mentioned as one of the detainees (October 21, 1944).
The activity of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest to save Hungarian Jews began shortly after the German occupation of the country in 1944. The Swedish ambassador, Danielsson, issued temporary Swedish passports to Hungarian Jews who had family or business ties with Swedish citizens. In July 1944, when many Hungarian Jews had already been deported to Auschwitz, Raoul Wallenberg was sent by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to Budapest to assist in saving the Jews who remained in the city. The Hungarian and German authorities generally respected the authority of the Swedish Embassy, and Wallenberg managed to issue thousands of "protective passports" which protected Jews from deportation eastward, despite these documents not having legal validity.
Wallenberg did not limit himself to issuing passports and worked in additional ways to save Hungarian Jews. Among other activities, he established safe houses for Jews and pressured senior Nazi officials to stop the deportations of Jews to Auschwitz. According to testimonies, he would even arrive at the station where Jews were gathered for deportation to Auschwitz, demanding that those supposedly holding protective passports be taken off the train. In 1966, Raoul Wallenberg was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
[1] leaf, 29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Fold lines. Minor creases. Tears along fold lines. Handwritten inscription (Swedish?).
See:
• Jenö Lévai, Raoul Wallenberg, Hjälten i Budapest, Stockholm: Saxon & Lindströms, 1948 (p. 198).
• László Karsai, Zsidósors Budapesten a nyilas uralom idején, (in: Vádirat a nácizmus ellen, Vol. IV, Budapest: Balassi, 2014 [p. 142]).
Category
Holocaust, Antisemitism, Antisemitic Children's Books and Toys
Catalogue