Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten [Jewish Oddities], by Johann Jacob Schudt. Four parts in two volumes. Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1714–1718. German, with some Hebrew, Yiddish and Latin.

"Jewish Oddities" was published between 1714 and 1718, introducing one of the most comprehensive studies on Judaism until then: more than 3,000 pages documenting the minute details of Jewish life, dress, language, prayers, holidays and customs.
Although the book did not address any particular community, most of the information it contains was gathered in the author's city, Frankfurt, and it provides a valuable documentation of the Frankfurt Jewish community. Several of the texts copied by Schudt (in Hebrew and Yiddish) are unknown from other sources: a Selicha authored by Rabbi Shmuel Schotten Katz following the great fire in the Jewish Quarter of Frankfurt in 1711; the Purim play "Ahasuerus–Spiel" (of which most copies were burnt following a rabbinical decree; the text was preserved only thanks to Schudt); two versions of women's incantations for childbirth; regulations of the Jewish community forbidding luxuries; and more.
Besides its documental value, the book is considered a landmark in the history of modern anti–Semitism, mainly due to a special chapter dedicated entirely to a description of the Jewish body – its shape, colors and smells (this chapter is considered a harbinger of racist anti–Semitism in Europe).

The book features several engravings (some as separate plates and some in–text), including a portrait of the author, an engraving depicting Jacob blessing Joseph's sons, an engraving depicting two festive processions held in Jewish communities in Germany in 1716 for the birth of Leopold Johann, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Carl VI, and an especially offensive engraving of the Judensau ("Jews' Sow").
One leaf missing from part I.

Two volumes. Vol. I: [11] ff., 159, 180–580 pp. (pp. 81–82 missing); [4] ff., 432, 383, [1] pp. + [5] engraved plates; Vol. II: [4] ff., 358, [1] pp., [15] ff., 320, 447, [1], 192 pp., [19] ff., 48 pp., [31] ff. + [5] engraved plates. Approx. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Inscriptions. Minor worming. Minor perforations and marginal tears (few open tears to leaf corners). Vellum bindings. Wear, stains and minor tears to bindings.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.350.