Esther scroll with an acknowledgement. Designed and decorated by David Levi Elkan, inscribed by [Isaac] "Thüringer the Scribe". Cologne, 5603 [1843].
Lithographic print on vellum.
Scroll printed onto two sheets of parchment, 11 columns of text (not including columns containing the dedicatory inscription), 42 rows per column.
The text of the Book of Esther is enclosed within decorative frames consisting mostly of vegetal patterns; along the bottom of the frames is a series of grotesque faces with various expressions. At the beginning of the scroll, enclosed in a rectangular frame, are a number of illustrations, including two well-known scenes from the narrative of the Book of Esther: Queen Esther appearing before King Ahasuerus, and Haman leading Mordechai on horseback. Also inside the same decorative frame is information (in Hebrew) regarding the scribe responsible for the text of the scroll and the artist who had it decorated, illustrated, and printed: "Esther scroll / with / an acknowledgement / of the good … of / all the goodness and kindness which / he magnanimously bestowed upon me, he / my friend, the wise one, the craftsman generous of heart / the honorable David Levi Elkan may his candle burn brightly. / may his Rock and Redeemer protect him, God be with him [and] the blessing [too] Amen. / From myself, his loyal [colleague] / Thüringer the Scribe / Year of ‘keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation…’ [Exodus 34:7; in Hebrew, the numerological equivalent of Hebrew year 5603 = 1843 CE]… Here, the holy community of Cologne, may the Lord protect it".
David Levi Elkan (1808-1865) was a German-Jewish painter, engraver, and lithographic artist, active in Düsseldorf and Cologne. Elkan was an artist of prolific output, and the owner of a lithographic workshop. His ubiquitous works gained acclaim and recognition in his lifetime. Among other things, he created a title page for a Passover Haggadah printed in Cologne in 1838. For further information, see enclosed material.
Additional copies of this Esther scroll can be found in the collection of the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem, item no. Ms. Heb. 197/52=4 (erroneously dated to Hebrew Year 5400 [1639-40]); the collection of the Jewish Museum London, item no. JM309; and the collection of the Skirball Museum, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio, item no. 2015.17.390. In addition, in the possession of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, there is a copy of this Esther scroll in book form.

Height: 14.7 cm. Width: 84 cm. Good condition. Minor repairs to text in several places. Minor stains at beginning and end. Open tear to leading edge of first sheet, causing minor damage to illustration, professionally mended.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 081.012.053.
This Esther scroll is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 35196.