La Vie Juive, by Léon Cahun; illustrations by Alphonse Lévy. Paris: Monnier, de Brunhoff et Cie., 1886. French. A copy inscribed by Cahun.
A work on Alsatian Jews and their customs, by the Jewish Orientalist David Léon Cahun (1841-1900); with illustrations by the French-Jewish painter Alphonse Lévy (1843-1918), and a foreword by Zadoc Kahn (1839-1905), the Chief Rabbi of Paris and later of France. Cahun, Lévy and Kahn all originated from Alsace.
Lévy's illustrations depict Jewish men and women occupied with various works, Jewish holidays and customs, various position-holders in the Jewish community and more. Alongside the in-text illustrations, the book includes six etched plates – a Jewish barber, a butcher, and a merchant, a man with a fish, distribution of coins, and the sanctification of the moon (Birkat HaLevanah).
At the beginning of the book (on one of the endpapers) appears a short inscription in French, handwritten by the author, David Léon Cahun; signed.
[2] ff., IV, 114 pp. + [6] plates, approx. 32 cm. Hard binding, on which the original illustrated paper cover is mounted. Good overall condition. Stains. Blemishes and wear to binding. Original paper cover torn and blemished (missing pieces).