Les Imposteurs Insignes (The Infamous Impostors) by Jean-Baptiste de Rocoles. Amsterdam: Abraham Wolfgang, 1683. French. Frontispiece.
Biography of pretenders to royal lineage, including 16 plates with portraits (woodcuts). The end of the book includes an early description of Shabtai Tzvi (pp. 502-536), with his portrait and an anti-Semitic essay on the spiritual blindness of Jews and expulsions, pogroms and forced conversions throughout history. An early source of information on Shabtai Tzvi, published approx. 17 years after his conversion to Islam and seven years after his death.
[12] leaves, 566, [1] pages + [16] plates. 13 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, creases and minor tears. Old leather binding, gilt, with some wear and tear to edges.
Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.
