One volume comprising five works: two eulogies and three sermons delivered by Joseph Penso de la Vega (1650-1692), in Jewish literary circles of Amsterdam and Livorno. Amsterdam: Yahacob de Cordova, 1683. Spanish and some Hebrew.
1-2. Oracion Funebre de Joseph Penso – eulogy delivered by Joseph Penso on 25th Av 1679 before the Academia de los Sitibundos literary circle in Livorno, for the approaching thirtieth day of mourning for his mother, Doña Esther Penso, d. 27th Tamuz (July 7) 1679.
Bound with: Oracion Funebre de Joseph Penso (divisional title page and continuous foliation) – eulogy delivered by Joseph Penso on March 26 (Adar), 1683 in the Keter Torah yeshiva in his home in Amsterdam, for the thirtieth day of mourning for his father, Yitzchak Penso, d. 28th Shevat (February 24) 1683.
18, 23-36 pages; [37]-79 pages. Lacking two leaves (pp. 19-22).
3. Discurso Academico Moral y Sagrado de Joseph Penso – ethical-religious sermon on education, delivered by Joseph Penso in Amsterdam, 1683, before the Academia de los Sitibundos; the sermon was dedication to Yshac Senior Texera, agent of Queen Christina of Sweden, in Hamburg.
44 pages.
4. La Rosa. Panegírico Sacro en Encomio de la Divina Ley de Moyséh de Joseph Penso – panegyric for the Torah of Moses, delivered by Joseph Penso in Livorno, 1683, before the Academia de los Sitibundos in Livorno, on the occasion of the Chatan Torah honor; the sermon was dedicated to Mosseh Curiel, an agent of the Portuguese crown in Amsterdam.
35 pages.
5. Discurso academico de Don Josseph de la Vega – academic discourse delivered by Joseph Penso before the Academia de los Sitibundos, discussing the ethical question who to rescue first from drowning, one's father, wife or son. The author decides in favor of the wife. Dedicated to Gavriel Arias.
20 pages.
Five works in one volume. 21 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including large dampstains and dark stains. Creases and wear. Slight worming to all leaves of book. Marginal tears repaired with paper on several leaves. Inscriptions. Leather binding, slightly worn at margins and spine.
Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.
Rare. The present works are not recorded in the NLI catalogue. Few copies are recorded in OCLC [first two works only found in the Etz Chaim library in Amsterdam and the Oxford University library; third work only in Tresoar library in Frisia (the Netherlands) and Oxford; fourth work only in the JTS library and Oxford; fifth work only in the University of Amsterdam and Oxford].
See: Kayserling, Biblioteca Española-Portugueza-Judaica (Strasbourg, 1890), pp. 85-86.
The author,
Joseph (Yosef) Penso de la Vega (1650-1692), was a Jewish-Dutch merchant, preacher, poet and philanthropist, and a member of the Sephardic-Portuguese community in Amsterdam. He was born to a family of Marranos originating near Cordova, Andalusia, who fled to Holland to practice Judaism openly. Penso was educated in the Sephardic Torah school in Amsterdam, under the auspices of R. Moshe Refael de Aguilar and R. Yitzchak Aboab. Like his father, Yitzchak Penso, he was also a merchant, but in addition to his financial activities he also took part in cultural and spiritual community life.
He was one of the founders of literary circles ("academies") in Amsterdam and Livorno, and some of his addresses to these groups have been published. He authored poetry and prose, mainly in Spanish. Of special note is his early Hebrew play Asirei HaTikvah (Amsterdam, 1673), authored at the young age of 17, widely celebrated and considered one of the first plays to be printed in Hebrew. His fame is mainly due to his Mehumat HaMehumot (Confusion de Confusiones), published in Amsterdam in 1688, regarded as the first literary work about the stock market. The book, written as a philosophical dialogue, drew attention even outside of Jewish circles, and was translated to various languages and printed in many editions over the course of the 20th century. In 2000 the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) began to award the De La Vega prize, named for him, to outstanding securities researchers.
