Historical printed poster, from the Assembly of Notables of French and Italian Jews, addressed to European Jewish communities in advance of the adjourning of the Paris Sanhedrin at the initiative of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Paris, October 6 (24th Tishrei) 1806. Two bilingual copies (in facing columns). One copy in Hebrew and French, the other in Hebrew and German (the poster was also printed in another bilingual edition, in Hebrew and Italian).
The poster – a folded sheet comprised of four pages – was printed for the Assembly of Notables of French and Italian Jews, and addresses the Jewish people, encouraging them to participate in the Paris Sanhedrin. The text is highly laudatory of Napoleon, who is portrayed as seeking to improve the condition of the Jews and grant them full civil rights. The various communities are requested to send delegates to participate in the Sanhedrin session scheduled for October 20 (8th Cheshvan) 1806.
On May 30, 1806, following a wave of antisemitism which hit the Alsace-Lorraine region, the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, gathered an assembly of notables, rabbis and Jewish community leaders of France and Italy. Twelve questions were presented to the assembly to assess their loyalty to the French Empire, and the relation between Jewish and French law. The responses, which expressed the Jewish people's connection to France, satisfied Napoleon, who wished to give these answers judicial validity and use them as the basis for the Jews' legal status. He therefore convened another, exclusive assembly, of rabbis and Jewish notables – the Grand Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin authorized the conclusions of the Assembly, thereby according them apparent halachic validity.
The two present copies are signed on the last page in handwriting (Latin characters) by Abraham Furtado, president of the Assembly of Notables, and of secretary Isaac Samuel d'Avigdor (he also signs in Hebrew). Below the signatures is the official ink stamp of the assembly (the Imperial Eagle standing on the Tablets of the Law).
The Hebrew-French copy is printed on light blue paper and elegantly bound. The binding is decorated in rich gilt decorations, incorporating bees (Napoleon's personal emblem), inscribed with the French Imperial coat of arms at the center – a golden eagle clutching a thunderbolt, under an imperial crown.
Two copies. Approx. 35.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, folding marks and creases. Second copy (Hebrew-German) in fair condition, with many stains. Wear, creases and tears to margins. Rubbing and light defects to binding.
Rare. Few copies recorded in WorldCat (the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book records copies of this poster with Italian and German translations only; the French translation is not recorded).
Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.
