Habes hoc in libro candide lector Hebraicas institutiones, by Santes Pagnino. Lyon: Antoniu du Ry, 1526. Latin and Hebrew. First edition.

Hebrew grammar book by the Hebraist Santes Pagnino. The title page is printed in red and black, and decorated with a border featuring angels, mermaids, and small illustrations of scholars. Decorated initial words (in three sizes, spanning two lines, four lines, and seven lines; an illustrated portrait of the author appears at the beginning of the volume.

Santes Pagnino (Sante Pagnini, 1470-1536) was an Italian Hebraist and scholar, known for his Latin translation of the Bible, the second Latin translation which appeared approximately a thousand years after the first translation, known as the Vulgate.

Pagnino was born in Lucca, Tuscany, and at the age of 16, he joined the Convento di San Domenico, where he became a disciple of Girolamo Savonarola. During this period, he began to diligently study ancient languages – Greek, Latin and Arabic, but most notably Hebrew, which he continued to study throughout his life (his first Hebrew teacher was likely the Spanish convert Clemente Abramo).

His greatest work – a literal translation of the Bible into Latin from the original Hebrew – was written over twenty-five years and finally published in Lyon in 1528. The translation had a profound impact on the spread of Hebrew among European scholars and was used by Sebastian Münster in creating his own translation of the Bible (Pagnino is mentioned in the introduction to Münster's translation).​

The present grammar book was published some two years before the appearance of his Bible translation (by the same printer) and was the first of Pagnino's works to be printed in Hebrew letters.​

[16], 421 [i.e. 411], [1] pages. 23.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes. Several handwritten notes and inscriptions. Tear to margin of one page. Fine leather binding, with gilt embossing. Bookplate.

Der gantz jüdisch Glaub [The Whole Jewish Belief], by Antonius Margaritha. Frankfurt am Main, 1544. German (with some Hebrew).

Anti-Semitic polemic work by the convert Anton Margaritha (1492-1542), a descendent of a well-known family of rabbis in Germany; son of the R. Shmuel Margaliot, Rabbi of Regensburg and grandson of R. Yaakov Margaliot, Rabbi of Nuremberg. The work includes several in-text woodcuts, among them depictions of Jews in the synagogue.

Der Gantze Jüdische Glaube claims to expose the true face of Judaism, mocks Jewish customs and makes serious accusations against the Jews. Among other things, Margaritha warns his Christian readers against having contact and trading with Jews, cautions them not to consult with Jewish physicians and portrays a negative picture of the Jewish Sabbath and the custom of using a "Shabbos goy". One of the worst allegations targets the political loyalty of the Jews, who are portrayed as treacherous subjects and supporters of enemy countries, headed by the Ottoman Empire.

This work deeply affected Martin Luther, who was inspired by it to write his anti-Semitic book Von den Jüden und iren Lügen (On the Jews and Their Lies). Alongside its wide influence on anti-Semitism in early modern history, the book is also considered a valuable source of information about the daily life of Jews and their customs during that period. This work includes, among others, the first translation of the Jewish prayer book for a non-Jewish readership (see: Daniel Lehmann, "Between Judaism and Christianity(ies), between Ethnography and Polemic: Antonius Margaritha's Writing on the Kabbalah in 'The Whole Jewish Belief'", Hayo Haya, Vol. 14, 2019, pp. 29-48, [Hebrew]).

The grim accusations against the Jews made by Margaritha in this book led to a public debate, conducted in 1530 before the Imperial Committee, that convened in the Reichstag of Augsburg, in the presence of Emperor Karl V. Margaritha's opponent in this debate was the well-known Jewish lobbyist R. Joseph ben Gershon of Rosheim (Joseph Loanz). After R. Joseph ben Gershon refuted Margaritha's claims against the Jews, the latter was banished from Augsburg.

[128] leaves. Approximately 19.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and blemishes. Pen and colored pencil inscriptions (on the front endpaper are hand-written inscriptions by Victor Klagsbald). Wear to leaves (mainly at the beginning of the book). Minor tears, some repaired with acid-free tape. New half-leather binding.

Two Hebrew works, with Latin translations, in one volume:

• Ruach HaChen, Physica hebraea, philosophical-scientific work attributed to R. Yehudah ibn Tibbon, with Latin translation by the apostate Johann Isaac Levita. Cologne: Iacobus Soter, 1555. Hebrew and Latin on facing pages.

This work is attributed to R. Yehudah ibn Tibbon, but there is no evidence that he is the true author. Some attribute the work to R. Yaakov son of R. Abba Mari Anatoli, a Provençal scholar, but this attribution also appears to be erroneous, leaving the author's identity unknown. The book has been published in many editions over time.

Printed and bound with:

• De Astrologia, Rabbi Mosis filii Meimon epistola, letter of the Rambam on astrology, addressed to the rabbis of Marseille, with Latin translation by the apostate Johann Isaac Levita. Cologne: Iacobus Soter, 1555. Hebrew and Latin on facing pages.

With Latin introduction (some words in Hebrew).

The work comprises the letter of the Rambam to the sages of Marseille regarding astrology and its use, and the Rambam's opinion absolutely discounting it.

The Hebrew text of the letter was first printed with Responsa and Letters of the Rambam (Constantinople, ca. 1514).

Two books in one volume. Ruach HaChen: [15], 157, [2] pages. Letter of the Rambam: [43] leaves. 13.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Stamp on title page of Ruach HaChen. New binding.

CB, no. 4038; Zedner, p. 400; Roest, p. 618 (Ruach HaChen).