"Het Achterhuis, Dagboekbrieven van 12 Juni 1942 – 1 Augustus 1944" ["The Annex: Diary Notes from 12 June 1942 – 1 August 1944"], by Anne Frank. Amsterdam: Contact, 1947. Dutch. First edition, first printing.

Copy of the first edition of "The Diary of Anne Frank", the first printing to be published, June 1947. The earliest editing of Anne Frank’s diary was done by her father, Otto Frank, who, following the war, brought the manuscript of his daughter’s diary, which she had left behind the day she was deported to the death camps along with her family members.

This edition includes a photographic portrait of Anne Frank, a floor plan of the house where the family hid, a picture of the house's interiors, and photocopies of some of the handwritten pages of Anne’s diary. The edition begins with an introduction by the Dutch historian Annie Romein-Verschoor (1885-1975), who assisted in bringing the book to publication.

IX, 253, [1] pages + [3] plates (two of which are printed on both sides) with pictures. Approx. 18.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor blemishes and creases. Inscription to front endpaper. Stains and minor blemishes to binding.

Publication of "The Diary of a Young Girl"

Anne Frank's diary is considered to be the most famous personal account of an individual’s experiences at the time of the Holocaust. Anne began writing her diary on her 13th birthday, in an initially blank diary she received as a birthday gift – an autograph book with a checkered red-and-white binding with a small lock. By the time Anne’s entries had reached the end of the autograph book, the family had gone into hiding, and the remainder of the diary was recorded in two regular school notebooks. The original autograph book and the two additional notebooks – sometimes referred to as "A-version" – contain diary notes from the years 1942-1944, but not 1943; apparently, a piece of the original text was lost when the family was arrested by the Germans.

In 1944, Anne started to write a second version – essentially a novel based on the diary already written – which she intended to publish under the title "The ‘Secret Annex"; this version is often termed "B-version". Anne was apparently inspired to write this novel after she had heard a speech on the radio given by the Dutch minister of education, Gerrit Bolkestein (a member of the Dutch government-in-exile at the time in London), in which he announced his intention, once the war was over, to collect manuscripts, diaries, and letters written during the war, to enable the story of the suffering of citizens under Nazi occupation to be told to the world, for the benefit of future generations. This second version, "B-version", contains the chapter covering the period missing from the first version, "A-version".

Following the arrest of the Frank family, Anne’s handwritten notes were discovered by Miep Gies, one of the women who had assisted the family during their time in hiding, recognized by the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center as a "Righteous Among the Nations". Gies had kept the notes hidden in her house until the end of the war. When Anne’s death at the hands of the Nazis was confirmed beyond doubt, Gies handed the diaries to Anne’s father Otto. The latter decided – after struggling with the issue and after considerable hesitation – that Anne herself would have wished to see the diaries published. He then edited and compiled Anne’s writings to produce a third version which combines "A-version" and "B-version", and this was the version of the diary submitted for publication.

"The Diary of Anne Frank" was published in June 1947 by Contact Publishing, in a very small-scale edition numbering only some 3,000 copies. This edition was completely sold out within a few months, and a second printing was already issued that same year. Over the years, the book quickly became the most famous personal account of anyone’s experiences from the days of the Holocaust, as well as the Number One bestselling personal diary of all times, not to mention one of the most widely read books anywhere in the world. In 2009, the original notebooks of the diary – kept in the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam – were submitted by the Netherlands to be included in the Memory of the World Register of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Von den Jüden und jren Lügen, by Martin Luther. Wittenberg: Hans Lufft ("Gedrückt zu Wittemberg, Durch Hans Lufft"), 1543. German.

First edition of Martin Luther’s infamous antisemitic tract On the Jews and Their Lies.

Title page with ornamental woodcut border (possibly by Lucas Cranach); two decorated woodcut initials.

One of the last works published during Luther’s lifetime, Von den Jüden und jren Lügen is considered one of the most virulent texts in the history of Christian antisemitism, and is often seen as a precursor to modern racial antisemitism.

In this treatise, Luther accuses the Jews of deliberately falsifying biblical interpretation to deceive Christians, claiming they had made a pact with the Devil and must therefore be fought to the bitter end. He denounces any further hope of their conversion to Christianity, views them as a threat to Christian society, and calls for harsh punitive measures: the burning of synagogues and homes, destruction of Jewish books, prohibition of rabbinic preaching, a ban on Jewish trade and moneylending, and their expulsion from Christian lands.

Nearly 400 years after its publication, the book was reprinted in Nazi Germany, featured in public displays during the Nuremberg rallies, and even staged theatrically. A copy of the present edition was gifted to Julius Streicher, editor of the Nazi publication Der Stürmer, who stated during his postwar trial: "A book I had, written by Dr. Martin Luther… Dr. Martin Luther would very probably sit in my place in the defendants' dock today, if this book had been taken into consideration by the Prosecution".

This edition does not appear in the NLI catalogue.

[143] leaves. 17 cm. Good condition. Tears to edges of title page, professionally restored with acid-free paper (with minor damage to text on verso). Restored tears to several leaves. Contemporary handwritten inscriptions on one leaf. Handsome half parchment binding, lightly worn. Bookplate of collector Isaac Meulman.

See: Nuremberg Trial Proceedings, Vol. 12, p. 317 (available online via the Avalon Project).

Provenance: Mozes Heiman Gans collection.

Two official letters of appointment issued by the Spanish Inquisition in Mallorca and the Balearic Islands. Palma de Mallorca, 16th-17th centuries. Spanish.

1. Manuscript document issued by the Spanish Inquisition in Palma de Mallorca, 1590.

Letter of appointment for Miguel Reus, an estate owner from Sollerich, Alaró district, as representative of the Inquisition. Signed by Inquisitors Felix Ebia de Oviedo and Sancho Ortiz de Garay, with official wax seal.

31X43.5 cm. Good to fair condition. Stains. Creases. Ink corrosion (with some loss to text). Minor tears.

2. Printed document, completed in handwritten script, issued by the Spanish Inquisition in Palma de Mallorca, 1650.

Letter of appointment for Marcos Valles, a merchant, as official representative of the Inquisition. Signed by Inquisitors Miguel Lopez de Victoria Equinosa and Don Diego Salcedo Carvajal, with official wax seal.

31X43.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases. Minor marginal tears. Brief summary of the document in contemporary hand in the margins.

The Inquisition in the Balearic Islands

The tribunal of the Inquisition in the Balearic Islands was established in 1488 in Mallorca, reaching the height of its activity under Inquisitor Felix Ebia de Oviedo (1578-1593), whose signature appears on one of the present documents. During his tenure, investigations and persecutions intensified and became more systematic; the network of collaborators and informers monitoring the local population was expanded, and public Auto-da-fé ceremonies were held.

The Inquisition’s efforts focused primarily on the island’s unique community of Conversos – the Xuetas – who had left mainland Spain before the expulsion of the Jews, settled on the island, and managed to preserve some of their customs in secret. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, members of the community were brutally persecuted, hundreds were imprisoned, and many attempted unsuccessfully to flee the island – until 1691 when 37 members of the community were burned at the stake.

In 2011, Francesc Antich i Oliver, President of the Balearic Islands, issued the first official condemnation by Spain of the persecution of Jews on the island, some 300 years after the events.

Two imperial decrees imposing severe restrictions on the residence, property, and economic activities of Jews in the Duchy of Württemberg. Germany, 1521 and 1530. German.

1. Decree issued by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, prohibiting Jews from lending money at interest to residents of the Duchy of Württemberg. Brussels, 25 June 1521.

The decree states that loans granted by Jews at interest – whether secured by land, property, or fixed revenues – shall be deemed null and void and will not be accorded legal validity. Furthermore, Jews engaged in such activities will not enjoy legal protection, their claims will be rejected, and their property will be confiscated.

[1] folded leaf (one printed page). Approx. 32 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases, minor tears and marginal blemishes.

2. Decree issued by Emperor Charles V, confirming and tightening the earlier 1521 decree. Augsburg, 15 October 1530.

Issued during the Imperial Diet of Augsburg (Reichstag zu Augsburg, 1530), the decree reiterates and reinforces the prohibition on loans at interest by Jews, nullifying the legal validity of promissory notes based on interest, even if ostensibly drawn up as interest-free loans. In addition, it forbids Jews from residing or travelling within the Duchy of Württemberg without explicit license from the local authorities and imposes a heavy fine of one hundred marks of pure gold on anyone who violated or assisted in violating its provisions.

[2] folded leaves (5 printed pages). 32.5 cm. Good to fair condition. Stains, creases, tears and marginal defects.

Introductio in Chaldaicam lingua[m], Syriaca[m], atq[ue] Armenica, & dece[m] alias linguas [Introduction to the Chaldean, Syriac and Armenian Languages, and Ten Other Tongues], by Teseo Ambrogio degli Albonesi. [Pavia, Italy: Giovanni Maria Simonetta, 1539]. Latin. First and only edition.

Philological work by the Italian scholar Teseo Ambrogio degli Albonesi (Theseus Ambrosius; 1469-1540), considered a landmark in the European study of Oriental and Semitic languages. The book presents some forty different scripts, including Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopic, Greek, Coptic and others, accompanied by examples and typographical renderings of the letters. Title page printed in red and black within an elaborate woodcut border, richly ornamented with floral motifs and animals.

At the time of publication, many of the Eastern languages featured were exceedingly rare in European printing, some never before printed in any book. For the production of the volume, the author himself designed several new typefaces, leaving "blank spaces" for particularly rare letters that could not be obtained or cast – these were intended to be supplied by hand (here executed in red ink, apparently in the author’s own hand).

At the end of the book are two woodcut illustrations depicting the prototype of the musical instrument "Phagotus" – a kind of bagpipe resembling a bassoon – invented by the author’s uncle, Afranio degli Albonesi. These woodcuts were originally prepared for a musical-instrument encyclopedia by Ottmar Luscinius, but were never used; after his uncle’s death, Ambrogio discovered them and decided to print them in the present work accompanied by a brief explanation.

215 leaves. Approx. 21 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases, minor tears and light wear. Early marginal annotations on several leaves. Bookplate. Modern binding and endpapers.