Five Books of the Torah - The Law of G-d, with Haftarot and English translation. Philadelphia: C. Sherman, [1845-1846]. Five volumes. Hebrew and English, on facing pages.
The Five Books of the Torah and Haftarot, with English translation by Isaac Leeser. Hebrew and English title pages for each volume. The Book of Esther is included at the end of the book of Vayikra. At the end of the book of Shemot, instructions for the reading of the Ten Commandments, and (before the Haftarot) the Song of the Sea as written in the Torah scroll. At the end of the book of Devarim: the form of the cantillation marks (Hebrew) and directions for the Torah reading (English).
This is the first English translation of the Five Books of the Torah produced by a Jew. Earlier translations merely contained the text of the King James version (translation commissioned by King James I, King of England, in 1611, and considered the authorized English translation of the Bible).
Isaac Leeser (1806-1868) was a leader of traditional Judaism in America and one of the first builders of American Jewry, a philosopher and literary editor, who also worked on translating holy literature to English, and authored many essays and sermons.
Leeser worked on this translation, singlehandedly, for seven years. In his preface at the beginning of vol. I, he describes the significance of a translation of the Torah produced by a Jew: "I speak of my Jewish friends in particular, for however much a revised translation may be desired by all believers in the Word of G-d, there is no probability that the gentiles will encourage any publication of this nature, emanating from a Jewish writer…". He adds further: "My intention was to furnish a book for the service of the synagogue, both German and Portuguese".
Five volumes. X pages, 175 leaves; 168 leaves; 153 leaves; 149 leaves; 135 leaves, 136-147 pages. Approx. 19 cm. Light-colored, high-quality paper. Colored edges. Good condition. A few stains. Light wear and several loose gatherings. Marginal creases to some leaves. Original leather bindings, with fine marbled endpapers (part of endpaper lacking in vol. II). Names and numbers of volumes embossed on spines. Wear and minor damage to spines, edges and corners of bindings.
Singerman 884, Goldman 7.

Sheet music handwritten by the renowned cantor Yossele Rosenblatt, including a letter addressed to him and a draft letter in his handwriting. [United States, 1930s]. English and Yiddish.
• Three leaves of sheet music handwritten by Yossele Rosenblatt - musical notation for the song "Lomir Zich Iberbetn" (let’s reconcile) - folk song to which Rosenblatt composed his own version. Between the lines, Rosenblatt wrote the words of the song, with additional marginal notes.
• Letter sent to Rosenblatt, from the Renowned Artists company in New York (typewritten and signed by the Managing Director, William Liebling). Cleveland, March 17, 1932. Regarding a concert scheduled for the coming Purim in Chicago.
On the verso of the letter - draft letters handwritten and signed by Yossele Rosenblatt, alongside musical notation in his handwriting for the song "Az Moshiach Vet Kumen" - a famous folk song, known as "Moshiach" or "Sudenyu", which begins "Vos Vet Zein Az Moshiach Vet Kumen" (=what will be when Moshiach comes), also sung by Yossele.
The renowned cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was one of the greatest cantors of all times, who contributed greatly to shaping the world of Jewish chazzanut. In 1906, he began serving as chief cantor (Oberkantor) in Hamburg, at which point his fame began to spread. He held this position until his immigration to the United States in 1912.
[3] leaves of sheet music. 24 cm. + [1] leaf, letter with draft letters and musical score. 28 cm. Good-fair condition. Minor wear and a few stains. Folding marks to letter, with minor tears.

Carved wooden plate made by S. [Semen] Wintoniuk, Bilcze Złote (Eastern Galicia, Poland; today Ukraine). [Late 19th century or early 20th century].
Carved bread plate; central relief of a sheaf of wheat surrounded by a sickle, a flail and a plow. The brief version of Birkat HaMazon (five words in Aramaic) and a Star of David are carved around the edges.
The underside of the plate is signed "S. Wintoniuk, Bilcze". The artist is recorded in a 1925 list of emigrants leaving the Bremen port in Germany to the USA with his full name, Semen Wintoniuk from Bilcze Złote, stating his occupation as 'carpenter'.
The folk wood-carvings created in Galicia both by Jewish and non-Jewish sculptors are renowned for their beauty. The carved wooden holy arks in Poland and Ukraine are unique in their size and their lavish ornamentation. Numerous other sacred and mundane objects, ranging from prayer podiums and Torah pointers to houseware, were all artfully carved in wood.
Diameter: 27.5 cm. Good condition. Minor scratches. Few stains. Damage to paint on underside. Suspension loop attached to underside.

Upright Chanukah lamp. [Iraq, 1930s or 40s].
Low grade silver; German silver.
Upright Chanukah lamp with eight branches in a circle, ending in oil-fonts. The shamash crowns the central shaft.
This type of Chanukah lamps appeared in Iraq in the early 1930s as Iraq won its independence, remaining popular for the following two decades until the mass immigration to Israel in the early 50s.
Height: 27.5 cm. Good-fair condition. One lacking branch. Stains. Bends. An (unidentified) catalog no. is engraved unto the underside of the lamps.
Literature: Oriental Jewish Communities in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Iraq. Edited by Haim Saadon. Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute, 2003.