Nusach Sefard siddur, Tikunei Shabbat with Derech HaChaim, two parts. Zhitomir: R. Chanina Lipa and R. Yehoshua Heshel Shapira, grandsons of the rabbi of Slavita, 1860.
Two title pages at the beginning of Part I, and an additional title page for Part II. Siddur of R. Moshe of Działoszyn (based on the Warsaw 1827 edition and the Józefów 1842 edition).
Similar edition to the one printed in Zhitomir, 1857. The present 1860 edition is not listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book.
[4], 428 pages; [2], 431-684 pages. 21.5 cm. Light-colored, high-quality paper. Wide margins. Good-fair condition. Stains. Minor tears. Significant worming, affecting text (book professionally restored, damage hardly noticeable). New leather binding.
Extremely rare siddur. Of the previous edition as well (Zhitomir, 1857), only a few copies are extant.

Eleven booklets, Techinot (supplications) for women in Yiddish, printed in Zhitomir by the Shapira brothers, grandsons of the rabbi of Slavita (apart from one booklet printed by Shadov). The imprints (details of printing and name of printer) on the title pages are printed, partially or completely, in Cyrillic characters.
• Techinah Shabbat. Zhitomir: Shapira Brothers, 1857.
• Techinah for Rosh Chodesh Bentschen, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, Leah. Zhitomir: Shapira Brothers, 1858. Not listed in the NLI catalog.
• Techinah Bakashah (to be recited upon arriving at the synagogue). Zhitomir: Shapira Brothers, 1861. Greenish paper. Leaves bound out of order (pagination skips page numbers 23-24, book appears to be complete). Not listed in the NLI catalog.
• Techinah Imahot. Zhitomir: Shapira Brothers, 1861. Greenish paper. Not listed in the NLI catalog.
• Techinot Mikra Kodesh, supplications for the blessing of the new month, with the times of the Moladot of each month. Zhitomir: Shapira Brothers, 1862. Lists of Moladot for 1862-1867, with Yiddish text to be recited in the synagogue. Incomplete copy. 34 pages (lacking pages 35-45). The copy recorded in the NLI catalog is lacking the title page.
• Techinah Kodem HaTefillah. Zhitomir: R. Aryeh Leib Shapira, 1863. Not listed in the NLI catalog.
• Techinah Birchot HaNerot, order of candle lighting for women, with supplications for the High Holidays and the three festivals, by R. "Yisrael G.B. [Goldberger] of Ivnytsia". Zhitomir: [Shapira], 1864. Open tears, affecting text.
• Techinah Kol Bechiot, brought from Eretz Israel, by Mrs. Henna daughter of Yehuda. Zhitomir: R. Aryeh Leib Shapira, 1864. Not listed in the NLI catalog.
• Techinah Imrei Shefer, six new supplications for various special times, by R. Yisrael G.B. [Goldberger] of Ivnytsia. Zhitomir: R. Aryeh Leib Shapira, 1864. Not listed in the NLI catalog. Large open tears (in a few places, with loss to almost half the leaf), affecting text with loss. May be lacking one leaf or more.
• Prager Techinah. Zhitomir: R. Aryeh Leib Shapira, 1864. 16 leaves. Lacking end. Not listed in the NLI catalog.
• Techinah Imahot for Rosh Chodesh Elul. Zhitomir: R. Avraham Shalom Shadov, 1866. Not listed in the NLI catalog.
Eleven booklets. 14-16 cm. Condition varies. Stains. Wear and tears in various places. New bindings.

Large, varied collection of books, booklets and various printed matter, printed in Calcutta, India, encompassing an entire century, from the beginning of Hebrew printing in Calcutta in 1840, until the mid-20th century.
A collection rare in its scope, including more than 100 items: books, booklets, leaves and calendars. The collection documents the history of Hebrew printing in Calcutta beginning in 1840. It includes most of the first books printed in the city during the 1840s (22 of the first 26 books printed in Calcutta by R. Elazar Iraki. Nos. 1, 3-7, 9-10, 12-17, 19-26 in Ya'ari's list) and about half of all books ever printed in Calcutta. Some are lithographed.
The collection comes from the library of the renowned collector R. David Sassoon, and was the basis of the bibliographic list of works printed in Calcutta published by the researcher and bibliographer Avraham Ya'ari in the book Hebrew Printing in the East (Vol. 2, Jerusalem 1940, Calcutta). This collection also contains many items which do not appear in Ya'ari's list.
Items include: • Shir HaShirim, with Targum Yonatan ben Uziel and Judeo-Arabic translation. Calcutta, [1840]. Ya'ari, no. 1. The first lithographed book printed in Calcutta. That same year, Elazar Iraki printed Sha'arei Kedusha (in letterpress). According to Ya'ari, Shir HaShirim was printed before the Iraki printing press was established. No other lithographed books were printed in Culcutta until 1871. • Tractate Avot, with Judeo-Arabic translation. Calcutta, [1844]. Ya'ari, no. 15. Printed on bluish paper. • Raziel HaMalach. Calcutta, [1845]. Ya'ari, no. 17. Printed on bluish paper. • Imrei Shabbat, "to clarify the prohibition of riding the steam engines of the railway on Shabbat…", by R. Chaim Ya'akov HaKohen [Feinstein] "emissary of the city of Safed". Calcutta, [1874]. Ya'ari, no. 29. • Regulations of the Magen David synagogue, in Judeo-Arabic. Calcutta, [1894]. Ya'ari, no. 82. • Sefer HaAchlama, interpretation of dreams. Calcutta, 1844. Lithographed manuscript. Ya'ari, no. 117. • Lithograph – the piyyut "Melech HaMefo'ar B'Rom Hodo…", by the Magen David synagogue, 1924. Printed in honor of R. Eliyahu Moshe Dweck HaKohen on his fiftieth anniversary serving as rabbi of the Magen David synagogue in Calcutta. Ya'ari, no. 119. • Lithograph printed in gold – the piyyut "E-l Rachum Shemecha…". Ya'ari, no. 120. [Calcutta, year not indicated]. • Lithographed booklet, Haftarah of Tisha B'Av, with Judeo-Arabic translation, by "Shalom Yehoshua Iraki HaKohen teacher in Calcutta". [Year unknown]. Ya'ari, no. 123. • Chart for teaching the Hebrew Alphabet to children, with the verses of Shema Yisrael. Lithographed. [Calcutta, 1890]. Ya'ari, no. 124. • "Tachel Shana U'Virchoteha", two lithographs, with the simanim of Rosh Hashana eve. [Calcutta, year not indicated]. Ya'ari, no. 132-133. • "…prayer to recite before and after kindling Shabbat and festival candles". [Calcutta, year not indicated]. Lithograph. Ya'ari, no. 134. • Prayer booklets for various occasions (in honor of Queen Victoria, upon the coronation of King George, etc.). • Cards with timetables for prayers in the synagogue. • Large-format wall calendars. • And more.
The first Hebrew press in Calcutta was established by R. Elazar Iraki HaKohen, a Jew of Yemenite origin, in 1840. R. Iraki's press operated until 1856, producing high-quality books which compare favourably with contemporary Hebrew printing in Europe. It seems that R. Iraki himself cast the type, and indeed the type used in his press differs from European type. Iraki printed many books by Yemenite sages, including halachic books by the Maharitz (which he was the first to print) and Sefer HaPizmonim – poems by Yemenite poets. R. Iraqi was not only a craftsman, but also a Torah scholar who edited, proofread and corrected the works he printed. Among other works, he translated the Passover Haggadah which was printed in his press and added 22 of his piyyutim to Sefer HaPizmonim. His printer's device depicts hands raised for the priestly benediction and the name "Iraki" or "Iraki Katz" (Kohen Tzedek). Iraki ceased printing in 1856, lacking sufficient demand for his books. Most of the books printed by Iraki are present in this collection.
Hebrew printing in Calcutta was renewed only in 1871 by the printer Yechezkel ben Suliman Hanin, who printed a total of 10 books (including two books by the Safed emissary Rabbi Chaim Ya'akov HaKohen Feinstein). This collection contains six of the books printed by Hanin.
In 1881, the rabbi of the Magen David synagogue in Calcutta, R. Eliyahu son of Moshe Dweck HaKohen, established his own printing press. Since he was a Kohen and considered himself a successor of the first printer Iraki, he designed a printer's device similar to Iraki's, also depicting hands raised for the priestly benediction. He printed a total of six books, four of which are present in this collection.
In 1888, Rabbi Shlomo (Solomon) Tawina of Baghdad established his printing press in Calcutta. R. Shlomo Tawina was an outstanding Torah scholar and before moving to India, printed books in Baghdad. He printed many books, including many of his own works. His printing press, active until ca. 1902, was the last large press in India. This collection contains 27 books printed by Tawina.
Alongside books printed by these established presses, a number of works were printed by lithography. As early as 1840, the year of the establishment of the first Hebrew press, Isaac ben Jacob of Baghdad printed a lithographic book – Shir HaShirim with Targum Yonatan and a Judeo-Arabic translation. The establishment of Iraki's press rendered lithography unnecessary and lithographic printing was taken up anew only in 1871. This collection contains 11 lithographs.
73 books, booklets and pamphlets, 20 calendars (cards, booklets and wall calendars), 8 single leaves (some lithographs, one torn and mostly lacking), 7 cards with timetables for prayers. Total of 108 items. Size and condition vary. Some have damage or lacking leaves. Some bear signatures and ownership inscriptions.
A detailed list is available upon request.
Provenance: The Sassoon Family Collection.

Voyage d'exploration à la Mer Morte, à Petra, et sur la rive du Jourdain by Honoré d'Albert Luynes. Paris: Arthus Bertrand, [ca. 1874]. Four parts in three volumes (two volumes of text, one volume of plates). French and some Arabic. First edition.
In 1864, the Duke de Luynes (Honoré Théodore Paul Joseph d'Albert, duc de Luynes, 1802-1867) – a French humanist and collector, and patron of art and photography – led a research expedition to Palestine and its surrounding region. The expedition staff included the geologist Louis Lardet, the physician and naturalist Gustave Combe, and the naval lieutenant and amateur photographer Louis Vignes, who served as the expedition photographer. The expedition conducted measurements and surveys in the Dead Sea region and examined biblical sites. In the course of the study, Vignes used his camera to document the various places. In some cases, these were sites that had never been photographed before.
The sizable amounts of documentation collected by the expedition – one of the most comprehensive of its kind to be conducted in the Dead Sea region in the 19th century – was only published roughly ten years after the mission's return to France. Alongside the three volumes summarizing the expedition's work and its findings, there is an additional volume consisting of high-quality photogravure plates reproducing Vignes's original photographs. These reproductions were created by the French photographer Charles Nègre, a pioneering photogravure artist whose works were distinguished by their quality and precision. Nègre was chosen for this task following a photography competition, initiated by the Duke de Luynes, in which new photo-mechanical techniques for the mass production of photographs intended for publication were presented. Nègre did not win the competition, but the Duke nevertheless preferred his photogravures to the winner's photolithographs. Apart from the historical importance of this volume in the annals of Middle Eastern studies, it is regarded as a milestone in the development of photography and photobooks.
This is the first edition of the book documenting the research expedition of the Duke de Luynes – two volumes of text (comprising three parts) and a volume of plates. Includes 102 plates: 64 photogravure plates, plus maps and lithographs.
The first part of the book gives the Duke's own overview of the findings of his expedition. The second part contains a summary by Louis Vignes, in addition to an account of a separate research expedition funded by the Duke de Luynes and conducted by the architect Christophe-Edouard Mauss and the photographer Henri Sauvaire, from Kerak (Al-Karak) to Shoubak in the present-day Kingdom of Jordan. These parts include three plates: a view of the fortified Crusader castle of Kerak (lithograph after a photograph by Sauvaire), a map of Shoubak, and a (folded) map of the expedition route from Kerak to Shoubak.
The third part is mostly dedicated to the geology and paleontology of the region, and includes 14 lithographic plates: a geological map of the Dead Sea region (double-spread plate, in color), and plates featuring geological cross-sections, fossils, seashells, and more.
The volume of plates includes three unnumbered plates, including a (folded) map of the Dead Sea region; 18 numbered plates – four maps and fourteen lithographs after photographs by Louis Vignes and Henri Sauvaire; and 64 numbered plates – photogravures by Charles Nègre after photographs by Louis Vignes, documenting sites in Sidon, Tyre, Jenin, Nablus, Beth El, Jerusalem, Jericho (double-spread plate, with a view of Mar Saba monastery), the Dead Sea, Iraq Al-Amir, Oyun Musa, Petra, and more.
Three volumes. Vol. I (Parts 1-2): [4] ff., 388 pp; [3] ff., 182 pp., [1] f., 183-222 pp., [3] ff. + [3] plates. Vol. II (Part 3): [2] ff., VI, 326 pp. +14 plates. Vol. III: [3], 18, 64 plates. 36 cm. Overall good condition. Stains (to leaves of text and plates). Dark stains to some leaves and plates. Few tears. Minor blemishes to some plates. One plate (in Vol. III) detached. Minor worming to gutters of some plates (in Vol. III, not affecting prints). Different bindings, with stains and blemishes. Vol. I with quarter-leather red cloth binding (book title stamped in gold on binding); Vol. II with quarter-leather, paper sides binding (spine torn with upper portion detached; back board detached). Vol. III binding entirely restored with leather-like covering.
Literature: Poggi, Isotta. "History Turns Space into Place: A French Voyage to the Dead Sea Basin in 1864". Jerusalem Quarterly, No. 82 (Jerusalem: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2020): 23-37.