Auction 102 Part 1 Hebrew Manuscripts and Books from the Victor (Avigdor) Klagsbald Collection
Elul and High Holidays Machzor Set – Avignon and Carpentras Rite – Amsterdam, 1763-1766 – Original Leather Bindings
Set of machzorim for High Holidays. Part I: Seder Ashmurot, Selichot for Elul and ten days of repentance, "according to the rite of the Carpentras, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Cavaillon community"; Part II, Rosh Hashanah service, and Part III, Yom Kippur service, "according to the rite of the Avignon community", edited by R. Avraham Montel. Amsterdam: Hertz Levi Rofe and his son-in-law Kosman, 1763-1766.
Two volumes (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur parts bound together), in original leather bindings (non-uniform).
Gilt inscriptions on both sides of second volume (first name very faded): "Moyse Bellone de Carcassonne".
In some copies of Seder HaAshmurot, including the present copy, the title page reads "according to the rite of the Carpentras, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Cavaillon community" instead of "according to the rite of the Avignon community"; apart from this, the two editions are entirely identical (on the differences between the selichot rites of Carpentras and Avignon, see: Zunz, Rites of Synagogue Liturgy, Breuer-Fraenkel Hebrew translation, Jerusalem, 2016, pp. 137-138, 291-294).
The Carpentras prayer and piyyut rites are unique to the southeast French community. Its text was copied in manuscript machzorim for community members until the local scribes were unable to meet the demand. At that point a young local Torah scholar named R. Avraham son of Shmuel de Monteux (Montel) began to print the unique Carpentras prayer rite.
On the background to the publication and the work of the publisher Avraham son of Shmuel de Monteux (here called Montel), see: Sh. Schwartzfuchs, Documents on the Printing of "Mahzor Karpentrats", Alei Sefer, VI-VII, 1979, pp. 145-147 (Hebrew).
Two volumes. Volume I (Selichot): 82 leaves. Volume II (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur): 60, 65-68; 88 leaves. Lacking last leaf of Yom Kippur part. 23.5-24.5 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Small tears to several leaves. Original leather bindings (non-uniform). Wear and damage to bindings (open tears to spine and corners of second volume).
Zedner, p. 456; C. Roth, The Liturgy of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin, in: Journal of Jewish Bibliography (1939), pp. 102-103.