Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Etz Shatul (Sefer HaIkarim) – Venice, 1618 / Zekan Aharon – Venice, 1657 – Ragusa Blood Libel – First Editions
Opening: $500
Sold for: $1,375
Including buyer's premium
Two books printed in 17th-century Venice, bound together:
1. Etz Shatul, Sefer HaIkarim by R. Yosef Albo with commentary by R. Gedaliah son of Moshe [Lipschitz]. Venice: Giovanni Cajon, [1618]. First edition.
The author of Etz Shatul was a Polish Torah scholar. The book begins with approbations from the prominent leaders of the generation, including the Shlah, the Maharsha, the Maharam of Lublin, the Kli Yakar, the Tevuot Shor and others. The work is divided into "roots" and "branches". The text of Sefer HaIkarim appears in the center of each page, with the "roots" and "branches" printed around it.
Ownership inscription on title page, partially faded and overwritten.
Does not contain last two leaves, lacking from many copies (these leaves are also lacking in the digitized copies on Otzar HaChochma and HebrewBooks).
2. Shemen HaTov and Zekan Aharon, on the Torah, Aggadah, Passover Haggadah, and more, by R. Shlomo Ohev and his grandson R. Aharon HaKohen, with Maaseh Yeshurun, on the blood libel in Ragusa. Venice: Vendramin, [1657]. First edition.
Maaseh Yeshurun recounts the blood libel of which Yitzchak Yeshurun of Ragusa was accused, with a poem for that miracle by R. Aharon HaKohen (the story and poem were later reprinted in their own right as Maaseh Nisim or Maaseh Yeshurun).
Two books bound together. Etz Shatul: 144 leaves. Without last two leaves. Shemen HaTov and Zekan Aharon: [4], 29, 29-125, 122-148, 147-150, [6] leaves. 27.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Tears, including large open tear to last leaf of Shemen HaTov, affecting text, repaired with paper. Paper repairs to verso of title pages and margins of several other leaves. Early leather binding, with wear and defects.
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries