Machzor set for High Holidays and Three Festivals, according to the Sephardic rite of Constantinople and other locations. Vienna: Anton Schmidt, 1836. Three volumes.

Fine set in original leather bindings, with gilt decorations. On front of bindings, gilt inscriptions of owner's name in Hebrew: "Nissim di Salomon Kamondo", and the year "5599" (1839). On back side of bindings, gilt inscriptions in Latin type: "Nissim di Salomon Kamondo", with secular date "1839".

This machzor set belonged to the banker Nissim Camondo (1830-1889), son of the wealthy Shlomo Refael (son of Avraham) Camondo of Constantinople, who acted on behalf of the Jews and represented them before the Ottoman authorities. When these machzorim were made, Nissim was about nine years old. He later moved with his family to Paris and was active there. M.D. Gaon (Yehudei HaMizrach BeEretz Yisrael, II, Jerusalem 1938, pp. 595-596) calls him "one of the noblest of Jews in the former Turkish capital; he was admired in the European royal courts who granted him many dignities. King Victor Emmanuel of Italy bestowed upon him the rank of count, and as a result of his extensive donations on behalf of orphans of the war, his portrait was displayed as a memorial in several official institutions. He participated in every good and beneficial project, was a shield for his fellow Jews, and was universally resplendent in his charitable deeds…" (see further on him in Grayevsky, Zikaron LaChovevim HaRishonim, XV).

The Camondo family, of Spanish-Portuguese descent, was famous for its great wealth and far-reaching activities for Jews in the Ottoman expanse. By the early 19th century, the Camondo family had staked out a portion of the banking and real-estate businesses in the Ottoman Empire. They enjoyed close ties with the Sultan's court and lent money to fund imperial projects, for which they were granted a special permit to purchase lands in the Empire. The Camondo family was considered one of the richest and most prominent Jewish families in the Ottoman Empire, renowned for its great wealth, banking, real-estate business and philanthropy. The family also helped found Jewish educational institutions, were involved in the Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel and established beautiful buildings (such as the Camondo palace, Kamondo Sarayı, located on the Golden Horn in Istanbul). In 1867, the family relocated to Paris, where the Nissim de Camondo Museum (named after a grandson of the owner of the present machzor set) operates to this day. The mausoleum of the family is located in the Hasköy cemetery, Istanbul.

The Nissim de Camondo Museum in Paris displays two machzorim, for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, from the same edition, bound identically and produced the same year, with the inscribed name of Nissim's father: "Shlomo Avraham Camondo".

Three volumes. Rosh Hashanah: 142 leaves. Yom Kippur: 241 leaves. Three Festivals: 204 leaves. 19 cm. Gilt edges. Good condition. Stains. Original leather bindings, with fine gilt decorations. Damage to bindings.