Passover Haggadah, illustrated by Jacob Steinhardt. [Berlin: Erich Goeritz ("lithographs by H. Birkholz"), 1921].
Magnificent Haggadah, written in calligraphic letters designed by Franzisca Baruch, and accompanied by twenty woodcuts by Jacob Steinhardt – all signed by the artist. The colophon leaf is also signed by Steinhardt.
Rare copy from the original edition, printed in Berlin in 1921 in 218 copies. Copy 14 (of only 15 copies printed on high-quality Japanese paper).
Additional signature in pen on the endpaper, dated twenty-six years after the Haggadah was printed: "Jerusalem, III 4, 1947 Jacob Steinhardt".
The Stam type of the Steinhardt Haggadah: in 1918, Jacob Steinhardt approached Franzisca Baruch (1901-1989), graphic designer, and requested her assistance in designing a bibliophile edition of the Passover Haggadah. Baruch, then a seventeen-year-old student in the Berlin Art Academy and totally unacquainted with Hebrew characters, examined early manuscripts and printed books in the Berlin Royal Library (presently the State library) and gradually taught herself the Hebrew alphabet (her studies and drafts are documented in a sketch book, held today in the Israel Museum). She chose to print the Haggadah in a new type she herself designed, inspired by the Prague Haggadah – the first printed illustrated Haggadah. The font she designed for the Haggadah was so beautiful, that it was cast in lead and became a new Hebrew print font – the Stam type.

[24] leaves (printed on both sides). 39 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor creases. Fine parchment binding, with calligraphic inscription on front board – "Passover Haggadah" (name of owner in small script on the edge – "Joseph Tchornitzky").

Reference:
1. Otzar HaHaggadot: 2813.
2. Haggadah and history, by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi. Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society of America, 1975, plates 134-136.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, ALE.64.