Di Befrorene Purim Kurant – "The frozen Purim news, flown in from Gruland", printed leaf with satirical text for Purim. [Amsterdam, 1789]. Western Yiddish.
Printed letter in Ashkenazic cursive script. At top of leaf, woodcut depicting two figures, evidently print workers.
Parody of the newspapers then current in Western Europe. Satirical leaves of this kind were printed for Purim and sold cheaply for popular entertainment among the Ashkenazic community in Amsterdam. The titular frozen news takes the form of an article describing absurd adventures and business dealings in Gruland, either a distant land or the icy island of Greenland.
34.5 cm. Fair condition. Folding marks. Stains, creases and wear. Tears to margins and folds.
Rare. Satirical leaves of this kind were regarded as cheap ephemera and were generally disposed of after Purim. Only a few copies of these leaves remain. The present leaf is not recorded in bibliographical sources, and evidently no other copies are extant.
Provenance: Collection of Mozes Heiman Gans.
