Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Azharot Petil Techelet – By Rabbi Yaakov Chagiz – London, 1714 – Rare Edition, With Additional Bibliographically Unknown Leaves
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Azharot by R. Shlomo ibn Gabirol, with Petil Techelet commentary by R. Yaakov Chagiz. London: printer not indicated, 1714. Second edition, printed by his son R. Moshe Chagiz.
Azharot for Shavuot by R. Shlomo ibn Gabirol, with Petil Techelet commentary. At the end of the book are rare leaves with an ethical will and selections of good practices and ethics (including Orchot Chaim by the Rosh). These leaves are omitted from most copies of this edition – see below.
[4], 75 leaves. 18.5 cm. Somewhat dark parts of leaves. Good-fair condition. Stains. Minor worming. Early binding, with defects (binding loose on both sides).
Stamps on title page of R. Hermann Adler (1839-1911), Chief Rabbi of Great Britain between 1891-1911.
Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.
One of the first Hebrew books printed in England.
Rare. Recorded in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a copy in the British Library. Does not appear in NLI catalog.
In the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book and all other bibliographic records we know of, only [4], 71 leaves are recorded. The present copy additionally contains leaves 72-75, with practices and ethics (incorporating the famous work of the Rosh), written by the author of the book R. Yaakov Chagiz (this work was later reprinted with variants under the name Zikaron Livnei Yisrael, by R. Moshe Chagiz, R. Yaakov's son).
For more information on the printing of this book by R. Moshe Chagiz, the author's son, while traveling to London that year, see Meir Benayahu, "Books Authored and Published by R. Moshe Chagiz – In London and Germany", Alei Sefer, III, 1977, pp. 94-96 (Hebrew). Benayahu writes that the London edition is rare, and that he is unaware of the reason for this. Notably, Benayahu also notes that the practices and ethics were omitted from the 1714 edition but reprinted in Zikaron Livnei Yisrael in Leket HaKemach, Wandsbek 1726. Benayahu's remark indicates that he also had not seen a copy with leaves 72-75 in the present rare edition, which were printed in London and included with only some copies.
English Jewry and Americana
English Jewry and Americana