Tshuvot Ha'Rivash - Constantinople, 1546-1547 - First Edition - Complete Copy

Tshuvot Ha'Rivash - Constantinople, 1546-1547 - First Edition - Complete Copy
Tshuvot Ha'Rivash. Constantinople, 1546-1547. Eliezer Soncino printing press. First edition.
Complete copy, including the rare leaves.
The copy of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Segal of Glogau Av Beit Din of Eisenstadt and of his father-in-law, Rabbi Moshe of Glogau.
Additional signatures and handwritten glosses.

Halachic responsa by Rabbi Yitzchak Bar Sheshet Perfet, one of the greatest Rishonim.
The copy before us is extremely rare! One of the only complete copies in the world. A copy with nice margins. Includes 21 leaves of indices and corrections and the rare Colophon leaf. These leaves were bound at the beginning of the book, before the title page. In the copy before us, they were bound at the end of the book.
On the title page, a poem praising the book by Rabbi Shmuel Ha'Levi Chacham.
The title page is with wood-cut frame with various illustrations.
The book was printed and sold booklet after booklet, which were given to the buyers on Sabbath at the synagogue. This custom, to divide large books into smaller booklets, was customary in Constantinople for three hundred years, since the beginning of the 16th century until the beginning of the 19th century. The custom enabled Jewish printers and buyers to print and buy large volumes, which the printers and buyers could not afford otherwise. On the other hand, the custom caused the loss of many books of the Constantinople printing presses since not always a person who started buying the booklets persisted in buying them to the last booklet. Those who did buy all the booklets that consisted the complete book did not always bind them so that many of the books were lost.
This explains why the indices leaves (which were printed as a booklet in itself) are missing from many of the copies of the Rivash Responsa, as well as the Colophon leaf. The copy before us is complete and contains all these leaves.

The printer, Eliezer Soncino, the son of Gershom Soncino, was the forth generation of the Soncino family of Jewish printers. During the years 1534-1547 he printed at least twenty eight books. It is most likely that the Rivash Responsa is the last book Eliezer Soncino printed in Constantinople. After his death, one of his workers continued to operate the printing press.

On the title page, an inscription: "This book belongs to … Moshe son of Rabbi Hillman Av Beit Din of Mannheim".
An additional (blurry) signature on the title page of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Segal of Glogau, the son-in-law of Rabbi Moshe of Glogau the son of Rabbi Shmuel Hillman Halperin Av Beit Din of Metz. He corresponded with the "Chatam Sofer" and his and of the Chatam Sofer's novellae were printed in several of the Chatam Sofer's books. He was a Dayan and Maggid Mesharim in Vienna. He replaced his father after his death in Eisenstadt until his death in 1819. Authored the book "Sha'ar Ha'Mayim" on the Torah and his novellae was printed in the book "Chut Ha'Meshulash", which was approbated by the Chatam Sofer.
An additional signature on the title page of Rabbi Daniel Shmuel, one of the rabbis of Izmir during the 1740's, who corresponded with the rabbis of Izmir, Maharash ha'Levi and Rabbi Aharon Ben Chaim (the second).
Among the leaves of the book, two long, handwritten glosses in oriental script, maybe the handwriting of the above Rabbi Daniel Shmuel.
Among the leaves of the book there is also an ancient leaf with various inscriptions in ancient Ashkenazic script.

[303] leaves. 31 cm.
Condition: Good. Thick, bright leaves. Throughout the book, a stain on the lower part of the leaves (in most of the book, the stain is light). Two flaws on the title page, with slight damage to its frame. New Italian parchment binding. With laces for closing it. A flaw on the indices leaves and worn margins.