Bidspirit auction | Anton Margaritha – Anti-Jewish Commentary

Anton Margaritha – Anti-Jewish Commentary on Yeshayahu – Vienna, 1534 – First Edition - Erklerung wie aus dem heylligen 53 Capittel... Esaie… der verhaischen Moschiach... schon khomen, die Juden auff khainen anndern mer wartten sollen…, by Anton Margaritha. Vienna: Joannem Singrenium, 1534 (printing details from colophon). German (incorporating Latin and transliterated Hebrew). First and only edition of a sharp polemical work by Jewish apostate Anton Margaritha (1492-1542), scion of a famous German rabbinic family – son of R. Shmuel Margaliot Rabbi of Regensburg, and grandson of R. Yaakov Margaliot Rabbi of Nuremberg. The work focuses on Yeshayahu chapter 53, by means of which the author attempts to demonstrate the truth of Christianity. Margaritha quotes leading commentators with German translation – including Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Radak – accusing them of distorting the original meaning of Scripture. The work, as Margaritha declares on the title page, is meant to ”for the consolation of all pious Christians against the stubborn Jews”. In the author's dedication and introduction at the beginning of the book, Margaritha recounts his personal life. He mentions his father, R. Shmuel Margaliot, describing the pressures and material temptations he was offered in an attempt to return him to Judaism. He further recounts how after his conversion to Christianity the Jewish community attempted to take advantage of his financial straits, offering him large sums to return to Judaism. Among other things, he also describes theological debates he held with his former coreligionists. On the verso of the title page is a large coat of arms of Prince-Elector Albrecht von Brandenburg of Mainz (1490-1545). On p. [4b] are printed four small woodcuts depicting the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Decorated initial panels at beginning of some chapters. The work was published during Margaritha's tenure as Professor of Hebrew at the University of Vienna, a few years before he published his infamous Complete Jewish Faith (Augsburg, 1530; see previous lot), attacking Jewish prayer rites and customs. As a result of the grim accusations against the Jews made in his book, Margaritha was invited to a public debate, conducted in 1530 before an imperial committee that convened in the Reichstag of Augsburg in the presence of Emperor Karl V. Margaritha's opponent in this debate was the well-known Jewish activist R. Yosef son of Gershon of Rosheim (Joseph Loans). After Margaritha's claims against the Jews were refuted, Margaritha was banished from Augsburg. Even after his banishment, Margaritha continued to publish anti-Jewish works, using the Jewish education he had gained growing up to attack Judaism. [4], CXVIII (118) leaves. 18.5 cm. Good condition. Light stains (mainly to first leaves). Early signature on title page. Marginal handwritten inscriptions to some leaves. First gatherings loose. Old cardboard binding, somewhat rubbed and worn. Rare. Few copies are recorded in OCLC (the book was last sold at auction by Maggs Bros., London, 1922, p. 33, no. [41a]). Provenance: Collection of Dr. Felix Guggenheim: Mark Funke, The Rare Book Collection of Dr. Felix Guggenheim, Fifty Highlights from a Lifetime of Collecting and Publishing, Presented in Two Parts: Judaica & Germanistic [Mill Valley, California], 2025, p. 27.