Bidspirit auction | Chumash and Haftarot in Spanish

Chumash and Haftarot in Spanish – Menasseh Ben Israel – Amsterdam, 1654-1655 – Elegant Binding with Decorations and Clasps - Humas, o cinco libros de la ley divina. Juntas las Aphtarot del año [Five Books of the Torah, with year-round haftarot], with summary of chapter contents by Menasseh Ben Israel. Amsterdam: [Menasseh Ben Israel], 1654-1655. Spanish. Elaborate binding, with silver floral decorations, including a pair of silver clasps (marked). Additional silver decorations serve to connect the front and back bindings to the book's spine. This binding is characteristic of the binding tradition existing in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, used particularly in the Netherlands, in binding Bibles and prayer books. This kind of binding is not particularly common in Jewish religious books, and it is instanced mainly among the Spanish and Portuguese communities of Amsterdam. In this edition, for the first time, Menasseh Ben Israel added a detailed summary (in Spanish) of the contents of the chapters, displayed at the beginning of each chapter. Includes year-round haftarot for Shabbat and festivals (divisional title page for haftarot). At end of haftarot section is a short chart with order of reading of the Four Parashiot for 1655-1676. At the beginning of the book is a lengthy dedication from Menasseh Ben Israel to the Dutch diplomat Coenraad van Beuningen (1622-1693), who was then serving as ambassador to the Swedish royal court. The two were apparently close; Menasseh Ben Israel praises Van Beuningen extensively, and at the end he calls himself his ”intimate friend” (”intimo amigo”). Ownership inscription (in pencil) on endpaper of ”Jaco Franco Mendes”. [8], 451, [5]; 127, [5] pages. 14.5 cm. Gilt edges. Good condition. Stains. Minor defects to binding (small fragment of one corner of binding lacking). Provenance: Collection of Mozes Heiman Gans. Alfei Menashe, 1927, no. 62.