Bidspirit auction | Catalogo dos Libros – Catalogue

Catalogo dos Libros – Catalogue of Books Printed by Menasseh Ben Israel – Original Edition – Amsterdam, 1652 – Especially Rare - Catalogo dos libros que Semuel ben Israel Soeiro, vende, estampados todos na sua typographia, adjuntos os preços, para que cada qual saiba o que valem [Catalogue of books sold by Shmuel Ben Israel Soeiro, all printed at his press, along with prices of each and its worth]. Amsterdam: [Shmuel Ben Israel Soeiro], 1652. Portuguese. The present work is an especially rare original copy of the catalogue of books sold by Menasseh Ben Israel's press, the earliest known book catalogue of a Hebrew press. The catalogue lists Hebrew and Spanish books and their original price, as fixed soon after their printing (little is known of Hebrew book prices during these years). Among his other achievements, Menasseh Ben Israel is known as the founder of the first Hebrew press in Amsterdam. After Menasseh founded this press in 1627, Amsterdam became the world capital of Hebrew book printing for the next 150 years. After founding it, Menasseh personally administered the press from 1627-1642; in 1643-1645 it was leased to Eliyahu Aboab, and in 1646-1648 it was owned by Menasseh's second son Shmuel Ben Israel (who also signs his name as Soeiro, Menasseh Ben Israel's maternal family name, or Abarbanel, Menasseh's wife's family name). In 1653, Menasseh once again began to administer his press and printed books until 1655. Even during the years the press was administered by Eliyahu Aboab or Menasseh's sons, Menasseh served as the editor and proofreader of the books, and he appears to have been involved in the choice of books to be printed. The present catalogue was printed in 1652, towards the end of Shmuel Ben Israel Soeiro's administration, and it provides a firsthand attestation of the world of Hebrew printing and bookselling in Amsterdam during those years. The catalogue is printed in Portuguese, and it includes names of 65 books in two sections: Hebrew books (”Hebraicos”) and Spanish books (”Hespanhoes”). A price in florins (”flor.”) and plakken (”plac.”) is given next to the name of each book. This is a partial list of books printed by Menasseh Ben Israel up to that time (some books printed by Menasseh are not included here; apparently they had either sold out or had been printed for other publishers who sold their own books). The catalogue likewise mentions several editions of which no exemplar is extant, and for which this catalogue is the only source for their having been printed. The end of the list of Hebrew books mentions ”many other books printed elsewhere” (”otros muytos libros estampados noutras partes”), which indicates that Menasseh Ben Israel's sons also sold books that were not printed by them. The books mentioned in the catalogue include: several Bible editions, including the famous 1631-1635 edition (see Lot 39 in the present catalogue); Torah and prayer books; several editions of the Book of Tehillim; vocalized edition of the Mishnah, 1646; Ir David by R. David de Lara, 1648; Sod Yesharim by R. Yehudah Aryeh of Modena, 1649; Sefer HaEmunot by R. Saadia Gaon, 1648; Asarah Maamarot by R. Menachem Azariah (Rama) of Fano, 1646; Nishmat Chaim by R. Menasseh Ben Israel, 1652; and many other books. [1] double leaf (4 printed pages). Approx. 15 cm. Overall good condition. Light stains. Folding mark. Small open tears to fold. Matted with tape. See at length: A. Yaari, MiBeit Defuso Shel Menashe Ben Yisrael, Jerusalem: Tarshish, 1947. Yaari also printed a facsimile of this catalogue. Especially rare. Not recorded in NLI catalogue. No copies are recorded in WorldCat. Provenance: Collection of Mozes Heiman Gans.