Bidspirit auction | SCHWARZ, YOSEPH. Divrei Yoseph. Jerusalem,

SCHWARZ, YOSEPH. Divrei Yoseph. Jerusalem, Yisrael Bak, v.d. Four volumes. ALL FIRST EDITIONS.  * Part I: Toldoth Yoseph  [astronomy and chrononomy]. With astronomical diagrams and tables. ff. (8), 70, (6). 1843. * Part II : Tevu'oth Ha’Aretz  [geography, fauna and flora of the Land]. Two divisional titles. ff. (2), 156, 52, (3). 1845. *  Part III : Peri Tevu’ah / Pardes  [geography and commentary on Bible and Talmud, with responsa]. On f. 7v three plans of Jerusalem and environs. ff. (7), 247 (1). 1861. * Part IV: Teshuvoth.  ff. (4), 170, (1). 1862. Stained in places, previous owner’s marks. Modern calf. 8vo. Vinograd, Jerusalem 16, 89, 95. Born in Bavaria in 1804, Joseph Schwartz settled in Jerusalem in 1833 and devoted himself to the study of the topography, geography and natural history of the Holy Land. He died there in 1865. Schwartz’s deep knowledge of Talmud and rabbinic writings along with his researches into the history, geography, geology, fauna, and flora of Eretz Israel have placed him in the front rank of Palestine explorers and geographers. He is ranked the greatest Jewish authority on such matters since R. Estori Farhi (1282-1357), author of Kaftor VaFerah. “Schwartz’s work is significant in that it became the basis and model for all subsequent Hebrew writing on Palestine exploration taking Jewish sources into account.” See Y. Ben-Arieh, The Rediscovery of the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century (1979) p. 104.