Bidspirit auction | Rare Booklet! First Time Auctioned:

Rare Booklet! First Time Auctioned: Des Alte Yuddishe Krakow - Krakow Lag BaOmer, 1936 - with Unknown Leaves -  Des Alte Yuddishe Krakow - Der Rema. With the biography of the Rema alongside hsitorical descriptions of community institutions and the life in the town at the time. Published by Chevrat Machazikei Limud, Krakow Lag BaOmer, 1936. Yiddish. Important historical books that was never auctioned. The central theme of the work is the figure of Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rema), the leading Posek of Ashkenazi, who lived and oprated in Kraków during the 16th century and is buried in the city's old cemetery. The book describes 'Old Jewish Kraków'—the golden age of the community during the era of the Rema, when Kraków was considered one of the most important Torah and cultural centers in Europe ('New Jerusalem').  The book is a rare indication of the Krakow community's attempt to document its glorious past a moment before the horrific destruction of WWII. The booklet was published for Lag BaOmer, the Rema's Hillula, whose grave site attracted many Jews from all over Poland who came to visit it specifically on this day .  On the page of the book of the website of the National Library, 22+[2] pp. are noted. In this copy, however, at the end of the booklet, there are [6] pages with advertisements of [Kosher] Jewish businesses that operated in Krakow until WWII.  This addition of 6 advertising pages is of extraordinary historical and documental significance, forming a ”snapshot” of the econimic life on the eve of the destruction. These advertisements were apparently the company's way to fund the publishing of the booklet.  Advertising pages were often considered 'secondary' compared to the 'essential' text (the literary content), and therefore, in many cases, they were removed during the rebinding process. The presence of [6] additional pages in this copy makes it a more complete and rarer copy, presenting the booklet exactly as it was distributed in the original community.  The publishers: Chevrat Machazikei Limud, Krakow was founded in 1894. Its main goal was to support the local students of the Talmud Torah, who were usually members of poor families, by providing for their basic needs. In addition, the Chevrak worked for maintaining the community's spiritual legacy. Publishing this booklet in 1936 was part of that effort, apparently to strngthen the Jewish identity of the young generation and the entire community.  22, [10] pp including the original title cover.  Good-very good condition. Slightly fragile paper.