Auction 093 Kodesh books, Rabanic manuscripts, Zionism, Erez Israel. Judaica, archaeology and Jewish art
Apr 5, 2016
Israel
 3 Shatner Center 1st Floor Givat Shaul Jerusalem
The auction has ended

LOT 43:

A royal writ of protection (Schutzbrief). The founders of the city of Lodz, Kingdom of Prussia, 1799.

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Sold for: $1,200
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$ 1,000
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A royal writ of protection (Schutzbrief). The founders of the city of Lodz, Kingdom of Prussia, 1799.
A royal writ of protection and defense (Schutzbrief) of the King of Prussia, Frederick the Third, sealed with an original wax seal, which granted the tailor Mosis Lewin, one of the first Jewish residents of the city of Lodz, the right to own land despite the limitations on Jews under his reign. A rare testimony to the beginning of the Jewish residency in a city which became a Jewish center, second in size and importance in all of Poland on the eve of World War II, with 223,000 Jews.
 
[3] pieces of paper. 21x35 cm. One page printed on both sides. Two parallel columns in German and Polish, personal details filled in by hand, handwritten signature and wax seal. Additional Polish signatures on the binding of the front cover.
This royal writ of protection was given to Mosis Lewin in 1797 and grants him and his family the right to settle in the city of Lodz due to his profession as a tailor. The area of the city of Lodz was annexed to the Southern Kingdom of Prussia from Poland in the years 1793-1795 and the Kingdom ruled there until they were conquered by Napoleon in 1806. The Kingdom of Prussia passed laws (mentioned in this writ of protection) that severely limited the rights of the Jews and in practice prevented them from living in cities. Therefore, the rights granted in this document are extraordinary. According to the population records, in the year 1793 there were only 11 Jews in the city of Lodz and in the year 1808 their number had grown to 58, of which three were tailors, and an official congregation had not yet been established. The city's rapid growth began in 1820 and according to the records, the Lewin family was a central part of it.
Only one writ of protection is known in the world, identical to the document before us, which is displayed in an exhibit in a museum in Berlin (DOK 84/7/1). That writ is in worse condition and has no wax seal.
Small tears with no damage to text. Aging stains. Complete wax seal with the original string. Very fine condition.  

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