Hebrew-Russian Dictionary and Russian-Hebrew Dictionary – Leon Mandelstam – St. Petersburg, 1859-1860

Hebrew-Russian Dictionary and Russian-Hebrew Dictionary – Leon Mandelstam – St. Petersburg, 1859-1860

Hebrew-Russian Dictionary and Russian-Hebrew Dictionary, by Leon Mandelstam. St. Petersburg: M. Ettinger Press (Эттингер), 1859-1860.
1. Еврейско-русскій словарь [Hebrew Russian Dictionary]. 1859. Two sections (א-מ; נ-ת) in one volume.
[2] ff., 524 pp. [2] ff., 323, [23] pp. 21.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Tear to edge of one leaf. Tape for reinforcement to edges of several leaves at the beginning and end of the book.
2. Русско-еврейскій словарь [Russian-Hebrew Dictionary]. 1860.
[1] f., 933 pp. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Tears to title page, mended with tape. Inked stamp to title page.
Both dictionaries were authored by Leon (Aryeh Dov) Mandelstam (1819-1889), a Jewish writer and intellectual, born in Žagarė (today, in Lithuania). Mandelstam studied at the University of Moscow and later at the University of St. Petersburg, becoming the first Jew to graduate from a Russian university. In 1846, he was appointed the official in charge of Jewish matters at the Russian Ministry of Education. In this role he was in charge of the reform in Jewish education, working to promote modern education among the Jews and introducing general education into educational institutions. He was responsible for establishing new Jewish schools on behalf of the state and authored numerous textbooks. In his last years, he lived in great poverty. When he died, no identifying documents were to be found on his person, and he was buried anonymously in a Christian cemetery. Later he was laid to rest at a Jewish cemetery.
Both books are bound in matching leather bindings.