Sefer HaMiddot. Berlin, 1786. First Edition. Unknown Portrait of the Author

Sefer HaMiddot. Mussar by Naftali Hartwig Wessely. Chevrat Chinuch HaNearim Press, 1786. First edition, with an unknown portrait of the author.

First edition of the famous book by Naftali Hartwig Wessely [1725-1805], one of the Haskalah movement's founders. On the title page: first volume; more were not printed. Includes the last page, with the vowelized poem.

The author's portrait is pasted on the back binding, with his foreign-language name: Hartwig Wessely, and a handwritten dedication on the portrait's margins. The portrait before us is different from the well known portraits of N.H. Wessely. The title page bears signatures and handwritten dedications from the period.

[6], 109 [should be 113], [1] leaf, 15 cm. Fine condition. Aging stains.