Bidspirit auction | Tractate Sukkah – Miniature Edition.

Tractate Sukkah – Miniature Edition. Berlin, 1722 (תפ”ב) - Tractate Sukkah – Miniature Edition. Berlin?, 1722 (תפ”ב) Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sukkah, printed independently in miniature format: ”Made in a small volume so that a man may carry it in his bosom, and that it be fluent on the lips of all Israel—to observe and fulfill the laws of Sukkah properly.” [Berlin?] 1722 (Hebrew year תפ”ב) This edition contains the text of the Talmud alone, without any commentaries. The pagination differs from that of standard Shas editions, indicating a unique printing layout. No place of printing is stated, but in the lower margin of the title page appears an emblem: the letters FR topped by a crown. According to Moritz Steinschneider (Catalogus Librorum Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, no. 1909), this symbol likely stands for Fridericus Rex (Frederick I, King of Prussia, crowned 1701). Thus, the probable place of printing is Berlin or Frankfurt an der Oder, under his rule. A particularly rare miniature edition. Owner’s signature appears on the verso of the title page. [104] leaves Size: 9.3 cm Condition: Good. Aged stains. Worn leather binding, lacking front cover. A rare and early example of portable Talmudic printing, intended for study on the go—remarkable both for its historical and bibliographic value.