Bidspirit auction | Arba'ah Turim – Even HaEzer

Arba'ah Turim – Even HaEzer and Choshen Mishpat. Augsburg, 1540–1541. One of the Earliest and Rarest Editions of the Tur. Antique Leather Binding - Arba'ah Turim, by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (the Baal HaTurim). The sections Even HaEzer and Choshen Mishpat, bound together in one volume. Augsburg, printed by Chaim Shahor, 1540–1541. An impressive and highly important copy of one of the earliest and rarest editions of the Tur, one of the foundational works of Jewish law. This edition belongs to the earliest generations of printed editions of the work and was produced less than seventy years after the first appearance of the Tur in print. Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher completed his monumental code in the early fourteenth century, and it rapidly became one of the principal pillars of halachic literature. The Augsburg edition is regarded as an especially accurate and carefully corrected text. The printer states on the title page that numerous errors found in previous editions were corrected on the basis of an authoritative manuscript copy that had belonged to the distinguished scholar Rabbi Abraham of Prague. The edition preserves an important stage in the textual history of the Tur. The text is accompanied by corrections, variant readings, and annotations derived from the glosses of Rabbi Abraham ben Avigdor, Rabbi of Prague and one of the leading Ashkenazic scholars of his generation. On the final leaf appears an important letter by Rabbi Yosef bar Yakar, son-in-law of the printer Chaim Shahor, explaining why he chose not to print Rabbi Abraham ben Avigdor’s lengthy annotations in full, instead incorporating only the textual corrections, explanations of difficult terms, references, and practical notes. This statement constitutes a valuable primary source for the history of Hebrew book production and editorial practices during the earliest period of Hebrew printing. At the same time, a separate edition of the Tur containing the complete glosses of Rabbi Abraham ben Avigdor was begun in Prague. In practice, however, only the Orach Chaim volume was printed, and the project was never completed. Consequently, the Augsburg edition preserves a unique textual tradition of particular significance. The book was printed in the press of Chaim Shahor, one of the great pioneers of Hebrew printing outside Italy. Shahor established the first Hebrew press in Augsburg and later helped found the first Hebrew printing press in Lublin. His activities in Augsburg, Prague, Silesia, and Lublin made him one of the most important figures in the history of sixteenth-century Hebrew printing. Ginzei Yisrael 728. The present copy is also notable for its provenance. The first leaf bears an early Ashkenazic ownership signature, while the verso of the final leaf contains a lengthy Sephardic ownership inscription in an early hand by Yehoshua bar Eliav, providing fascinating evidence of the volume’s journey between Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities over the centuries. Particularly noteworthy is the preservation of the final two leaves containing the order of the Mishnah tractates and chapters according to the commentary of the Ralbag. These leaves are lacking in many recorded copies of this edition and are considered among the most important indicators of completeness. Collation: Even HaEzer: [2], 44 leaves. Choshen Mishpat: 112, [2] leaves. 33 cm. Printed on thick, high-quality paper. Condition: Good. Staining throughout. Tear to the upper margins of the first two leaves, without significant loss of text. Contemporary and impressive brown leather-over-wood binding, richly decorated with blind-tooled ornamentation, retaining remnants of its original clasp fittings. Minor defect to the spine.