Bidspirit auction | Order of Prayers. Florence, [1736].

Order of Prayers. Florence, [1736]. Exceptionally sumptuous leather binding with gilt ornamentation - Order of Prayers for the Months and Festivals – According to the Sephardic Rite. Florence, 5496 [1736]. Small format. An especially fine and distinguished copy—gilt edges, lavishly gilt binding, with a custom leather case. A handsome small-format siddur comprising a comprehensive prayer rite: for weekdays and Shabbat, Rosh Ḥodesh, the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, the High Holy Days, Ḥanukkah and Purim, fast days; as well as the Passover Haggadah, the Scroll of Ruth, Azharot for Shavuot, Selichot and Hoshanot, and more. Included are numerous supplicatory prayers, entreaties, and hymns, with special additions for Motza’ei Shabbat. Includes Pirkei Avot with a Spanish (Ladino) translation. On leaf 343 appears a rare composition, “Seder Zemanim, ” authored by Rabbi David Meldola in his youth—a cycle of prayers and piyyutim for festivals and times of distress. On the final leaf is a Latin approbation permitting the printing of Hebrew books, granted to the printer—an item of clear historical and bibliographic interest. Exceptional Provenance — “Ha-Tza’ir David Ardit, hy”u” A notable feature of this copy is the gilt-stamped ownership name on the front board: “Ha-Tza’ir David Ardit, hy”u”—a rare and striking original ex-libris. The name is likely associated with the Arditi (Ardit) family, a well-known Sephardic–Ottoman family active primarily in Salonika, Izmir, and Constantinople, and at times also in Italy and the Balkans. Such a personal ownership stamp adds a significant provenance layer and enriches the book’s historical journey among Sephardic communities. This siddur is extremely rare in complete form, and certainly in such attractive condition. Some copies in the National Library are defective, and even the digitized copy there is not in fine condition. The completeness and beauty of the present copy therefore stand out. [1], 351, [1] leaves. 13 cm. Bound with blank leaves at the beginning and end; on two blank leaves at the front, passages from the prayers were added in semi-cursive manuscript. Condition: Very good. All edges gilt with gold leaf, with decorative tooling. Green leather binding, lavishly gilt over the entire surface; the spine incorporates an additional red tone. The spine margins have undergone professional, artistic restoration. A new custom-made leather box was produced specifically for this exceptional book. A truly impressive collector’s copy, combining an early Italian printing, textual completeness, contemporary manuscript additions, and—most notably—a lavish gilt binding with a gilt ownership stamp—a volume of outstanding bibliographic, artistic, and provenance significance.