Bidspirit auction | Manuscript Copy of Sefer Ha-Harkavah

Manuscript Copy of Sefer Ha-Harkavah – Transcribed from the Venice 1546 Edition. Łańcut (Lantshut), 1794 - A complete manuscript copy of Sefer Ha-Harkavah, composed by the renowned Hebrew grammarian and linguist Rabbi Elijah Levita (Eliyahu Ha-Levi Ashkenazi, known as Eliyahu Bachur), one of the foremost scholars of Hebrew grammar in the early age of Hebrew printing. This carefully prepared manuscript was copied in 1794 from the Venice 1546 edition, approximately 250 years after the work first appeared in print. The scribe preserved the format of the printed edition with remarkable fidelity, reproducing not only the text itself but also the title page and colophon of the original edition. Portions of the text are vocalized, following the printed source. At the conclusion of the manuscript, the scribe added a personal colophon describing his work and recording the date and place of transcription: “I copied it letter for letter from the printed book… here in Łańcut… on Monday, the 21st of Elul, 5554 [1794].” This inscription greatly enhances the manuscript’s significance, providing direct evidence for the transmission and study of foundational Hebrew grammatical works in Eastern Europe at the close of the eighteenth century. The fact that a grammatical treatise first printed in the sixteenth century was still being copied by hand at a time when printing was already widespread attests both to the relative rarity of the book and to the continued demand for it among scholars, grammarians, and students of Hebrew. Manuscripts copied from Hebrew grammatical works are considerably rarer than manuscript copies of more commonly studied rabbinic texts and offer a fascinating glimpse into the intellectual world of Hebrew language scholarship in the post-print era. 15 leaves. 21 cm. Condition: Good. Age staining. Thin cardboard binding.