Alvise Bragadin and Stamparia Bragadina

Alvise Bragadin and Stamparia Bragadina

Alvise Bragadin (also Bragadini) was born in the early 1500s and settled in his hometown of Venice, where he became a renowned Christian printer of Hebrew books. He founded the firm Stamparia Bragadina which enjoyed wild success during his lifetime and after his death under the ownership of ten of his descendants until the mid-1700s, when the press began to decline. It is uncertain when Bragadin first began printing Hebrew books. Maimonides’ “Mishnah Torah,” printed in 1550, is widely considered his first Hebrew work.

The Bragadin family was one of the oldest and most powerful in Venice, yet despite their influence their press was also affected by the Counterreformation and the Roman Inquisition. A prohibition on the printing of Hebrew books was imposed in Venice from 1554 to 1563 and not a single Hebrew book was published at the Bragadin press during this time. Alvise Bragadin resumed printing books after the ban was lifted until his death in 1575. He was succeeded by his son Giovanni Bragadin. The press is said to have enjoyed a monopoly on Hebrew printing in Venice and its books found their way into the hands of customers around the world in Europe, North Africa and the Fertile Crescent. This monopoly ended with the establishment of the Stamparia Vendramina press by Giovanni Vendramin in 1630.

Two distinct title page designs appear in the Brisman collection. The first is a plain frame around the edge of the page as pictured in “Maftehot Ha-Zohar,” a Kabbalistic work containing indexes to the Zohar, the set of books on which Kabbalah is based. The second design is represented by “Sefer Kavanat Shelomoh,” also a Kabbalistic work which features an arch flanked by the figures of Moses and Aaron. Above the arch, two angels grasp the Ten Commandments. The firm’s name appears in the Latin alphabet towards the bottom of both title pages.

Amram, David Werner. The Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy: Being Chapters in the History of the Hebrew Printing. Philadelphia: J.H. Greenstone, 1909.

Bloch, Joshua. "Venetian Printers of Hebrew Books." In Hebrew Printing and Bibliography, 63-88. New York: New York Public Library and Ktav Publishing House, 1976.

Treccani

Digital Image: Washington University in Saint Louis

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