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Manuel Benveniste
Manuel (also Immanuel) Benveniste was another Sephardic printer in 17th century Amsterdam. He was born in Venice in 1608 and died in Amsterdam ca. 1660.
Here we see his 1654 edition of Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah, a history of the…
Here we see his 1654 edition of Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah, a history of the…
Uri ben Aaron, ha-Levi
So central was Amsterdam to Hebrew printing that books published elsewhere still sought to link themselves to Amsterdam in the hope that it would increase respect for the product and improve sales. This Talmud commentary by Levi ben Shelomoh (Sefer…
Classical Image from Tashbets
Like many 16th century printers of Hebrew books, Ṿitsentso Ḳonṭi (also Vincenzo Conti) of Cremona, Italy was a Christian who employed Jewish assistants. On this copy of Sefer Tashbets, Ḳonṭi employed a particularly elaborate printer's…
Biblical Imagery
As time went on, Hebrew books increasingly employed biblical figures and scenes on the title pages. Most common were Moses and Aaron, who often stand in front of the pillars of the gate on the right and left respectively, as on the title page of…
Image of the Cosmos from Shomer Emunim
Images of the cosmos are also found on Hebrew title pages. The gateway on the title page of Shomer Emunim (Offenbach, 1723; below, flanked by Moses and Aaron) has the universe on top, with two angels on either side. Even though this is an 18th…
Gate Images
The tradition of putting a frame around the first page of a book arose even before the printing press, during the era of the scribes. Beginning in the 16th century, it became common to employ a gate as an architectural frame for the title page, as in…