Browse Items (141 total)

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

On the title page of most older Hebrew books, the year of publication is given through a chronogram. This distinctive convention is enabled by the dual function of the Hebrew alphabet, which serves as both letters and numbers. The chronogram is…

This is the bookplate of N.H. van Biema (1836-1901), a Dutch author, bibliographer and bibliophile. He is also referred to by his pseudonym "Yenahel" (ינהל), which is an acronym of the first initials of his Hebrew name Ya'akov Naftali Hirts Levi…

This is the bookstamp of Adolf Rosenzweig (1850-1918), a German rabbi and author.

Rosenzweig was educated at the gymnasium at Budapest and later at the rabbinical seminary of Pressburg. Upon completing his studies, Rosenzweig went to Berlin to…

This is the signature of Shemuel Shemaiah (Samuel Shemaiah or Shemayah) Papo , an Italian rabbi, hakham (Torah scholar) and writer of halakhic responsa.

Born in 1708, most likely in the city of Ragusa where his father Abraham David Papo was…

This is the signature of Samson (Shimshon in Hebrew) ben Joshua Moses Morpurgo (1681-1740), an Italian rabbi and physician.

As a child, Morpurgo was educated in Venice and later studied at the University of Padua where he received his medical…