What Do
A 16th Century
Passover Hagadah
And
A U.S. F-18 Military Jet
Have In Common?
The answer begins with the publication of a Hagadah in Prague in 1526, which features the most unusual Gothic illustrations the likes of which had never been seen before or since. This magnificent book of the utmost rarity, has been described as “the most distinguished production of the 16th century press.”
Fast forward to the winter of 1946 when a Swiss businessman traveling through post-war ravaged Italy discovered a copy of this illusive Hagadah in an antique shop. Upon the gentleman’s death just two years later, the book remained untouched on the bookshelves of his family-home for decades. When the man’s widow recently died in Switzerland, their only child was handed the book by an elderly aunt and told that it had been her father’s most treasured possession. While the rest of her father’s library was donated to a local charity, the Hagadah traveled from Europe to Southern California where the daughter had emigrated years earlier. During the course of time since her mother’s passing, the daughter made great efforts to discover further information about this unique book. She contacted various cultural institutions, libraries and local book-dealers, however none were able to offer the answers she sought about the book’s history and true value.
Eventually, she was recommended to contact the specialist Judaica Auctioneers Kestenbaum & Company who asked her to e-mail scans of the book. After seeing the images and immediately realizing the treasure he was being shown, Daniel Kestenbaum flew out to California the next day.
While picking up his rental car at the airport, Mr. Kestenbaum noticed a breaking news report on a TV monitor that an F-18 U.S. military jet had just crashed into a nearby residential neighborhood. Not thinking too much about it, he drove off to his appointment. A block away from his destination a throng of military personnel blocked all further access. Astoundingly, the jet exploded and completely obliterated a home just three doors away from where the 483 year old Hagadah was about to be finally identified.
Thus a Passover Hagadah, printed in Prague in 1526, remarkably survives the turbulence of centuries, before reappearing in bucolic Switzerland soon after the Second World War, quietly sitting on a shelf for decades before making its way to the United States in the 21st century where it survives a fractional near-miss from a Boeing F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet!
Kestenbaum & Company is proud to be offering this very special Hagadah for sale by auction on Thursday, April 2nd at 3:00 pm, just a few days before the Passover holiday. The pre-sale estimate is $120,000-150,000. The exhibition will be held from Sunday, March 29th through Thursday, April 2nd. There will also be a special Gallery-Talk with the Auction Expert on Tuesday, March 31st at 6:00 pm.
For further information about the Hagadah or the rest of the 320 lots in the auction, please contact Jackie Insel at 212-366-1197.