| Highlights from the Special Sale – 17 December, 2002 | |||
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| An extremely rare Hebrew Manuscript on vellum, a Rash"i Commentary to the Pentateuch dated 1457, was the star lot at Kestenbaum & Company's auction of Magnificent Hebrew Manuscripts, Incunabula and Other Valuable Hebrew Printed Books Sold by Order of the Trustees of Jews' College, London on December 17, 2002. This highly important work, a manuscript which remained unseen and until now unexamined by scholars, generated tremendous interest and spirited bidding in the salesroom and on the phones. It ultimately sold to an international private buyer on the phone for $434,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $200,000-300,000, making it the highest price achieved by the auction house for a single lot. There are no comparables to this manuscript since such a fundamental text has never before appeared at auction. In all of classical Jewish literature, the French born rabbi known as Rash"i, was and still remains the premier commentator and exegete to the bible. This slim and highly select single-owner sale of printed and manuscript Judaica included rare early edition bibles, prayer books, biblical commentaries, and books on Jewish philosophy and Jewish history. Of the 18 lots offered, 14 found buyers and brought a sale total of $954,950. Many of the highly desirable works commanded premium prices well above their pre-sale estimates due in part to the fact that they were in excellent condition and fresh to the market, having been housed at Jews' College, London since the mid nineteenth century. Among the highlights of the book section was a rare compilation of the first editions of three important works of Don Isaac Abrabanel dated 1505. Isaac Abrabanel was pre-expulsion, Spanish Jewery's premier philosopher and statesman. Highly uncommon to find all three bound together, the work earned $69,000, more than tripling its pre-sale estimate of $15,000-20,000. Another book attracting an enthusiastic response was a second edition Mashal Hakadmoni (a rare Venetian edition of a collection of allegories, fables and puns with moral influences) by Isaac ibn Sahula, 1547. This exceptionally beautiful copy with pictures realized $69,000, sailing over its pre-sale estimate of $15,000-20,000. Also finding favor with buyers was a Mishneh Torah by Maimonides, 1490, an elegant early edition of the most important of medieval halachic texts which although lacking the final 90 leaves, sold for $78,200 against an estimate of $30,000-40,000. Mr. Jack V. Lunzer, well-known worldwide as custodian of the greatest collection of Hebrew printed books in private hands commented after the auction, "The sale was a benchmark in the annals of Hebrew Typography and Hebrew Book Sales. The prices were phenomenal. I congratulate Daniel Kestenbaum on his tremendous effort and hard work in realizing such a result." |
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| Highlights of the Sale: (prices include 15% buyer’s premium) |
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