Isaac ibn Sahula. Mashal HaKadmoni [collected fables] <<* WITH:>> Sepher HaTapu’ach [philosophy, attributed to Aristotle].

Auction 90 | Tuesday, July 21st, 2020 at 1:00pm

Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Graphic & Ceremonial Arts

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Lot 108

(FABLES).

Isaac ibn Sahula. Mashal HaKadmoni [collected fables] <<* WITH:>> Sepher HaTapu’ach [philosophy, attributed to Aristotle].

Contains more than 70 imaginative and fanciful half-page woodcut illustrations. Two titles within typographic borders. ff. 72, 81-100 (i.e., 98). Mispaginated (as are all copies) though complete. Browned and worn, few tears, loss of text on f.82. Later boards. 8vo. Vinograd, Frankfurt o/Oder 471.

Frankfurt o/Oder: Professor Elsner 1800

Est: $1,200 - $1,800

<<The Jewish Aesop’s Fables.>> A most distinctive Hebrew book. A collection of fables and puns with moral inferences all written in rhymed prose. The author uses animal fables as a means of moral allegory. Not only do the animals converse, but all are well-versed in the Bible and Talmud and conduct lengthy discourses on matters of science and philosophy. The remarkable illustrations are of a specifically Jewish origin. “The illustrated Hebrew book par excellence.” A.J. Karp. From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress (1991) p. 125.