The Haggadah. Executed by Arthur Szyk. Edited by Cecil Roth

AUCTION 37 | Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 1:00

Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, Graphic & Ceremonial Art

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Lot 86

(HAGADAH).

The Haggadah. Executed by Arthur Szyk. Edited by Cecil Roth

One of 125 copies. Printed Entirely on Vellum, Richly Illustrated in Color by Szyk. Full- and half-page color halftone reproductions of compositions by Szyk, including numerous decorative initials, text ornaments and many small vignettes. Pictorial doublures on silk. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe: Royal blue levent morocco, gilt- tooled pictorial inlay. Housed in original matching solander-case, velvet interior. Text in Hebrew and English printed in black and sepia. Signed by the Artist and Editor. Usual mild discoloration along extreme outer edges of initial leaves. Case shows slight wear. Folio Yudlov 3861; Yaari 2285. See also J.P. Ansell, Arthur Szyk: Artist, Jew, Pole (2004), 96-100).

London: Beaconsfield Press 1939

Est: $40,000 - $60,000

PRICE REALIZED $50,000

The most sublime of all Passover Hagadahs. Szyk's great illuminated masterpiece, dedicated to King George VI of England, is a stunning work of the Book- Arts, conceived by the publishers with extraordinarily high production values. “A monument of sacred art and beautiful craftsmanship. The work represents the acme of book-production and color-printing of our age...(It) will remain...long after other creations of the 20th century have disappeared.” (Stanley Morrison, Hagadah Prospectus). “The Times Literary Supplement recognized Szyk’s masterpiece as one of the most beautiful works ever produced by human hands. When one considers the brilliant multi-layers not only of illumination and color, but of themes and sub-themes, Szyk’s Haggadah stands among Hebrew illuminated manuscripts in a moment in time, for all time, in a class by itself.” I. Ungar, Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk (1998) p.15