Hebrew. PENTATEUCH ) Chamishah Chumashei Torah. With Targum Onkelos and commentaries of Rash”i, Ramba”n (entitled Nachmeini in this edition) and ibn Ezra
AUCTION 39 |
Thursday, April 03rd,
2008 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters & Graphic Art
Lot 53
(BIBLE,.
Hebrew. PENTATEUCH ) Chamishah Chumashei Torah. With Targum Onkelos and commentaries of Rash”i, Ramba”n (entitled Nachmeini in this edition) and ibn Ezra
Constantinople: Nahmias Brothers 1522
Est: $8,000 - $10,000
EXTREMELY RARE. The copies in JNUL, JTSLA and the Mehlman copy are all incomplete.
On the text of Rash”i in this edition, see I. Sonne, "Le-Bikoreth Ha-Text Shel Peirush Rashi Al Ha-Torah," in HUCA, Vol. XV, p. 46. Sonne states that this edition follows the Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese) redaction of Rashi's commentary which contains additional midrashic and explanatory material as compared to the German-French and Italian redactions.
The printers, the Nahmias Brothers, were exiles from Spain who established their press in 1505. Theirs was the first printing-press beyond Europe’s borders
The Ibn Nahmias's (of Constantinople) first printing was the Tur of
1493. There was a whole debate for a while, where Steinschneider and de
Rossi said it was 1505, but it has since been conclusively proven (by M.
Marx and Offenberg - see his article in Choice of Corals) that the first
Constantinople edition was completed in 1493.