With commentary by Moses Maimonides (RaMBa”M)

AUCTION 46 | Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 1:00

Fine Judaica: Hebrew Printed Books, Manuscripts, & Graphic Art

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Lot 231

(MISHNAH).

With commentary by Moses Maimonides (RaMBa”M)

Six parts in two volumes: Vol. I: Zera'im, Mo'ed, Nashim. * Vol II: Nezikin, Kodashim, Toharoth. Text in two columns in square type, commentary in rabbinic type. Woodcut diagrams within the text. Numerous Hebrew marginalia in old Rabbinic cursive script. ff. (354 of 356). Wanting blank first leaf and f. 2 provided in facsimile, many leaves extensively remargined, generally without loss, variously stained, trace wormed and with some wear, final leaf laid down. Modern vellum. Folio Vinograd, Naples 24; Mehlman 11; Goff, Heb-82; Freimann & Marx, Thesaurus A-73; Wineman Cat. 44

Naples: Joshua Solomon Soncino & Joseph ibn Peso 1492

Est: $30,000 - $40,000

PRICE REALIZED $43,000

The First Complete Printed Edition of the Mishnah. The Naples Edition of the Mishnah, the basic text of Rabbinic tradition, is the only incunable edition of the Mishnah to survive in its entirety only fragments (no more than a few leaves) of an earlier Spanish edition predates the Naples edition. The commentary of Maimonides was only published once in the incunable period. “Soncino’s sumptuous edition of text and commentary contains nearly four dozen woodcut diagrams, which are among the earliest non-decorative illustrations in Hebrew printing.” See B. Sabin Hill, Hebraica from the Valmadonna Trust, The Piermont Morgan Library (1989), no. 15. The last book printed in Naples by Joshua Solomon Soncino. It is of particular interest for its typographical variants. See A. Yaari, "Iyyunim Be'Inkunabulim Ivriyim," in: Kiryat Sefer Vol. XXIV (1947) pp.157-59; Amram, pp. 63-69.