The Occident and American Jewish Advocate. A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Diffusion of Knowledge of Jewish Literature and Religion. Edited by Isaac Leeser (vol. 26 (ed.) Mayer Sulzberger).

AUCTION 64 | Thursday, March 19th, 2015 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, Ceremonial Objects, Maps and Graphic Art

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Lot 18
(AMERICAN JUDAICA).

The Occident and American Jewish Advocate. A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Diffusion of Knowledge of Jewish Literature and Religion. Edited by Isaac Leeser (vol. 26 (ed.) Mayer Sulzberger).

<<COMPLETE SET OF 24 VOLUMES>> (Monthly edition). Volumes 1-16 and 19-26 (for Vols. 17 and 18, see next lot). Magnificently bound in modern uniform calf-backed marbled boards with red morocco spine labels. Library markings in places, occasionally browned or lightly stained, vols. 8-10 foxed in places. 4to. Goldman 1192.

Philadelphia: 1843-1869

Est: $100,000 - $150,000
PRICE REALIZED $125,000
<<COMPLETE MONTHLY RUN OF ISAAC LEESER’S THE OCCIDENT, THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN JEWISH PERIODICAL.>> The Occident (1843-1869), was the first general Jewish periodical published in the United States. Founded and edited by Rabbi Isaac Leeser from inception through 1868. For 25 years, this was an important forum for articles on Jewish life and thought. It contained a broad array of content, including sermons, obituaries, juvenile literature, scholarly research, theology, spiritual poetry, domestic and foreign news of Jewish interest, resolutions adopted by congregations and organizations, book reviews and correspondence. The volumes of The Occident are a treasure trove of Jewish history, both American and foreign. The Leeser legacy to American Jewish history is a well-documented life of pioneering accomplishments. As Bertram Korn succinctly put it: “Practically every form of Jewish activity which supports American Jewish life today was either established or envisaged by this one man. The most lasting testament to Leeser’s energy and hopes can be found in the pages of his journal The Occident which arguably contain the single most important historical record of Jewish life in the Western Hemisphere in the mid-19th century. Through the agency of The Occident, Leeser hoped to bring together in one common forum the many American Jewish communities that were otherwise divided, by either geography or ideology.” Bertram W. Korn, Isaac Leeser: Centennial Reflections, American Jewish Archives, Vol. XIX (1967), p. 136. Mayer Sulzberger continued to publish The Occident for one year following Leeser’s death in 1868, but without Leeser’s energy, vision and guidance, this important journal ceased publication. <<The Occident is one of the most important records of American Jewish life in the middle decades of the 19th century.>>