Yosippon [historical narrative of the Second Temple period]

Estimate: $3,000–$5,000
Hammer price: $7,500

Historical auction record. Hammer prices exclude buyer’s premium and taxes.

author

JOSEPH BEN GORION (Commonly and erroneously attributed to)

printer

Christoph Froschouer

Place

Zurich

Publication

1546

Description

FIRST EDITION with Yiddish translation (printed in Wayber-taytsch type). Prepared by Michael Adam. Replete with finely wrought woodcut illustrations. Wide-margined copy. The Judah A. Joffe copy (with his marginal annotations throughout)

references

Vinograd, Zurich 1 (no copy in the JNUL); Vischer, Zuriche Druckschriften, no. C-353; E.C. Rudolphi, Die Buchdrucker-familie Froschauer (1869) no. 330; Deinard, Atikoth Yehudah p. 22 (noting the Sulzberger copy in the JTSAL); St. Cat. Bodl. no. 6033. col. 1551 (“Ed. rarissima”); not in Adams

summary

“A truly splendid monument of the Yiddish book-printing art. With its richly illustrated woodcuts, it is in general the most beautiful printed work in Old-Yiddish literature.” see Zinberg, p. 230. An exceptionally scarce edition. The first Hebrew edition of the Yosippon was published in Mantua by Abraham Conat, c.1475 (eight complete copies extant). This pseudo-Josephus was the first secular Hebrew book ever printed

ff. 492 (of 515), lacking 7 (unnumbered) preliminary leaves, following 5 prelims. bound in at end, lacking ff. 9, 34, 35, 41, 49, 58, 59, 124, 481, 484-488 and 514-15. Sig. XX:4 misbound, Stained and wormed in places, several leaves taped occasionally with significant loss of text. Modern boards. Thick 8vo

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