Kestenbaum & Company
The Haggadah. Executed by Arthur Szyk. Edited by Cecil Roth. Parallel English and Hebrew text

Auction 32 · Lot 124

The Haggadah. Executed by Arthur Szyk. Edited by Cecil Roth. Parallel English and Hebrew text

Estimate
$20,000–$30,000
Hammer price
$28,000

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

author

(HAGADAH).

printer

Beaconsfield Press

Place

London

Publication

(1940)

Description

Printed Entirely on Vellum, Richly Illustrated in Color by Szyk. Number 22 of 125 Numbered Copies for sale in the United States. Signed by the Artist and Editor. Twelve full-page illustrations and 34 pages with smaller illustrations or decorative borders. Pictorial doublures on silk. Original royal blue levent morocco, gilt- tooled pictorial inlay by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Three-quarter matching levent folding case lined with velvet

references

Yudlov 3861; Yaari 2285

summary

Perhaps the most sublime of all Passover Hagadahs. “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. “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 Morison)
Extreme outer margins of opening and closing pages lightly stained. Extremeties of box rubbed. Lg. 4to
Enquire about this lot
Stay informed

The next discovery, in your inbox.

Auction announcements, catalogues and news from Kestenbaum.