Masecheth Bava Bathra [Laws of Ownership, Inheritance, etc.] With commentaries by Rashi, Tosaphoth, Maimonides and Rabbeinu Asher.

(TALMUD, BABYLONIAN).

Daniel Bomberg

Venice

1521

FIRST BOMBERG EDITION. Marginal notes in different hands, on f. 13a diagram drawn by hand.

Vinograd, Venice 36

AN EXCELLENT COPY OF ONE OF THE MOST SCARCE AND MOST IMPORTANT TRACTATES OF BOMBERG’S CELEBRATED TALMUD EDITION. Daniel Bomberg’s edition of 1520-23 formed the edito princeps of the Babylonian Talmud setting the standard pagination and layout to which almost all subsequent editions adhered: A section of the Mishnah text followed by its’ Gemara, the commentary of Rashi on the inner margin and that of the Tosaphists on the outer. The uniformity of pages in all published editions was of great practical use to Talmudic scholars, creating a standard for reference citation and serving as a symbol of the unity of the Jewish people which Talmud study across the ages has enhanced. R. N.N. Rabbinovicz commented on the aesthetic quality of the famed Bomberg Talmud: “The paper is exquisite, the letters black and vibrant, and the margins between [the commentaries of] Rashi and Tosaphoth and the Talmud broad; subsequent editions never matched up to its beauty.” See Ma’amar al Hadpasath HaTalmud, p.41.