Wolf Ehrenfried von Reizenstein. Der Vollkommene Pferde-Kenners [“The Complete Horse-Guide.”]

(GERMANY).

Joh. Simon Meyer

Uffenheim

1764

German with smattering of Hebrew. With engraved frontispeice and 28 plates, some folding. Charming head and tail-pieces and printer’s ornaments.

The first part of the text is a comprehensive equestrian and veterinary manual. The second part is most unusual: A supplement comprising a 36-page Hebrew/Yiddish dictionary containing a list of over 1,500 Yiddish and Hebrew terms - indeed entire phrases - transliterated into Gothic letters and with German translation. This is followed by five sample dialogues intended to aid gentiles in understanding the dialect used by Jewish horsetraders, spoken in their distinct Hebrew-German jargon. The inclusion of such an unusual appendix was likely in order to enable German horsedealers to avoid a commercial disadvantage, and instead obtain a linguistic insight into the discussions conducted between their Jewish competitors.