Auction 72 · Lot 168
Seder Tefilloth MiKol HaShanah KeMinhag Kehiloth Ashkenazim [Order of Prayers for the Entire Year].
- Estimate
- $15,000–$25,000
- Hammer price
- $40,000
Historical auction record. Hammer prices exclude buyer’s premium and taxes.
author
(LITURGY).
printer
Ambrosius Froben [and Israel Zifroni]
Place
Basle
Publication
1579
Description
A nearly immaculate copy, with remarkably wide margins.
references
Vinograd, Basle 138; Prijs 125.
summary
The first Siddur printed in Switzerland.
It is exceedingly rare to find a prayer-book in this state. The pristine nature of this copy may very likely be attributable to its having remained undisturbed for centuries in the library of Perseigne Abbey, a Cistercian Monastery near Neuchâtel, a mere fifty miles from where it came off the press in Basle. The monks were clearly unaware of the small volume’s true identity, as they mislabeled the binding to read “Biblia Hebraica.” The Siddur was later acquired by the renowned Hebrew scholar Paul Humbert (1885-1972), professor and librarian at the University of Neuchâtel.
Prijs records only two copies of this Siddur, located in the British Library and at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
An impeccable copy of a highly scarce edition.
ff. 352 [1-448]. Some marginal dampstaining, otherwise in extraordinarily fine condition. Owner’s inscriptions on front free endpaper and f. 352v. Later limp vellum, partial yapp edges, edge of lower cover with minimal loss, remnants of leather ties. (Incorrect) title in manuscript on spine. 16mo.
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![Seder Tefilloth MiKol HaShanah KeMinhag Kehiloth Ashkenazim [Order of Prayers for the Entire Year].](/media/catalog/product/sale/72/072_168.jpg?w=1200)