Auction 1 - Rare Hebrew Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinic Letters
Lot 8:
Description
An exceptional association copy uniting the scholarship of two of the foremost figures in the study of Italian Jewish liturgy.
Samuel David Luzzatto (“Shadal,” 1800–1865) occupies a singular place in nineteenth-century Jewish scholarship. Among the founders of the modern scientific study of Judaism, Shadal combined rigorous philology with deep traditional learning, producing critical editions and commentaries that permanently reshaped the study of Biblical Hebrew, Jewish history, and especially the ancient liturgical traditions of Italian Jewry. His monumental edition of the Roman Rite Mahzor represented far more than a simple reprinting of an old prayerbook. Drawing upon manuscripts, early printed editions, linguistic analysis, and historical comparison, Shadal sought to preserve one of Judaism’s oldest surviving liturgical traditions while documenting its textual history with unprecedented scholarly precision. More than a century and a half later, his edition remains a fundamental point of reference for students of the Italian rite.
This copy continued that scholarly conversation into the twentieth century. It belonged to Prof. Elia Samuele Artom, among the most distinguished Italian Jewish biblical scholars and liturgists of his generation. A professor at the Collegio Rabbinico Italiano and later Chief Rabbi of Turin, Artom produced influential studies of the Hebrew Bible, biblical language, Jewish liturgy, and the history of Italian Jewry. His publications, translations, and critical editions helped shape modern academic and rabbinic understanding of the Italian Jewish tradition, while generations of students encountered the Bible through his scholarship.
Throughout both volumes, Artom transformed Shadal’s printed edition into a working scholarly text. The margins contain hundreds of neat pencil annotations recording vocalization, punctuation, grammatical refinements, textual corrections, and alternative readings, revealing the meticulous habits of a philologist continually testing the text against manuscripts, parallel liturgical traditions, and his own extensive expertise. Rather than casual ownership marks, these are the sustained working notes of a leading authority actively engaging with the foundational edition produced by one of his greatest predecessors.
Association copies documenting the intellectual working methods of major Jewish scholars are inherently rare. Copies preserving extensive autograph annotations by figures of Artom’s stature are rarer still. Here, the volumes preserve not only Shadal’s landmark contribution to the preservation of the Italian rite, but also the scholarly dialogue of one of the twentieth century’s foremost heirs to that tradition—offering a remarkable window into the transmission, refinement, and continued study of one of Judaism’s most ancient liturgical heritages.
Complete two-volume set. Numerous autograph annotations in pencil throughout by Prof. Elia Samuele Artom (1887–1965), including textual emendations, vocalization and punctuation, philological observations, variant readings, and corrections to the printed text. Both volumes bear Artom’s ownership inscription. Title page of Volume I professionally reinforced at the margins. Volume II with first eight leaves detached from the binding but preserved together as a single sewn quire. Light occasional staining; internally remarkably clean and well-preserved. Both volumes with wear concentrated to the spines and rear boards.
Opening price: $700
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