Hebrew incunabula

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2010)

|

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.
Find sources: "Hebrew incunabula" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2008)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Hebrew incunabula are a group of Hebrew books, papmphlets or broadside printed before the year 1501.

Only about 100 incunabula are determined to have been definitively printed before 1500. There are eight of which either no copy is known, or the time and place of publication can not be definitely determined. Currently, more than 100 incunabula have been discovered since an article was first written about the topic in The Jewish Encyclopedia in 1901.

The total number of identified Hebrew incunabula is about 175, though more may exist or have existed. A list of ascertained incunabula is given in tabular form below, and to these may be added the last-mentioned eight, which include the Talmud tractates Ketubot, Giṭṭin, and Baba Meẓi'a, each printed separately by Joshua Soncino in 1488–89, and of which no copy is known to exist. The same fate has met all the copies of the Leiria Edition of the Early Prophets (1494). There is also a siddur of the Roman rite, probably published by one of the Soncinos, and, from its type, likely to be of the fifteenth century. This was first described by Abraham Berliner;[1] a copy is possessed by E. N. Adler of London, and an incomplete copy is in the library [clarification needed] of Frankfort-on-the-Main. In addition, there are two editions of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, one possibly printed in Italy in the fifteenth century, a copy of which is in the library of the Vienna community; the other, parts of which Dr. E. Mittwoch of Berlin possesses, was probably printed in Spain.

## Date of first printing

[edit]

The date at which printing in Hebrew began can not be definitely established. There is a whole series of works without date or place (12-21) which experts are inclined to assign to Rome (where Latin printing began in 1467), and any or all of these may be before the first dated work, which is an edition of Rashi's commentary on the Pentateuch, published in Reggio, Calabria, by Abraham Garton, 5 February 1475. It may be assumed that the actual printing of this work took some time, and that it was begun in the latter part of 1474. Even this must have been preceded by the printing of the four parts of the Arba'ah Turim of Yaakov ben Asher, finished 3 July 1475, in Piove di Sacco by Meshullam Cusi, which must have taken considerably longer to print than the Rashi. It is exceptional for Hebrew works to be dated at all before 1482, but from that time onward to 1492, during which decade two-thirds of the Hebrew incunabula were produced, most of them are dated. With the expulsion from Spain in 1492 the Hebrew printing-presses in that country were stopped, and those in Italy and Portugal produced only about a dozen works during the remainder of the century.

## Places of printing

[edit]

Hebrew books were produced in the fifteenth century in the Italian and Iberian peninsulas, the Ottoman Empire, Leiden and Paris though several of the printers were of German origin, as Abraham Jedidiah, the Soncinos, Ḥayyim ha-Levi, Joseph and Azriel Gunzenhauser. The period under review was perhaps the nadir of Jewish fortunes in Germany. Expulsions occurred throughout the land, and it is not to be wondered at that no Hebrew presses were started in the land of printing. In all there are known seventeen places where Hebrew printing took place in the fifteenth century—eleven in Italy, three in Spain, and three in Portugal, as may be seen from the following list, which gives in chronological order the places, the names of the printers, and numbers (in parentheses) indicating the works printed by each, the numbers having reference to the following table.

## Table of incunabula

[edit]

Ref. no. in text | Date. |  | Author and Title. | Place. | Printer. | Bibliography. | Location of manuscript

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 1469/72  |  | Leṿi ben Gershon, Perush Daniel | Rome(?)  |  | Ohly, Sack[2] p. 333  | Frankfurt am Main (2024)
1 | 1475 | Feb. 5 | Rashi, Pentateuch | Reggio, Calabria | Abraham Garton | R. 3-5, St. 2342 | Parma
2 | 1475 | July 3 | Yaakov ben Asher, Arba'ah Turim | Piove di Sacco | Meshullam Cusi | R. 5-7, St. 1182 | B. C. F. G. L. O. Parma. S.
3 | 1476 | July 6 | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Orah Hayyim | Mantua | Abraham Conat | R. 9-12, St. 1188 | B. Breslau, O. Parma. S.
4 | 1477 | May 16 | Levi b. Gershon, Job | Ferrara | Abraham dei Tintori | R. 1, St. 1613 | B. Berlin Royal, F. G. O. Parma
5 | 1477 | June 25 | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Yoreh De'ah | Ferrara | Abraham dei Tintori | R. 9-12, 19-22, St. 1186 | B. Breslau, O.
6 | 1477 | Aug. 29 | Psalms with Kimhi | Bologna | Hayyim Mordecai, Hezekiah de Ventura | R. 14, St. 1 (Add. lxxi.), G. 780-94 | A. B. Breslau, Ch. F. O. Parma, S.
7 | 1475-80 |  | Eldad ha-Dani | Mantua | Abraham Conat | St. 924: Luzzatto, Litt. Or. 1846, No. 31. | B. O. Padua
8 | 1475-80 |  | Yosippon | Mantua | Abraham Conat | R. 114-20, St. 1549 | B. Berlin, C. F. G. Ga. L. N. O.
9 | 1475-80 |  | Judah b. Jehiel, Nofet Zufim | Mantua | Abraham Conat | R. 112, St. 1332 | A. B. C. F. Ga. L. N. O. P. Parma, S.
10 | 1476-80 |  | Jedaiah Bedersi, Behinat 'Olam | Mantua | Estellina Conat | R. 110-1, St. 1283 | A. B. F. O.
11 | Before 1480 |  | Levi b. Gershon, Pentateuch | Mantua | Abraham Conat, Abraham of Cologne | R. 111, St. 1611 | A. B. C. Ch. F. Fr. G. Ga. L. O. P. Parma, S.
12 | Before 1480 |  | Rashi, Pentateuch | Rome (?) | Obadiah, Manasseh, Benjamin | R. 124, St. 2342 | B. O. S.
13 | Before 1480 |  | Nathan b. Jehiel, 'Aruk | Rome (?) | Obadiah, Manasseh, Benjamin of Rome | R. 123, St. 2040; Geiger, Zt. iii. 280, iv. 123 | B. Breslau, C. F. G. Ga. L. O. Parma
14 | Before 1480 |  | Nahmanides, Pentateuch | Rome (?) | Obadiah, Manasseh, Benjamin of Rome | R. 122, St. 1960 | B. C. Ch. F. O. Parma, Stras.
15 | Before 1480 |  | Moses de Couey, Semag | Rome (?) |  | R. 122, St. 1796 | Breslau, F. O. S.
16 | Before 1480 |  | Levi ben Gershon, Daniel | Rome (?) |  | R. 124, St. 1614 | B. Breslau, F. Parma, S.
17 | Before 1480 |  | Solomon b. Adret, Responsa | Rome (?) |  | R. 126, St. 2272 | C. Ch. F. G. O. P. Parma
18 | Before 1480 |  | Maimonides, Mishneh Torah | Rome (?) | Solomon b. Judah, Obadiah b. Moses | R. 126-7, St. 1869 | A. B. C. Ch. F. G. O. P. Parma, S.
19 | Before 1480 |  | Psalms, unpointed | Italy |  | R. 128, St. 161; Proctor, No. 7436 | B. Munich Royal, O. Parma
20 | Before 1480 |  | Psalms, unpointed, with Grace | Italy |  | R. 129, St. 161 | Parma,
21 | Before 1480 |  | D. Kimhi, Shorashim | Rome (?) |  | R. 125, St. 873 | Amsterdam Seminary, Parma
22 | Before 1480 |  | D. Kimhi, Isaiah and Jeremiah | (?) |  | R. 109, St. 869 | Parma
23 | Before 1480 |  | Mordecai Finzi, Luhot, tables | Mantua | Abraham Conat | R. 113, St. 1658. | —
24 | Before 1480 |  | Maimonides, Moreh Nebukim | Rome (?) |  | R. 121, St. 1894 | A. Ch. F. G. L. O. Parma, S.
25 | 1482 | Jan. 26 | Pentateuch with Onkelos and Rashi | Bologna | Abraham dei Tintori | R. 22, St. 1; Geiger, Zt. v. 99; G. 792-802 | B. Berlin, F. N. Y. Pub., N. O. Parma
26 | 1482 |  | D. Kimhi, Later Prophets | Guadalajara | Solomon ibn Alkabiz | Geiger, Zt. v. 37; St. 869 | B. Breslau
27 | 1482 |  | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Eben ha-'Ezer | Guadalajara | Solomon ibn Alkabiz | St. 1190; Häbler, Icon. Iber | O.
28 | 1482-83 |  | Megillot with Rashi | Bologna | Abraham dei Tintori | R. 130, St. 158 | Parma,
29 | 1483 | Dec. 19 | Talmud Babli Berakot | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 28-34, St. 217, 244, H. B. i. 867 | B. F. O. Parma
30 | 1483 | Dec. 19 | Talmud Babli Bezah | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | St. 246 | B. F. O. Vatican
31 | 1484 | Jan. 14 | Ibn Gabirol, Mibhar ha-Peninim | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 35, St. 2319 | A. B. C. F. Fr. G. Munich, N. O. P. Parma, S.
32 | 1484 | Dec. 12 | Jedaiah Bedersi, Behinat 'Olam | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 28, St. 1284; Rabbinovicz, Ma'amar, 11 | A. B. C. Ch. F. Fr. G. L. Munich, N. O. P. S. bis
33 | 1484-85 |  | Abot with Maimonides | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 131, St. 228-9 | A. B. C. Ch F. Fr. O. P. Parma, S.
34 | 1485 (?) |  | Talmud Babli Megillah | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | St. 217; Proctor, No. 7296 | O.
35 | 1485 | Aug. | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Orah Hayyim | Hijar | Eliezer Alantansi | R. 39, St. 1186 | B. F. Parma, S.
36 | 1485 | Sept. | Mahzor, Roman rite, vol. i. | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 46, St. 393 | A. B. C. F. L. N. bis, O. P. S.
37 | 1485 | Oct. 15 | Former Prophets with Kimhi | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 40, St. 1, G. 803-7 | A. B. Ch. F. Fr. G. L. N. O. P. Parma, S. Strasburg, Stuttgart
38 | 1485 | Dec. 29 | Albo, 'Ikkarim | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 114, St. 1443 | A. B. Berlin, C. Ch. F. G. Ga. N. O. P. Parma, S.
39 | 1486 |  | Immanuel Romi, Proverbs | Naples | Hayyim ha-Levi Ashkenazi | R. 133-4, St. 1058 | A. B. Ch. F. G. O. Parma, S.
40 | 1486 |  | Later Prophets with Kimhi | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 131, St. 1-162 | B. Ch. bis, F. Fr. L. O. P. Parma, S.
41 | 1486 | April 7 | Tefillat Yahid | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | Roest, Bet ha-Sefer; H. B. xix. 18 | B. S.
41a | 1486 |  | Haggadah ED. PR. | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino |  | S. (bound up with 41)
42 | 1486 | Aug. 21 | Mahzor, Roman rite, vol. ii | Casal Maggiore | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 46, St. 393 | A. B. C. Ch. F. G. Ga. L. N. bis, O. P. Parma, S.
43 | 1486 | Sept. 8 | Hagiographa Variorum | Naples | Joseph Günzenhäuser | R. 52, St. 1, 162, 1058, G. 807-14 | A. B. F. O. S.
44 | 1487 | (1492) | Rashi, Pentateuch | Zamora | Samuel ben Musa, Immanuel | St. 2342 | B. Breslau, Parma
45 | 1487 |  | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Yorch De'ah | Hijar | Eliezer Alantansi | St. 1189 | B. F. Parma, S.
46 | 1487 | Mar. 28 | Psalms with Kimhi | Naples | Joseph Günzenhäuser | St. 2 | A. B. Bresiau, Ga. Munich Royal, O. Parma, S. Stuttgart
47 | 1487 | May 16 | Seder Tahanunim | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 51 | B. Breslau, O.
48 | 1487 | June 6 | Rashi, Pentateuch | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | St. 2342 | B. Breslau
49 | 1487 | June 30 | Faro Pentateuch | Faro, Portugal | Don Samuel Giacon | St. 163, 2781, G. 815-20 | B.
50 | 1488 |  | Bedersi, Bakashat ha-Memmin; Joseph Ezobi, Ka'arat Kesef, etc. | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | Wiener, Kohelet Mosheh, p. 1; R. E. J. xii. 119. | N. P.
51 | 1488, | Feb. 23 | Bible | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 57, St. 2, G. 820-31 | B. Carlsruhe, Frankfurt am Main, O.
52 | 1488 |  | M. Kimhi, Mahalak Shibbole ha-Da'at | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | Wiener, Kohelet Mosheh, p. 1 | P.
53 | 1488 | May 3 | Abraham ibn Ezra, Pentateuch | Naples | Joseph Günzenhäuser | R. 58, St. 680 | B. C. Ch. F. G. O. Parma
54 | 1488 | Aug. 8 | Makre Dardeke | " |  | St. 622 | B. Berlin, Ch. N. O. Parma
55 | 1488 | Dec. 19 | Moses de Coucy, Semag, 2d ed. | Soncino | Gershon ben Moses Soncino | R. 61, St. 1797 | A. B. Ch. F. Fr. N. O. P. Parma, S.
56 | 1489 |  | Talmud Babli Shabbat | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | Rabbinovicz Ma'amar, 13; St. 217 | F.
57 | 1489 |  | Talmud Babli Baba Kamma | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | " | F.
58 | 1489 | June 13 | Talmud Babli Hullin | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 64, St. 249 | Ch. Parma
59 | 1489 | July | Nahmanides, Pentateuch | Lisbon | Eliezer Toledano | R. 54, St. 1961 | A. B. Ch. F. G. N. O. P. Parma, S. bis
60 | 1489 | July 22 | Talmud Babli Niddah | Soncino | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 66, St. 264 | Ch. F. O. P. Parma, S.
61 | 1489 | Aug. | Kalonymus, Eben Bohan | Naples | Joseph Günzenhäuser, Yom-Tob b. Perez, Solomon b. Perez | R. 67, St. 1578 | A. B. Berlin, C. G. Ga. O. Parma, S.
62 | 1489 | Nov. 18 | Bahya ibn Pakuda, Hobot ha-Lebabot | Naples | Joseph Günzenhäuser, Yom-Tob b. Perez, Solomon b. Perez | R. 78, St. 780 | B. C. Ch. F. Fr. G. Ga. L. Munich, O. P.
63 | 1489 | Nov. 25 | Abudarham, Perush seder ha-tefilot | Lisbon | Eliezer Alantansi | R. 67, St. 856 | B. C. Ch. Frankfurt am Main, N. O. P. Parma, S.
64 | 1490 |  | Yaakov ben Asher, Turim | Soncino | Solomon b. Moses Soncino | R. i. 138, St. 1182 | A. B. Ch. F. Fr. G. N. O. P. Parma, S. bis
65 | 1490 |  | Pentateuch with Onkelos, etc. | Hjar | Solomon Salmati ben Maimon | R. 75, St. 2, G. 831-6 | B. N. O. Parma
66 | 1490 |  | Jeshua Levi, Halikot 'Olam | Lisbon |  | St. 1392 | B. N. O.
67 | 1490 |  | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Orah Hayyim | Lisbon | Eliezer Toledano | Proctor, No. 9837 | B.
68 | 1490 |  | Pentateuch with Megillot, etc. | Hijar | Eliezer Alantansi | R. 73-5, St. 156 | A. B. O.
69 | 1490 |  | Kol Bo | Naples |  | Proctor, No. 7437 | A. B. Berlin, Ch. F. G. Ga. O. P. S.
70 | 1490 | Jan. 23 | Nahmanides, Sha'ar ha-Gemul | Naples | Joseph Günzenhäuser | R. 69, St. 1962 | B. Berlin, Munich Royal, O. Parma, S.
71 | 1490 | Mar. 23 | Maimonides, Mishneh Torah | Soncino | Gershon ben Moses Soncino | R. 70, St. 1870; Zedner,[3] 582 | A. B. C. Ch. F. Fr. G. Ga. P. Parma, S.
72 | 1490 | July 2 | Nahmanides, Pentateuch | Naples | Isaac ben Judah ibn Katorzi | R. 71, St. 1961; Proctor, No. 6741 | B. C. Ch. F. Fr. O. P. Parma, S.
73 | 1490 | Aug. | Kimhi, Shorashim | Naples | Joseph Günzenbäuser | R. 78, St. 873; Proctor, No. 6734 | A. B. Berlin, G. N. O. P. Parma, S.
74 | 1490 | Dec. 12 | Psalms, Proverbs, Job | Naples | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 79, St. 2 | F. Parma
75 | 1490-91 |  | Isaac ibn Sahula, Mashal ha-Kadmoni | Soncino | Gershon ben Moses Soncino | St. 1151 | B. S.
76 | 1491 |  | Bible | Naples | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 139, St. 155, G. 847-55 | B. Fr.
77 | 1491 |  | Pentateuch with accents | Naples | " | R. 83, St. 3 | F. N. Parma, Stuttgart
78 | 1491 | Feb. 11 | Kimhi, Shorashim | Naples | Isaac ben Judah ibn Katorzi | R. 80, St. 873; Proctor, No. 6742; Zedner,[3] 200 | A. B. C. Ch. F. G. O. Parma, S.
79 | 1491 | July | Pentateuch with Onkelos, etc. | Lisbon | Eliezer Toledano | R. 91-4, St. 2, G. 836-47 | A. B. Berlin, F. Ga. N. O. P. Parma
80 | 1491 | Oct. 30 | Immanuel Romi, Mahberot | Brescia | Gershon Soncino | R. 84, St. 1057 | A. B. C. Ch. F. G. Ga. L. N. Y. Pub. N. O. P. Parma, S.
81 | 1491 | Nov. 9 | Avicenna, Canon | Naples | Azriel Günzenhäuser | R. 86, St. 767 | Amst. B. C. F. G. Ga. L. N. O. P. Parma, S. Stras.
82 | 1492 |  | Proverbs with David ben Yahya | Lisbon |  | R. 143, St. 162 | A. F. Fr. G. Parma,
83 | 1492 |  | Isaiah and Jeremiah with Kimhi | Lisbon | Eliezer Toledano | R. 94, St. 3, G. 855-9 | B. O. Parma, S.
84 | 1492 | Jan. 23 | Pentateuch with Megillot, etc. | Brescia | Gershon Soncino | R. 88, St. 3, G. 865-71 | B. O. Parma,
85 | 1492 | Feb. 28 | Petah Debarai | Naples |  | R. 89, St. 634 | Parma, Vatican
86 | 1492 | May 8 | Mishnah with Maimonides | Naples | Joshua Solomon Soncino | R. 90, St. 280 | B. Ch. F. Fr. L. N. O. P. S.
87 | 1492 | July | Bahya ben Asher, Pentateuch | Naples | Azriel Günzenhäuser | St. 777 | Amst. B. Ga. P. S.
88 | 1492 | July 25 | Proverbs with Targum | Leiria | Abraham d'Ortas | R. 94, 174, St. 3, G. 859-65 | B. O. P. Parma
89 | 1487-92 |  | J. Landan, Agur | Naples |  | R. 148, St. 1225 | A. B. F. Fr. Ga. O. P. Parma, S.
90 | 1493 |  | Talmud Babli Bezah | Soncino | Gershon Soncino |  | B.
91 | 1493 | Nov. 24 | Pentateuch | Brescia | Gershon Soncino | St. 3 | B. O.
92 | 1493 | Dec. 16 | Psalms | Brescia | Gershon Soncino | R. 98, St. 3 | Florence
93 | 1494 |  | Former Prophets | Leiria | Abraham d'Ortas | R. 104, St. 4 | N. O. P. Parma
94 | 1494 | May | Bible (?) with accents | Brescia | Gershon Soncino | R. 99-101, St. 3, G. 71 et seq., 871-80 | B. Berlin, F. Munich, O. Parma, S.
| 1494  |  | Arba'ah Turim, Yaakov ben Asher  | Constantinople  | Nachmias Family  |  |
95 | 1495 |  | Mahzor, Roman rite, 2d ed. | Soncino (Brescia?) | Solomon ben Moses Soncino | R. 149, St. 394 | B. F. N. O. S.
96 | 1495 |  | Tefillot, German rite | Soncino (Brescia?) | Solomon ben Moses Soncino | St. 358 | O.
97 | 1495 |  | Selihot, German rite | Soncino (Brescia?) | Solomon ben Moses Soncino | St. 430 | B. F.
98 | 1495 | June 2 | Yaakov ben Asher, Tur Orah Hayyim | Leiria | Abraham d'Ortas |  | F.
99 | 1490-95 |  | Pentateuch with Megillot | Hijar | Eliezer Alantansi | R. 143, St. 156 | N. O. Parma
100 | 1497 | Sept. 15 | Selihot | Barco | Gershon Soncino | St. 430 | B. F. Fr. Parma
101 | 1497 | Nov. 16 | Talmud Babli Sanhedrin | Barco | Gershon Soncino | St. 273 (Add. lxxvii.) | B.

## Printers

[edit]

As to the personal history of the printers enumerated in the list above very few details are known.

Abraham Conat was a physician whose wife Estellina Conat also was interested in printing; she produced the first edition of the "Beḥinat 'Olam." Garton, Cusi, and Giacon appear to have produced their works as a labor of love rather than for profit.

Abraham dei Tintori, the Soncinos, and the Gunzenhausers, on the other hand, seem to have regarded their craft as a means of livelihood.

The Soncinos, indeed, printed books in other characters than Hebrew (see Soncino family), as did also Abraham d'Ortas. There does not appear to have been much competition, though it is remarkable how invariably the choice of publishers fell within a limited class of works. In one case, however, two printers of the same city opposed each other with an edition of the same work. In August 1490, Joseph Gunzenhauser produced at Naples an edition of Ḳimḥi's "Shorashim"; on 11 February 1491, the same work was produced, as Zedner[3] states, by Isaac b. Judah b. David Katorzi, who, according to Proctor, was also the printer of the Naples Naḥmanides of 1490. It would seem also that the two Pentateuchs of Hijar, 1490, were produced by rival printers.

## Typographical details

[edit]

Detail view into a book from the Soncino press

All forms of Hebrew type were used in this period, the square, the Rashi or rabbinic (in which the first dated work was entirely printed), and the so-called "Weiberteutsch" (in which the later Yiddish works were printed); a primitive form of this last had already been used in the Psalms of 1477. Different sizes of type were used as early as the Arba'ah Turim of Piove di Sacco, which uses no less than three. The actual fonts have not yet been determined, and until this is done no adequate scientific treatment of the subject is possible. A beginning, however, has been made by Proctor. Generally speaking, a more rounded form was used in Spain and Portugal (perhaps under the influence of Arabic script) than in the Italian presses, whose types were somewhat Gothic in style. It has been conjectured that the Spanish printers used logotypes in addition to the single letters.

The Soncinos and Alantansis used initials, in other presses vacant spaces were left for them to be inserted by hand. Vowel-points were only used for Scripture or for prayer-books, and accents seem to have been inserted for the first time in the Bologna Pentateuch of 1482 (Pentateuch with Onkelos and Rashi printed by Abraham dei Tintori).

Special title-pages were rare; colophons were usually short. Borders were used by the Soncinos, as well as by Toledano at Lisbon and D'Ortas in the Ṭur of 1495 (see Borders; Colophon; Title-Page). Illustrations were only used in one book, Isaac ibn Sahula's Mashal ha-Kadmoni (1491). Printers' marks appear to have been used only in Spain and Portugal, each of the works produced in Hijar having a different mark. Of the number of copies printed for an edition the only detail known is that relating to the Psalms with Ḳimḥi in 1477, of which three hundred were printed. If this number applies to many of the incunabula, it is not surprising that they are extremely rare at the present day. Twenty of them exist only in a single copy; most of the rest are imperfect through misuse or have been disfigured by censors.

## Location of the books

[edit]

A majority of the examples exist or existed in seven public libraries (British Museum, London; Columbia University, New York; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; Bodleian, Oxford; Frankfurt (Freimann Collection); Biblioteca Palatina, Parma; Asiatic Museum, St. Petersburg) and were part of seven or eight private collections (E. N. Adler, London; Dr. Chwolson, St. Petersburg; Dr. M. Gaster, London; Baron Günzburg, St. Petersburg; H. B. Levy, Hamburg, now Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg; Mayer Sulzberger, Philadelphia). The numbers included in each of these collections are given in the following lists. The remaining locations are mentioned in the table only in sporadic instances, and do not profess to exhaust the incunabula contained in such collections as those of Amsterdam, Berlin, Breslau, Carlsruhe, Munich, etc. Dr. N. Porges of Leipzig and Dr. Simonsen of Copenhagen are also understood to have collections. see table

But few details are known as to the actual prices paid for some of these works. It would appear that Reuchlin paid three Rhine gulden for the Naples Naḥmanides of 1490 and the Former Prophets with Ḳimḥi (Soncino, 1485), and twice as much for the Soncino Bible of 1488. A note at the end of De Rossi's copy of the Guadalajara Ḳimḥi of 1482 states that three carline were paid for it in 1496 by the owner of that date.

## Choice of books

[edit]

The subject-matter of the works selected for the honors of print was on the whole what might have been anticipated. First came the Bible text, either a part:

* Psalms, unpointed, Italy, before 1480
* Megillot with Rashi, Bologna 1482-83
* Faro Pentateuch Faro, Portugal 1487
* Pentateuch with Megillot, etc. Hijar 1490
* Psalms, Proverbs, Job Naples 1490
* Pentateuch with accents, Naples 1491
* Pentateuch with Megillot, etc. Brescia 1492
* Psalms, Brescia 1493
* Former Prophets, Leiria 1494

or the whole:

* Bible, Soncino 1488
* Bible, Naples 1491
* Bible with accents, Brescia 1494

A large number of Bible commentaries was printed, including those of Abraham ibn Ezra (Pentateuch, Naples 1488), Baḥya ben Asher (Pentateuch, Naples 1492), David Ḳimḥi (6, 22, 37, 40, 46, 83), David ibn Yaḥya (82), Immanuel of Rome (39), Levi b. Gershon (4, 11, 16), Naḥmanides (14, 59, 72), and Rashi (1, 12, 25, 28, 44, 48): some of the works contained a combination of commentaries (43, 65, 79, 88). Then came the Mishnah (86) and parts of the Talmud (29, 30, 56, 57, 58, 60, 90). As further aids to these were grammars (54, 85), Ḳimḥi's Bible lexicon (21, 73, 78), and the Talmud lexicon of Nathan b. Jehiel (13). Next in popularity to Bible and Talmud came the halakic works, especially the codes of Yaakov ben Asher (2, 3, 5, 27, 35, 45, 64, 67, 98)—the most popular single work—Maimonides (18, 71), and Moses de Coucy (15, 55), together with the "Agur" (89) and Kol Bo (69). To these may be added the solitary volume of responsa, that of Solomon ben Adret (17).

After law came prayers, of which a considerable number were printed (36, 41, 42, 47, 63, 95, 96, 97, 100); and to these may be added the tables of day durations (23)and Naḥmanides' "Sha'ar ha-Gemul" (70). Ethical works were moderately frequent (10, 31, 32, 53, 60, 61, 62, 66), which only two philosophical works received permanent form in print, Maimonides' "Moreh" (24), and Albo's "'Iḳḳarim" (38). Very few belletristic works appeared (75, 80); history is represented by Eldad ha-Dani (7) and the "Yosippon" (8); and science by Avicenna (81), in the most bulky Hebrew book printed in the fifteenth century. It is characteristic that the only book known to be printed during its author's lifetime was the "Nofet Ẓufim" of Judah b. Jehiel (9), one of the few Hebrew works showing the influence of the Renaissance. It is doubtful whether Landau's "Agur" was issued during the author's life-time, though it may have been printed with the aid of his son Abraham, who was a compositor in Naples at the time. Very few works went into a second edition, Maḥzor Romi (36, 42, 95) and the tractate Beẓah (30, 90) being the chief exceptions. The reprinting of Beẓah seems to show that this treatise was the one selected then, as it is now, for initial instruction in the Talmud.

As regards the second class of incunabula of Jewish interest—such as were printed in other languages than Hebrew—these have never before been treated, and only a few specimens can be here referred to. They deal with topics of controversial interest, as the "Contra Perfidos Judeos" of Peter Schwarz (Eslingen, 1475), his "Stella Meschiah" (ib. 1477), and the well-known "Epistle" of Samuel of Morocco (Cologne, 1493). Two earlier tractates deal with the legend of Simon of Trent (Hain, Nos. 7,733, 15,658), while there exists in Munich an illustrated broadside relating to the blood accusation at Passau, printed as early as 1470. Folz's "Die Rechnung Kolpergers von dem Gesuch die Juden" (Nuremberg, 1491; Hain, No. 7,210) may also be referred to. Chief among the incunabula of this kind, however, are those of Latin translations of the medieval Jewish scientists and philosophers, as that of Abraham ibn Ezra, "De Nativitatibus" (1485, Venice), of Bonet de Latis, Astronomy (1493, Rome), of Maimonides, Aphorisms (Bologna; Hain, No. 10,524), and of Israeli, "De Particularibus Diæctis" (Padua, 1487). One of the most interesting of Latin incunabula is the version of Abraham Zacuto's tables (Almanach perpetuum Celestium Motuum – a set of astronomical tables providing information to perform various types of astronomical calculations) published in Leiria by Abraham d'Ortas (1496).

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Adler, Elkan Nathan (1923), Talmud Printing Before Bomberg,” pp. 81-84 in, Festskrift I Anledning af Professor David Simonsens 70-aarige Fødelsdag, Copenhagen
* Ohly, Kurt; Sack, Vera (1967). Inkunabelkatalog der Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek und anderer öffentlicher Sammlungen in Frankfurt am Main (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Berliner, Abraham (1898). Aus meiner Bibliothek: Beiträge zur hebräischen Bibliographie u. Typographie (in German). Frankfurt am Main: J. Kauffmann. p. 58.
2. ^ Ohly, Kurt; Sack, Vera (1967). Inkunabelkatalog der Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek und anderer öffentlicher Sammlungen in Frankfurt am Main (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann.
3. ^ a b c Zedner, Joseph (1867). Catalogue of the Hebrew books in the library of the British Museum. London: British Museum.

### Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography

[edit]

* De Rossi, Annales Hebræo-Typographici, section xv., Parma, 1795;
* Cassel and Steinschneider, Jüdische Typographie, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., part 28, pp. 33–37;
* M. Schwab, Les Incunables Orientaux, Paris, 1883;
* Chwolson, Reshit Ma'ase ha-Defut be-Yisrael, Warsaw, 1897;
* Berliner, Ueber den Einfluss, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1897;
* Simonsen, Hebraisk Bogtryk, Copenhagen, 1901;
* Proctor, Index of Printed Books in the British Museum, 1901;
* Freimann, Ueber Hebräische Inkunabeln, in Central-blatt für Bibliothekswesen, 1902, vol. xix. (printed separately, Leipsic);
* Leone Luzzatto, in Vesillo, 1900, pp. 296 et seq.G. J.

## External links

[edit]

* Rosenfeld, Jeannie (17 December 2004). "From the Dawn of Printing: Why Rare Hebrew Manuscripts Are Commanding Exorbitant Fees". The Forward. Archived from the original on 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
* Online chapter from Yardeni, Ada., The Book of Hebrew Script: History, Paleography, Script Styles, Calligraphy and Design, New Castle, DE:Oak Knoll Press 2002

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Richard Gottheil and Joseph Jacobs (1901–1906). "Incunabula". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.