Cardozo Isaac N.ABAA
1 479 résultats
1827305824Charleston: James S. Burges 1827. First and only edition. 18 2 blank pp. 12mo. Modern pale yellow wrappers. Custom chemise and quarter morocco slipcase. Some pale foxing to title otherwise clean. First and only edition. 18 2 blank pp. 12mo. Rarity of American Judaica. A rare pamphlet issued by the first Jewish Reform movement in the United States the Sephardic Reformed Society of Israelites in Charleston South Carolina recording an address by one of the movement's leaders. The Reformed Society of Israelites formed in 1824 when it split off from the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim KKBE synagogue in Charleston seeking to implement a number of reforms it deemed crucial to engaging the rising generation. In the process the Society posited a distinctly American form of practice. <br/>Led by Isaac Harby Abraham Moise and David Nunes Carvalho the Reformed Society of Israelites reflected the fact that as Jonathan Sarna has phrased it: "Jews who did not feel at home in synagogue no longer had to compromise their principles for the sake of consensus; they felt free to withdraw and start their own congregations. In free and democratic America congregational autonomy became the rule resulting in a new American Judaism - a Judaism of diversity and pluralism."<br/><br/><br/>The present address was delivered on the third anniversary of the Society by Isaac Cardozo 1786-1855 who served as the group's Vice-President from 1828-1832. Cardozo invokes a "spirit of reform in all existing institutions which is abroad" and reminds the group of its origin as "a society that was instituted mainly for effecting the observance of order and decorum in Hebrew worship: for adapting it to the feelings and propensities of the enlightened Israelite of the present day; and for endeavoring to bring about by argument and petition what neither necessity nor persuasion could before accomplish" before he goes on to defend the mission against various critiques. <br/> <br/>Apart from being a leader within Charleston's Sephardic Jewish community Cardozo was also the patriarch of an important southern African-American family. He had six children with his common-law wife Lydia Weston a free black woman from a prominent Charleston family--one of a number of openly mixed-race households in antebellum Charleston. One of their sons was Francis Cardozo 1836-1903 who became the first African-American to hold statewide office in the United States serving as Secretary of State in South Carolina from 1868 to 1872. Another son Thomas served as State Superintendent of Education from 1873 to 1876. <br/><br/>RARE: OCLC reports only two institutional copies and A.S.W. Rosenbach in his American Jewish Bibliography located only one copy in a private collection. Rosenbach 289 locating one copy in a private collection; OCLC USC Presbyterian College; American Imprints 28385; Singerman 0442 James S. Burges unknown books
1827305824Charleston SC: James S. Burges 1827. First and only edition. 18 2 blank pp. 1 vols. 12mo. Modern pale yellow wrappers. Custom chemise and quarter morocco slipcase. Some pale foxing to title otherwise clean. First and only edition. 18 2 blank pp. 1 vols. 12mo. A rare pamphlet issued by the first Jewish Reform movement in the United States the Sephardic Reformed Society of Israelites in Charleston South Carolina recording an address by one of the movement's leaders. The Reformed Society of Israelites formed in 1824 when it split off from the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim KKBE synagogue in Charleston seeking to implement a number of reforms it deemed crucial to engaging the rising generation. In the process the Society posited a distinctly American form of practice. <br /> Led by Isaac Harby Abraham Moise and David Nunes Carvalho the Reformed Society of Israelites reflected the fact that as Jonathan Sarna has phrased it: "Jews who did not feel at home in synagogue no longer had to compromise their principles for the sake of consensus; they felt free to withdraw and start their own congregations. In free and democratic America congregational autonomy became the rule resulting in a new American Judaism - a Judaism of diversity and pluralism."<br /> <br /> The present address was delivered on the third anniversary of the Society by Isaac Cardozo 1786-1855 who served as the group's Vice-President from 1828-1832. Cardozo invokes a "spirit of reform in all existing institutions which is abroad" and reminds the group of its origin as "a society that was instituted mainly for effecting the observance of order and decorum in Hebrew worship: for adapting it to the feelings and propensities of the enlightened Israelite of the present day; and for endeavoring to bring about by argument and petition what neither necessity nor persuasion could before accomplish" before he goes on to defend the mission against various critiques. <br /> <br /> Apart from being a leader within Charleston's Sephardic Jewish community Cardozo was also the patriarch of an important southern African-American family. He had six children with his common-law wife Lydia Weston a free black woman from a prominent Charleston family--one of a number of openly mixed-race households in antebellum Charleston. One of their sons was Francis Cardozo 1836-1903 who became the first African-American to hold statewide office in the United States serving as Secretary of State in South Carolina from 1868 to 1872. Another son Thomas served as State Superintendent of Education from 1873 to 1876. <br /> <br /> RARE: OCLC reports only four institutional copies and A.S.W. Rosenbach in his American Jewish Bibliography located only one copy in a private collection. Rosenbach 289 locating one copy in a private collection; OCLC Princeton Am. Jewish Hist. Soc. USC Presbyterian College; American Imprints 28385; Singerman 0442 James S. Burges unknown
1827WRCAM55911Various locations mostly Valparaiso Chile; Callao and Lima 1827. Forty-six autograph letters signed or manuscript letters signed totaling 103pp. some with integral address leaf. All docketed at the top right edge of the verso of the last leaf likely by William Tudor himself. Original mailing folds light toning occasional short tears from opened wax seals. Overall very good. In a cloth chemise and half morocco and cloth folding case spine gilt. An important historical archive of letters received by William Tudor almost all while he was serving as United States Consul to Peru in Lima. The letters from a breadth of correspondents reveal the range of political cultural military and legal issues faced by an American diplomat serving in a South America during a politically volatile period and are especially interesting for detailing American diplomatic actions in South America in the years just after the issuance of the Monroe Doctrine. The letters are particularly notable for demonstrating the views and actions of the United States during the Peruvian independence struggle and showing the extent of the cooperation between the U.S. and Great Britain less than a decade after the conclusion of the War of 1812. They also paint a picture of the revolutionary actions of Simón BolÃÂvar in Peru the tight grip on the port of Callao by Spanish stalwart José Ramón Rodil and the interplay of American British Spanish Chilean and Peruvian officials in the region. <br> <br> William Tudor 1779-1830 was a leading citizen of Boston and the son of the first judge advocate of the Continental Army. Tudor was a founder and first editor of the NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW and helped found the Boston Athenaeum. He was the first Boston citizen to refer to the city as "The Athens of America" in an 1819 letter. Tudor was the U.S. Consul to Peru from 1824 to 1827 and Chargé d'Affaires at Rio de Janeiro from 1827 until his death there in 1830. <br> <br> The most prominent correspondent in this archive is Commodore Isaac Hull 1773-1843 represented by twelve letters to William Tudor. The Hull letters are a mixture of seven autograph letters signed from Hull and five manuscript letters in a secretarial hand but signed by the Commodore. Hull's letters report on the naval blockade of Peru American movements around South America and the struggles of Simón BolÃÂvar's South American independence movement and also touch on the ultimate defeat of the Spanish in Peru. At the time these letters were written Hull was commander of the United States Pacific Squadron and the letters emanate from Hull's flagship the USS United States positioned in Callao Bay as part of a joint American-British blockade. Hull had a long and distinguished career in the United States Navy beginning during the Quasi War with France battling Barbary pirates and commanding the USS Constitution during the War of 1812. He went on to serve as commandant of the Washington Navy Yard and as commander of the Mediterranean Squadron. Letters by Hull are scarce on the market especially in the quantity quality and intimacy of content seen here. <br> <br> In his first letter on May 28 1824 Hull writes about meeting British naval figure Martin Guise who was at this time serving with the Chilean Navy during the Peruvian War of Independence from Spain. Hull mentions the current blockade in his first two letters writing in the first: "I fear that they will not go all length with me in the blockade; they appear disposed to allow something like a coast blockade." His second letter of June 8 includes more details on the efforts during the blockade namely that Guise is "doing what he has the authority to do from Bolivar" and Captain Prescott "has in great measure made up his mind to submit to the blockade of Guise even in its present form." <br> <br> Hull's communications increase beginning in August and he writes to Tudor on August 21 that he must refuse his request to land U.S. Marines in Lima for the protection of American officials but agrees to send a "sea officer with arms" and as many seamen as necessary "for the protection of American Citizens only" but that they "must be kept within their houses or yards." <br> <br> In his next few letters Hull reports on the ships Dolphin and Peacock being routed to Valparaiso to provide strategic defense to American shipping vessels in the region and asks for more information and communications from Tudor regarding the ships Carington and Nancy condemned by Spanish General José Ramón Rodil. In a September 11 letter Hull states that Rodil intends to sell the two ships and that "it may be necessary for me to take measures that will not please his excellency as I consider his conduct is and has been for some time hostile towards us and cannot much longer be submitted to." Hull also invites Tudor to his ship to "spend the day with your friends Capt. and Mrs. Maling" who were onboard Hull's ship the previous night. Hull and Thomas James Maling were fellow commanders of the American and British forces respectively during this period around Peru. Maling commanded the British ship the Cambridge which is referenced in some of the letters here. José Ramón Rodil was commander of the port of Callao for the Spanish government and one of the last remaining Spanish officials to surrender to BolÃÂvar; he stubbornly refused to officially cede control of Callao until 1826 when he finally gave up and returned to Spain. <br> <br> On October 15 Hull writes to Tudor about the attitudes of the Spanish government "towards our commerce." Hull fears that should the Spanish invoke "the laws of the Indies" against American officials in Peru then Hull and Tudor "shall be in a bad way." The Laws of the Indies were a series of Spanish laws dealing with the relationship between Spain and her colonies in America; Hull is perhaps worried here that if the Spanish government invokes these laws as a sovereign nation then the activities of the American government in South America would stand in violation of that sovereignty. <br> <br> Hull's troubles with Rodil continue in November when he informs Tudor that "the crew of the China had complained to Captain Maling of the bad treatment they had received from General Rodil stating that they were compelled to work and that some of them had been severely punished." Hull writes that he plans to demand the release of these sailors and the ship and if Rodil does not acquiesce he would "resort to reprisal and let the consequence be what it may." <br> <br> In Hull's next letter the true nature of the extreme treatment suffered by some Americans under Rodil is described. Hull writes a lengthy and passionate letter decrying the "injustice and cruelty of all the proceedings" which took place during the Spanish seizure of the China. Hull can no longer "remain inactive or insensible to the repeated wrongs of my countrymen." He then relates how some seamen were threatened with swords muskets or gallows. Hull thinks that "my government will justify me in any measures which I shall be compelled to take to obtain redress for the insults and wrongs which my countrymen have received and to prevent a repetition of them" After all claims Hull "there is not an American in this country knowing all things which have taken place who would not be willing to sacrifice every feeling of interest to have their rights respected." <br> <br> Hull's last two letters come after the decisive battle at Ayacucho in early December 1824 which effectively ended the Peruvian War of Independence in favor of BolÃÂvar's forces. On December 18 Hull transmits his original correspondence with Rodil to Tudor presumably so that Tudor can consolidate communications between American and Spanish officials now that Peru has won the war. Hull's final letter touches on duties owed by American vessels at Ancon; Hull recuses himself from the issue in favor of Tudor as such issues "should more properly come before you as consul or the merchants to whom he consigned and I consider any interference on my part would be improper and that it is a case entirely distinct from my duties." After all as a naval commander Hull is not responsible for imposing import and export duties related to commerce in newly-independent ports. Hull closes by writing that the news of Peruvian independence will be "such glorious news to the United States. It will be received with sincere pleasure by our government and every lover of freedom and humanity." <br> <br> Also present here are seven letters from the aforementioned Thomas James Maling plus one from his wife Harriet to William Tudor all of which were written between August and December 1824. Captain Thomas Maling was the scion of the Maling pottery family in England. He was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1791 rising to vice admiral in 1830. During his time in Peru Maling was captain in charge of the HMS Cambridge which was stationed in Callao for most of Maling's time there. He married Harriet Darwin daughter of Erasmus Darwin and niece to Charles who accompanied him to South America. Sadly Harriet would die in 1825 in Valparaiso Chile. The Malings were very friendly with William Tudor as evidenced in the present correspondence which includes a friendly partial note from Harriet to Tudor in which she chides Tudor for not visiting their ship and offers to share with him "a good private and confidential letter". <br> <br> In his first letter dated August 18 Captain Maling agrees to take aboard his ship one of Tudor's friends and hopes "you are all made safe & happy by the party I have sent to guard you all at Lima." In his second letter on August 24 Maling mentions that "Guise is sending another Blockading Squadron" but that this will be "of insufficient force to stop the trade of Europe and North America." Maling hopes "your Commodore" meaning Hull agrees with him; blockades were prevalent during this time around Peru and Chile as the various revolutions led by and inspired by Simón BolÃÂvar took root. <br> <br> Maling's letter of September 4 concentrates on battle news in Peru reading in part: "Kelly who I believe you know of returned from the Liberator's Army and I believe brings us good news but he is still with Guise.There has been no second battle but Cantera's army dispersed after the 6th leaving him with only 2000 men with which he is hastening back to Cusco. It is supposed for the purpose of raising the Indians in favor of the Young Inca they have been keeping in reserve. The Commodore Hull has thought this information & what else Kelly may bring of sufficient importance to detain the Dolphin another day." <br> <br> Three days later Maling writes Tudor about a recent naval issue that prompted him to write to the commanding officer of the ship "to tell him he will be made responsible in future for the conduct or his officers & men and I hope we shall hear of no other instance of such impropriety but it is by no means thought here to be ours." This is followed by a mention of the ship China. Maling invites Tudor to his ship for a visit and tells him he may have the "opportunity of seeing a naval fight." This letter is likely concerned with the aforementioned troubles with the China in which American and British sailors were mistreated by Spanish authorities. <br> <br> Maling's October 15 letter is especially interesting as he mentions yet another blockade-related event: "There is an embargo on all vessels at Quilea & no communication permitted with the shore a pretty conclusive hint where our friends will go to when they sail from hence if Guise who is again sailing close in ever suffers them to depart in peace." <br> <br> Maling's last two letters date from December 1824 after BolÃÂvar's victory in Peru. In his December 8 communication he reports that "England has acknowledged the independence of those parts of America which actually form free states." The implication here is clear in that England is ready to recognize democratic regimes and nothing less. In his final letter Maling writes about the slowness in receiving news from the Peruvian government on naval matters though he allows for the "intoxication of success" felt by those in Peru who had just won their independence from Spain. Maling wishes them "so well to their cause that I shall not quarrel with them." <br> <br> Maling's penultimate letter alludes to the recent death of British Consul General Thomas Edward Rowcroft. The present archive includes two letters to Tudor from Rowcroft who was essentially Tudor's British counterpart in Peru. In his first letter dated June 19 1824 Rowcroft writes to Tudor about the "dispositions of the Viceroy on the appointment of Consuls in this Country" and on the importance of maintaining "mutual confidential communications" between himself and Tudor. Towards the end of 1824 on December 2 Rowcroft writes again to Tudor this time to ask about two English Navy vessels allegedly captured by a ship flying "Spanish Colours" and then recaptured by Tudor's brother-in-law Commodore Stewart. This last letter would have been among Rowcroft's final communications as he was gunned down a few days later while traveling back from Lima after delivering letters to Thomas Maling. Rowcroft supposedly held a pass that should have taken him safely through both the loyalist-held sections and the Bolivar-held areas of the city. As he presented his pass to authorities loyal to Bolivar at a checkpoint his coach was met with a hail of bullets as it rolled away. Rowcroft was shot in the hand and the torso and died on December 7; his death is now considered an unfortunate accident perhaps precipitated by a "death sentence" purposely written on his pass by loyalist officials hoping to get Rowcroft in trouble. If this was indeed their plan it worked. <br> <br> Other letters to Tudor here include a February 20 1824 note from John Dorr to Tudor in which Dorr discusses his ship Esther which was seized by the revolutionary government in Callao Peru. Dorr indicates that General BolÃÂvar is willing to "do what is possible to recover that valuable Ship & freight or ample indemnity." On April 18 1824 French Dr. A.V. Brandin writes to Tudor from Lima informing him of a shipment of quinine for Commodore Hull and his wife aboard the USS Franklin. Brandin allegedly founded the first medical journal in Peru and was apparently the first doctor to introduce quinine to South America. <br> <br> In other letters in this archive American ship captain Samuel C. Erwin writes to Tudor on April 22 1824 with regard to the seizure of a "case of Linnens" by the new Peruvian government along with a request to write directly to the governor in Lima for relief and for a "Certificate of American Property for my whole cargo which I have repeatedly applied for without being able to get it." American merchant seaman Thomas R. Gerry son of Elbridge Gerry writes to Tudor from Quilca Peru on August 18 1824 reporting on various business matters and providing a blistering description of Quilca which he sums up as a "miserable hole." Gerry also reports on two American prisoners of war taken by the Chilean government one of whom he currently has on his ship the Tartar while the other is still held at Arica. <br> <br> The present collection also includes a handful of letters from Michael Hogan U.S. Consul and Navy Agent at Valparaiso Chile from 1823 until his death in 1833. Hogan's first communication to Tudor is dated the day after Tudor took over as consul in Peru; Hogan is "anxious" but "hopes for the best" for Tudor in his new position. In June 1824 Hogan sends a short report to Tudor on political maneuverings in Valparaiso where General Pinto was to be appointed "supremo." One of his letters from July 28 1824 reports on political struggles within Chile where a Constitution had just been "amicably" voted down the Senate dissolved General Wager appointed director and General Pinto as prime minister until a new Congress was convened in three months. Another letter from Hogan dated August 9 1824 includes information on the Chilean government's efforts to sell church property "for the publick good." This was a standard practice in the post-colonial governments in South America who often converted church artifacts of silver and gold into new coinage. In this same letter Hogan reports that Chilean officials will soon forbid the importation of flour in favor of the "great landholders" in Chile who plan to produce their own "breadstuffs." <br> <br> Other communications to Tudor involve letters of introduction for new merchant ship captains an appeal by William Wetmore regarding shipping declarations made to General Rodil in Callao two short letters from U.S. consul to Peru James Prevost in Callao regarding permissions from the new Peruvian government Prevost would die in Lima on March 5 1825 and a handful of letters in Spanish from local officials one of which dated Feb. 12 1826 mentions mining in Lima "metales de plata" and "metales ricos un espia". <br> <br> There are also two letters written to Tudor before his time in Peru. One dated July 7 1822 from Thomas Dawes in Boston relates to a pamphlet Tudor wrote on Thomas Paine. The other is an October 30 1822 "Declaration and Protest" from a U.S. schooner called the Dolphin claiming unlawful seizure and false imprisonment by Peruvian officials in Callao; this document was perhaps inherited by Tudor when he arrived in Lima. There is even an intriguing partial manuscript which seems to be part of a confidential report on English government and their public attitudes towards the United States mentioning a debate in the House of Commons regarding "peace or war with America." <br> <br> In total these to William letters shine a rare spotlight on the American intervention in Peru and on the international political and economic machinations in South America during the 1820s. The archive provides a stark picture of American enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine which President Monroe had just elucidated in his State of the Union Address on December 2 1823. Spanish actions in Peru in the 1820s were seen as a violation of this new foreign policy stance by the United States particularly the tenet covering European colonial involvement in the Western Hemisphere. Of course the Monroe Doctrine also served American economic interests in South America which certainly motivated events such as the American blockade of Callao and the dispersal of the Dolphin and the Peacock to other South American ports. <br> <br> An outstanding collection of American diplomatic correspondence from an important moment in South American history. hardcover books
18481803065Daniel Adee 1848. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Near fine TRUE first American edition 1st issue as stated on the title page. Some water stains on page edges. Previous owner's bookplate on front pastedown. Rubbing on outside spine and corners and at bottom of spine. Tape at endpapers and pastedowns along gutters. Housed in custom-made slip case. Daniel Adee hardcover books
18481803065Daniel Adee 1848. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Near fine TRUE first American edition 1st issue as stated on the title page. Some water stains on page edges. Previous owner's bookplate on front pastedown. Rubbing on outside spine and corners and at bottom of spine. Tape at endpapers and pastedowns along gutters. Housed in custom-made slip case. Daniel Adee hardcover
184549020Philadelphia: C. Sherman 5605 1845-46. First edition of the "first English translation of the Pentateuch in America" the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in contemporary polished calf gilt titles and tooling to the spine rebacked. Lightly rubbed moderate wear. A very nice example of a scarce and important work. Previous editions published by Jews in England had simply utilized the King James translation. The translator was Isaac Leeser 1806-1868 who worked without assistance. In his preface he apologizes for any errors: "How can it be expected that I should escape when I have no Jewish compositors and have necessarily to be often away when the work goes to press" Despite these obstacles Leeser doubted that "the precious word of God ever appeared among us in a more beautiful form than the volumes in which I am now engaged." Leeser avoided reliance on earlier English translations though he made some use of German translations and noted that "the arrangement is strictly Jewish. My intention was to furnish a book for the service of the Synagogue both German and Portuguese." Leeser's "contributions to every area of Jewish culture and religion made him a major builder of American Judaism." The publication of his Pentateuch was the first time that any portion of the Bible was published in America under Jewish auspices. "The translation of the Bible was Leeser's great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred. He made good use of the various German translations by Jews of the collective commentary known as the Biur and of other Jewish exegetic works. As a result his translation though based in style upon the King James version can be considered an independent work for the changes he produced are numerous and great. until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition" Waxman 1090. C. Sherman, 5605 unknown books
184549020Philadelphia: C. Sherman 5605 1845-46. First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America†the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in contemporary polished calf gilt titles and tooling to the spine rebacked. Lightly rubbed moderate wear. A very nice example of a scarce and important work. Previous editions published by Jews in England had simply utilized the King James translation. The translator was Isaac Leeser 1806-1868 who worked without assistance. In his preface he apologizes for any errors: "How can it be expected that I should escape when I have no Jewish compositors and have necessarily to be often away when the work goes to press" Despite these obstacles Leeser doubted that "the precious word of God ever appeared among us in a more beautiful form than the volumes in which I am now engaged." Leeser avoided reliance on earlier English translations though he made some use of German translations and noted that "the arrangement is strictly Jewish. My intention was to furnish a book for the service of the Synagogue both German and Portuguese." Leeser’s “contributions to every area of Jewish culture and religion made him a major builder of American Judaism.†The publication of his Pentateuch was the first time that any portion of the Bible was published in America under Jewish auspices. “The translation of the Bible was Leeser’s great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred… He made good use of the various German translations by Jews of the collective commentary known as the Biur and of other Jewish exegetic works. As a result his translation though based in style upon the King James version can be considered an independent work for the changes he produced are numerous and great… until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition†Waxman 1090. C. Sherman, 5605 unknown
1866107732Philadelphia: Sherman & Co 1866-68. First editions of one of the 'major builders of American Judaism' Isaac Leeser's Discourses on the Jewish Religion. Octavo 10 volumes bound in full leather gilt titles to the spine raised bands. In near fine condition. Complete sets are of the utmost rarity. American Jewish lay minister author translator and publisher Issac Leeser's "contributions to every area of Jewish culture and religion made him a major builder of American Judaism." In addition to his influence on the Jewish pulpit in the United States Leeser became the first American Jewish publisher and produced the first Jewish translation of the bible into English. "The translation of the Bible was Leeser's great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred.until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition" Waxman 1090. Sherman & Co hardcover books
1803122898London: Printed for H.D. Symonds 1803. First complete edition in English of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia the greatest work of physics in the exceedingly rare original boards. Octavo 3 volumes bound in original boards uncut 54 folding copper-engraved plates of diagrams and figures all but one folding; 2 folding tables. with 22 folding. In near fine condition with light toning to the text. An exceptional example rare and desirable in the original boards. Housed in a custom clamshell box. "Newtons Principia is generally described as the greatest work in the history of science. Copernicus Galileo and Kepler had certainly shown the way; but where they described the phenomena they observed Newton explained the underlying universal laws. The Principia provided the greatest synthesis of the cosmos proving finally its physical unity. Newton showed that the important and dramatic aspects of nature that were subject to the universal law of gravitation could be explained in mathematical terms with a single physical theory. With him the separation of the natural and supernatural of sublunar and superlunar worlds disappeared. The same laws of gravitation and motion rule everywhere; for the first time a single mathematical law could explain the motion of objects on earth as well as the phenomena of the heavens. The whole cosmos is composed of inter-connecting parts influencing each other according to these laws. It was this grand conception that produced a general revolution in human thought equaled perhaps only by that following Darwins Origin of Species Newton is generally regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time and the founder of mathematical physics" PMM 161. "It is perhaps the greatest intellectual stride that it has ever been granted to any man to make" Einstein. Printed for H.D. Symonds hardcover books
184578547Philadelphia: C. Sherman 5605 1845-46. First edition of the "first English translation of the Pentateuch in America" the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in full contemporary calf gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In near fine condition. A nice example rare in contemporary binding. Previous editions published by Jews in England had simply utilized the King James translation. The translator was Isaac Leeser 1806-1868 who worked without assistance. In his preface he apologizes for any errors: "How can it be expected that I should escape when I have no Jewish compositors and have necessarily to be often away when the work goes to press" Despite these obstacles Leeser doubted that "the precious word of God ever appeared among us in a more beautiful form than the volumes in which I am now engaged." Leeser avoided reliance on earlier English translations though he made some use of German translations and noted that "the arrangement is strictly Jewish. My intention was to furnish a book for the service of the Synagogue both German and Portuguese." Leeser's "contributions to every area of Jewish culture and religion made him a major builder of American Judaism." The publication of his Pentateuch was the first time that any portion of the Bible was published in America under Jewish auspices. "The translation of the Bible was Leeser's great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred. He made good use of the various German translations by Jews of the collective commentary known as the Biur and of other Jewish exegetic works. As a result his translation though based in style upon the King James version can be considered an independent work for the changes he produced are numerous and great. until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition" Waxman 1090. C. Sherman, 5605 unknown books
1866107732Philadelphia: Sherman & Co 1866-68. Rare first editions of one of the 'major builders of American Judaism' Isaac Leeser's Discourses on the Jewish Religion. Octavo 10 volumes bound in full leather gilt titles to the spine raised bands. In near fine condition. Complete sets are of the utmost rarity. American Jewish lay minister author translator and publisher Issac Leeser’s “contributions to every area of Jewish culture and religion made him a major builder of American Judaism." In addition to his influence on the Jewish pulpit in the United States Leeser became the first American Jewish publisher and produced the first Jewish translation of the bible into English. “The translation of the Bible was Leeser’s great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred…until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition†Waxman 1090. Sherman & Co hardcover
184578547Philadelphia: C. Sherman 5605 1845-46. First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America†the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in full contemporary calf gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In near fine condition. A nice example rare in contemporary binding. Previous editions published by Jews in England had simply utilized the King James translation. The translator was Isaac Leeser 1806-1868 who worked without assistance. In his preface he apologizes for any errors: "How can it be expected that I should escape when I have no Jewish compositors and have necessarily to be often away when the work goes to press" Despite these obstacles Leeser doubted that "the precious word of God ever appeared among us in a more beautiful form than the volumes in which I am now engaged." Leeser avoided reliance on earlier English translations though he made some use of German translations and noted that "the arrangement is strictly Jewish. My intention was to furnish a book for the service of the Synagogue both German and Portuguese." Leeser’s “contributions to every area of Jewish culture and religion made him a major builder of American Judaism.†The publication of his Pentateuch was the first time that any portion of the Bible was published in America under Jewish auspices. “The translation of the Bible was Leeser’s great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred… He made good use of the various German translations by Jews of the collective commentary known as the Biur and of other Jewish exegetic works. As a result his translation though based in style upon the King James version can be considered an independent work for the changes he produced are numerous and great… until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition†Waxman 1090. C. Sherman, 5605 unknown
1848140949208New York: Daniel Adee 1848. First American Edition. Very Good. First American edition first printing with date 1848 on title page and publisher's address listed as 107 Fulton-Street. 4 v-viii 9-581 pp. illustrated with engraved frontispiece protected by tissue guard. Recently bound in maroon buckram title label to spine. Very Good with light wear to covers and slight bumping to lower corners; title label beginning to lift at one corner. Band of paper residue to front free endpaper. Light toning and moderate foxing to textblock edges and contents dampstain to outer textblock edge and outer margin throughout. Cohen pp. 347-352.<br /> <br /> <p>The first American edition of the foundational physics text first published in Latin in 1687. Andrew Motte's 1729 translation was reprinted in 1803 and 1819 in Britain but subsequent 19th century editions were printed only in the United States and Germany. The New York-based publisher Daniel Adee deposited a copyright for the Principia in 1846 then printed five issues between 1848 and 1850. A contemporary notice in the Scientific American declared:<br /> <br /> <p>"For a long time the 'Principia' was kept far out of the reach of the mere English Scholar as if Newton had written it exclusively for the classical student and philosopher. It was a scarce book when printed in the Latin language; it is now thanks to the spirit of an American publisher printed in our mother tongue and should find a place in every family library. Daniel Adee unknown
184542820862<p>FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of the Pentateuch translated by a Jew and the first American translation of the Torah. Isaac Leeser was the single most influential Jewish figure in 19th-century America. His many accomplishments include establishing the vernacular sermon as a permanent feature in the American synagogue publishing the first successful American Jewish newspaper and founding the first American rabbinical school.</p><p>"When Leeser commences his public career the scattered Jewish individuals and the members of the congregation in the United States did not number more than from 12000 to 15000. His purpose to mold these into a community was to be achieved in part by the pulpit and in part by the press. … Leeser participated in all Jewish movements. He was the earliest promoter of all the national enterprises—the first congregational union the first Hebrew day-schools the first Hebrew college the first Jewish publication society—and of numberless local undertakings. The 'Occident' acquired a national and even an international reputation; the Maimonides' College of which he was president paved the way for future Jewish colleges in the United States; and his translation of the Bible became an authorized version for the Jews of America" Jewish Encyclopedia.</p><p>"Practically every form of Jewish activity which supports American Jewish life today as either established or envisaged by this one man" and "almost every kind of publication which is essential to Jewish survival was written translated or fostered by him" B. W. Korn.</p><p>Leeser's greatest contribution was his translation of the Bible and these volumes contain the first printing of the first and most important portion of this monumental work Leeser's English translation of the Torah. This translation was not superseded until well into the 20th century.</p><p>Emphasizing that this is an American work Leeser notes in the introduction that "I have to state that I have not looked at a single work issued by English Jews and that hence I have not borrowed a single idea or suggestion from any one of them living or dead."</p><p>Five volumes. Hebrew and English text on facing pages. Finely bound in mottled calf spines gilt a.e.g. Title neatly restored several restored perforated and ink stamps. A very handsome set in a splendid binding.</p> C. Sherman, 5605-6 hardcover
1874188323Beijing: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions 1874. No man of that day equaled him in idiomatic command of the spoken Mandarin First edition of a sinological milestone: the first translation of the Old Testament into northern colloquial "Mandarin" Chinese the language spoken by most potential Chinese converts. Schereschewsky was also the first sinologist to translate directly from the Hebrew masoretic text and his efforts formed the basis of the 1919 Union Bible the most widely used Bible among Chinese Protestants in the 20th century. Born to Jewish parents in Russian Lithuania Schereschewsky 1831-1906 converted to Christianity the early 1850s. After studying for a time in New York in 1857 he volunteered for missionary work in China arriving in 1860. In 1862 he accepted a position as an interpreter to Anson Burlingame and devoted himself to textual translation spending the next 14 years working on this translation his greatest accomplishment. While earlier missionaries had produced versions of the Bible in classical Chinese and minor southern dialects Schereschewsky's was the first to make the Old Testament accessible to the country's biggest language group. After completing the mammoth project Schereschewsky returned to New York with his family where he was elected Bishop of China. Back in China in the late 1870s he founded St John's College in Shanghai and his skills as a translator excited comment for decades to come. Evaluating Schereschewsky's contributions to the missionary cause in the 1890s his contemporary Henry Blodget observed that "the translation into the Mandarin was made by a master hand seemingly raised up by God for this purpose." According to W. A. P. Martin himself a skilled translator Schereschewsky's Old Testament "stands by itself and is not likely to be superseded. For that task his qualifications were exceptional. By birth a Hebrew of the Hebrews and running over with rabbinic lore he had made himself a Chinese by adoption and by successful study. No man of that day equaled him in idiomatic command of the spoken Mandarin" both quoted in Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity. Of this rare translation WorldCat records only ten copies New York Public Library Columbia Harvard Stanford Kansas Peabody Essex Emory National Library of Australia SOAS and Leiden. This is the only complete copy traced in recent commerce. In 2025 Peter Harrington also sold a presentation copy from the library of General Theological Seminary but that copy lacked the table of contents. Octavo 274 x 170 mm pp. iv title page and table of contents 4 preface 1042 = 1045 page register duplicating p. 124 and pp. 730-1 3 blank. Text in Chinese. Contemporary brown half sheep rebacked with original spine laid down spine with printed title label repurposed from original wrappers green pebble-grain cloth sides. Smattering of old blue ink marks and annotations internally. Binding refurbished and lightly soiled second and third leaves repaired at fore edge without loss to text occasional stains to contents: very good. Darlow & Moule 2683. hardcover
1822ST20877London: Printed for R. Ackermann 1822. First English Edition. 300 x 235 mm. 11 3/4 x 9 1/2". xvi 325 1 pp.Translated by Frederic Shoberl. <br/> Imposing contemporary crimson straight-grain morocco gilt covers with filigree frame with densely massed scrolling fleurons raised bands spine gilt in compartments with radiating viny scrolls surrounded by leaves and annular dots marbled endleaves all edges gilt. WITH 13 HAND-COLORED PLATES in etching and aquatint many after Japanese artworks one folding. Bookplate removed from front flyleaf. Bookseller's ticket of J. L. Thompson & Co Kobe Japan on front pastedown. Abbey Travel 557; Tooley 489; Martin Hardie "English Coloured Books" pp. 113-14. See also E. F. Strange "Japanese Illustration" pp. xxiii-xxiv. Spine and fore-edge of upper board slightly darkened a few minute flakes to lowest spine compartment but the binding extremely well preserved with very lustrous boards. Final 10 leaves slightly creased one repaired marginal tear but still A FINE COPY INTERNALLY exceptionally bright smooth and entirely fresh and clean.<br/> <br/> This generously proportioned production illustrated with 13 vibrant colored plates is a rare European account of Japan during the period in which the country was "closed" to the west offered here in its first English edition. Originally published in French in 1820 "Illustrations of Japan" is comprised of a history and description of the Tokugawa shogunate which Titsingh had translated from the Japanese plus Titsingh's own observations on the language customs and ceremonies of the Japanese people. The present English edition is accompanied by plates in etching and aquatint enhanced with hand coloring. Our author Dutch diplomat Isaac Titsingh 1745-1812 spent 14 years in Nagasaki for the Dutch East India company and between 1779-84 he served as trade director-cum-ambassador travelling to Edo now Tokyo for audiences with the shogun and other high officials in the shogunate. Unlike most of his Western contemporaries Titsingh was open-minded and curious about the people he encountered engaging with their art and culture; in fact art historian and Victoria & Albert Museum keeper Edward F. Strange tells us that Titsingh is the earliest known European collector of Japanese prints of which a number appear in the present volume. Our publisher Rudolph Ackermann 1764-1834 made his living issuing sumptuously illustrated books such as the present volume and was an early adopter of color aquatint and lithography technologies; Hardie writes that he was "the great presiding genius before whose magic wand so many pictorial books sprang into existence." In very attractive period morocco this is a particularly appealing copy of the work free of the foxing and offsetting that often plague copies of this and other large-format color illustrated books. Printed for R. Ackermann unknown
183842121Philadelphia: Printed by Haswell Barrington and Haswell 1838. Hardback. 1st Edition. Gorgeous Period-style gilt-tooled leather. 8vo. <br> Vol. 1: "Part one - Prayers for the Whole Year" siddur. VII 216 216 pages. <br> Vol. 2: "Part 2 - Prayers for Rosh Hashana". 120 121 page 121 page. <br> Vol. 3: "Part 3 - Prayers for Yom Kippur". 4 245 246 1 3 pages. <br> Vol. 4: "Part 4 - Prayers for the Festival of Succot". 175 176 1 pages. <br> Vol. 5: "Part 5 - Prayers for Pesach and for Shavuot". 182 182 pages. <br> Vol. 6 - Prayers for Fast Days". 4 184 186 4 12 pages. <br> Hebrew and English on facing pages parallel pagination. Goldman 36; Singerman 630. <br> The First Complete Machzor Jewish Prayer Book Set for the full year printed in America a stunning complete set. <br> Isaac Leeser 1806-1868 was a central leader of American Jewry in the mid-19th Century the stalwart defender of Orthodoxy against the rise of the Reform movement. He was the head of the Jewish community of Philadelphia and acted as a cantor philosopher publisher and author of many sermons and essays. He was key in the founding Jewish institutions and publications central to the building of Judaism in America including the original Jewish Publication Society the Jewish Sunday School movement and many key translations of Hebrew texts into English. <br> As such he was the first Jew to translate the Hebrew Bible into English publishing The Five Books of Moses in 1845 followed by the full Twenty-Four Books of the Old Testament in 1853. His other major translation is that offered here the first Machzor Prayer Book set for the full year published in America in 1837-1838.Publication in this case was a complex project. Leeser based his new translation on an earlier London edition improving upon both the English translation and the original Hebrew which are presented in facing pages. Once the translation was ready for publication he ordered new Hebrew types from Europe but could not find printers who were familiar with Hebrew–so he taught two Christian printers Hebrew in order to prepare them for the printing. <br> In spite of the difficulties involved all six volumes of the machzor set were published in a total of only 13 months. Leeser marketed his prayer book to audiences in both America and the British Empire and therefore included prayers on behalf of a monarch British and a republican government America. The work also includes a fascinating two-page list of subscribers spanning the Eastern US as well as Jamaica at the end of Vol. VI. The same volume here includes interesting margin notes in pen from a period Rabbi or service leader. <br> With an original run of only 500 sets complete sets of the first edition such as this are very rare. A set sold at Christies in 2006 for $60000.<br> SUBJECTS: Seder -- Liturgy -- Texts. Passover -- Judaism -- Sephardic rite -- Fasts and feasts -- Judaism -- Liturgy -- Texts. Paque -- Liturgie -- Textes. Judai¨sme -- Rite sefardi -- Liturgie -- Textes. Fetes religieuses -- Seder -- Passover -- OCLC: 18532819.<br> All pages professionally washed before rebinding the quality paper very clean and bright with beautiful marbled endpapers. Stunning matching blue leather binding with raised bands and gilt tooling in custom slipcase. Very Good Condition. Rarely found as a complete set. Gorgeous and important. KH-1-1. Philadelphia: Printed by Haswell, Barrington, and Haswell unknown
182325085Philadelphia: H.C. Carey & I. Lea 1823. Folio. 17 1/2 x 11 7/8 inches. Mounted on guards throughout letterpress title copyright notice on verso 1p. Advertisement verso blank 1p. Contents verso blank 46 double-page hand-coloured engraved maps of the United States all but one with borders of letterpress descriptive text 1 uncoloured double-page engraved view showing the comparative heights of mountains throughout the world 1 hand-coloured double-page engraved table showing the comparative lengths of the principal rivers worldwide 5 letterpress tables 4 double-page 3 of these hand-coloured 18pp. of letterpress text. Expertly bound to style in half calf over contemporary marbled paper covered boards flat spine in six compartments divided by gilt roll tools red morocco label in the second compartment the others with a repeat decoration in gilt.<br/> <br/>One of the most important early atlases printed in the United States: a handsome atlas of the Americas with individual colour maps of each state in the Union including a seminal map of the West by Stephen H. Long.<br/> <br/>At the time of publication this was the best and most detailed atlas to be produced in the United States. Fielding Lucas the major Baltimore printer was the principal engraver and substantial historical background text accompanies each map. Among the most noted maps in the atlas is Major Stephen H. Long's "Map of Arkansa and other Territories of the United States." That map which depicts the Missouri basin between Nashville in the east the Mandan villages in the north and the Rocky Mountains in the west was based on the surveys conducted by Long on his expeditions of 1819 and 1820. The map published in Carey & Lea's atlas preceded the official account of that expedition by expedition botanist Edwin James which included a smaller map with similar detail titled "Country drained by the Mississippi Western Section". Carey and Lea's 1823 publication of James Account perhaps explains the prior inclusion of this map with Long expedition information in their atlas. On this famous map is the printed legend which would perpetuate a myth for many years to come identifying the high plains as the "Great American Desert." Carey and Lea's atlas was first issued in 1822; this is the 1823 second issue substantially the same as the first but with a new title and revised states of several maps and text leaves generally minor revisions including additional shading to maps and improved resetting of several text leaves though this copy with first state settings of the Maryland and Virginia text leaves.<br/> <br/>Howes C133 "aa"; Phillips 1373a; Sabin 15055; Wheat Transmississippi West 348 and 352. H.C. Carey & I. Lea unknown books
1846ST19286London: Printed by Catchpool & Trent for Simpkin Marshall & Co 1846. FIRST EDITION. 320 x 255 mm. 12 1/2 x 10". xiii 3 96 pp. <br/> Publisher's original blind-decorated dun-colored cloth gilt titling to upper cover smooth spine newer endpapers. WITH 11 COLOR ENGRAVINGS after Frost by W. P. Chubb & Son printed in oil colors by George Baxter all with original tissue guards. Front free endpaper with small ink signature of John Hill. See: Francis Reid "Isaac Frost's 'Two Systems of Astronomy' 1846: Plebeian Resistance and Scriptural Astronomy" in "The British Journal for the History of Science" Vol. 38 No. 2 Jun. 2005 pp. 161-177. Cloth rather spotted corners bumped but the binding solid with no wear to joints or hinges. A few spots of foxing to title page half of the tissue guards with overall very faint foxing/browning the illustrations with minor foxing at edges and in margins but the images themselves clean and bright and all in all a really excellent copy the text wide-margined and quite clean and fresh and the plates with rich coloring.<br/> <br/> Illustrated with beautiful color plates this anti-Newtonian work promotes a view of the universe based on the backward-looking beliefs professed by a Protestant sect known as the Muggletonians. Named after co-founder Lodowicke Muggleton the Muggletonians emerged in London in 1651 based on the claims of two tailors who professed to be the "Last Witnesses" described in the Book of Revelation. Rejecting the new directions in philosophical reason Muggletonians believed in a purely scriptural interpretation of the universe. According to E. P. Thompson's 1994 "Witness Against the Beast" the Muggletonians had curious notions quite contrary to other Protestant denominations: they believed that the soul is mortal that Jesus and God are one and the same that Heaven was left without divine supervision from Jesus' death until the day of judgment that Heaven resides six miles above the Earth that God stands between five and six feet tall and other unconventional things. Although the sect initially avoided both worship and evangelizing during the 19th century some followers became more outspoken about their beliefs and even published books appealing to the general public. Our author Isaac Frost 1793-1858 was a prominent Muggletonian and successful owner of a brass foundry who along with his brother Joseph invested large sums to promote their belief system--the present work being an especially notable example. Divided into two main sections the text first describes the Newtonian system of heliocentric astronomy and then turns to Frost's scriptural interpretation and geocentric views. As Reid tells us "According to Frost Scripture clearly states that the Sun the Moon and the Stars are embedded in a firmament made of congealed water and revolve around the Earth that Heaven has a physical reality above and beyond the stars and that the planets and the Moon do not reflect the Sun's rays but are themselves independent sources of light. Our book was apparently written as a reaction against the lecturers who expressed Newtonian astronomy--which was often for them and their audiences simply shorthand for heliocentrism." The 11 plates that illustrate these extraordinary ideas are the work of George Baxter a pioneering printer who revolutionized color printing techniques by combining metal engravings with woodblock printing using oil-based inks to produce high-quality affordable prints. The plates here are appropriately ethereal and otherworldly utilizing a beautiful palette with subtle gradations and esoteric figures to create memorable pseudo-scientific imagery. Although this work appears at auction with some regularity it is almost always incomplete no doubt because the attractiveness of its plates encourages harvesting. Useful price comparisons include a complete copy said to be in fine condition selling for £7500 in 2016 and six loose prints from the book fetching £6875 in 2015. [Printed by Catchpool & Trent for] Simpkin, Marshall, & Co unknown
1823WRCAM43415APhiladelphia: H.C. Carey & I. Lea 1823. Letterpress title copyright notice on verso 1p. advertisement verso blank 1p. table of contents verso blank. Forty-six double-page handcolored engraved maps of the United States all but one with borders of letterpress descriptive text; uncolored double-page engraved view showing the comparative heights of mountains throughout the world; handcolored double-page engraved table showing the comparative lengths of the principal rivers worldwide; five letterpress tables four double-page three of these handcolored; 18pp. of letterpress text. Mounted on guards throughout. Modern half calf and marbled boards spine gilt leather label. Dampstaining along lower edge causing chipping to initial leaves. Closed tear in bottom margin of first map repaired with tissue. Very light offsetting from maps. Some dust soiling light tanning and foxing. Good plus. A handsome atlas of the Americas with individual color maps of each state in the Union including a seminal map of the West by Stephen H. Long. At the time of publication this was the best and most detailed atlas to be produced in the United States with substantial historical background text accompanying each map. Fielding Lucas the major Baltimore printer was the principal engraver. <br> <br> Among the most noted maps in the atlas is Major Stephen H. Long's "Map of Arkansa and other Territories of the United States." That map which depicts the Missouri basin between Nashville in the east the Mandan villages in the north and the Rocky Mountains in the west was based on the surveys conducted by Long on his expeditions of 1819 and 1820. The map published in Carey & Lea's atlas preceded the official account of that expedition by expedition botanist Edwin James which includes a smaller map with similar detail titled "Country drained by the Mississippi Western Section." Carey & Lea's 1823 publication of James' ACCOUNT perhaps explains the prior inclusion of this map with Long expedition information in their atlas. <br> <br> On this famous map is the printed legend which would perpetuate a myth for many years to come identifying the high plains as the "Great American Desert." Carey & Lea's atlas was first issued in 1822; this is the second issue with revised states of three maps Maine North Carolina and Louisiana with the same printing of the remaining maps and a cancel title. HOWES C133 "aa." PHILLIPS ATLASES 1373a. SABIN 15055. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 348 352. H.C. Carey & I. Lea hardcover books
1845140942075Philadelphia: Printed by C. Sherman 1845. First American Edition. Near Fine. The first edition of the first English translation of any part the Hebrew Bible in America. Also referred to as the Pentatuech or the Five Books of Moses presented here in five volumes each containing one of the Books of Moses: Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy. Text in English and Hebrew. Bound in a simple yet elegant mid-19th century pebbled maroon cloth ruled in blind with titles lettered in gilt on the spines. Near Fine light rubbing to bindings pages toned. Slight lean to binding of Volume III. An important milestone of Judaism in the America. Leeser's Pentateuch remained the standard English version for American Jews until 1917 when the Jewish Publication Society translation appeared. Printed by C. Sherman unknown
188034197Cincinnati: Published for the Rev. Abraham DeSola by The Bloch Publishing and Printing Company 1880. Third edition. Hardcover. vg. Large quarto. vii 1011 4pp. Custom period full brown pebbled leather biding with blind-stamped ruling and tooling. Gilt lettering including the owner's name on the front cover as well as on the spine. Raised bands. Dentelles. All edges of book block in red and gilt. Lustrous white silk textured endpapers. <br /> <br /> This incredibly rare and completely unrecorded third edition of the groundbreaking Leeser Bible was produced after Bloch had taken over the publishing rights sometime circa 1880. For this edition like the preceding Miller's Bible and Publishing House printing of 1878 5638 the publisher reverted to the large quarto size format and pagination of the original 1854 first edition. Additionally the preface includes the original text and September 20th 1853 date of first edition. The explanatory notes of the original edition at the bottom of each page removed in the smaller format starting with the 1857 second edition are here present again as well. Retained from those subsequent smaller format editions however is the "general remarks" section which follows the preface text. Added likely for the first time is a new table of contents directly preceding the main biblical text. Includes the traditional four blank leaves for the recording of marriages births and deaths at rear. <br /> <br /> When it was originally published in 1854 the Leeser Bible marked a major milestone in scripture translation as it is the first complete English translation of the Hebrew Bible Tanakh by a Jew. Indeed in the early 19th century most American Jews couldn't read the Bible in Hebrew and an adequate complete English translation didn't exist. Isaac Leeser's "The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures" attempted to fill this need. Leeser spent 17 years on this landmark translation relying almost exclusively on Jewish scholarship. Soon after its publication this work became the standard for American Jews not conversant in Hebrew as well as an important contribution to Jewish American culture.<br /> <br /> This edition was issued for pioneering Canadian Rabbi Abraham De Sola 1825-1882 who was among the most prominent proponents of Orthodox Judaism in North America during the 19th century and close associate of Isaac Leeser. As the last pre-Bloch printing of the work produced for De Sola was known to have been issued in 1878 5638 our undated third edition has to have been published sometime between 1878 and De Sola's death in 1882.<br /> <br /> This unique copy of the Leeser Bible was beautifully custom bound for the owner Mathilda Friendly with 23 full-page illustrated plates which includes a half-title and frontispiece. The plates include many of the the same images which were incorporated into the Old Testament sections of similarly-illustrated Victorian-era family Bibles of the later half of the 19th century. They include finely rendered steel-plate engravings and reproductions after wood-engraved images from a number of acclaimed artists. The result is that this book ends up becoming a interesting and unique "Jewish version" of an Illustrated Family Bible of the same sort prevalent in that era.<br /> <br /> Like those Family Bibles the illustrated plates here include at least 10 reproductions after images by acclaimed French artist Gustave Dore 1832-1883 from his famous series of wood engravings originally created for the "La Grande Bible de Tours" 1866. These images include "The Deluge" "The Egyptians Drowned in the Red Sea" "Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still" "David and Goliath" "Elijah Taken Up To Heaven in a Chariot of Fire" and "Esther Before the King" among others.<br /> <br /> Also present are beautifully rendered steel plate engravings. These include a gorgeous engraving of "Moses with the Ten Commandments" frontispiece by Edward Schuler 1806-1882 after the original painting by Philippe de Champaigne "Moses in the Bullrushes" half-title at the front after a lost painting by Paul Delaroche "Hagar and Ishmael" James Charles Armytage after Joseph Clark a gorgeous engraved image after the James Sant painting "The Infant Samuel" "Speak Lord for thy Servant Heareth" and "Happy Days of Job" by after a the painting by William Charles Thomas Dobson 1817-1898. Other images include work by British illustrator David Henry Friston 1820-1906 and Edouard Willmann 1820-1877 as well as engraved landscapes of Hebron Tabor and Petra. Many of the plates are protected with tissue guards.<br /> <br /> In comparing our copy with another found copy of this same scarce edition ours is extra-illustrated. It includes the steel-plate engravings not present in the other copy except for the Moses frontispiece found in both. Additionally it also contains many more of the reproduced wood-engraved plates.<br /> <br /> Binding professionally restored and re-backed retaining the original spine. Minor rubbing to extremities. Endpapers with some light stains and smudging particularly along the edges with light chipping to the edge of the rear endpaper. Interior with very sporadic minor to light foxing and stains to some of the text pages throughout. Images are mostly still very vibrant and mostly clean. Binding and interior in very good condition overall. Hebrew title: תורה × ×‘×™××™× ×•×›×ª×•×‘×™× <br /> <br /> This third edition is completely unrecorded anywhere. It is not in Singerman with no OCLC records.<br /> <br /> Bibliographic resources: Hills Margaret ed. The English Bible in America. 1962. p. 244.<br /> <br /> We are aware of copies of both the 1878 Miller printing and the scarce 1891 official fourth edition of the work with illustrated plates bound in. Published for the Rev. Abraham DeSola by The Bloch Publishing and Printing Company hardcover
1803327150London: Symonds 1803. hardcover. near fine. 3 volumes. 55 folding copper engravings and small engravings throughout the text frontispiece copperplate portrait of Isaac Newton in volume 1. 8vo handsomely rebound in full dark brown calf with blind-stamped design on covers and spine black leather spine labels. Some scattered age toning and spotting; neat small ownership name at top of title pages and half titles. London: H. D. Symonds 1803. A scarce set in a handsome binding.<br/> <br/> Symonds unknown
184568182The First English Translation of the Pentateuch in America LEESER Isaac translator editor. BIBLE IN HEBREW. The Law of God. In Five Volumes. The Pentateuch Philadelphia: C. Sherman 1845. First edition of the first English translation of any part of the Hebrew Bible in America the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch means the first five books of the Bible. These books comprise Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy. Complete with five octavo volumes 7 1/2 x 4 5/8 inches; 189 x 118 mm. With text in Hebrew and the corresponding English on the facing page. Generally the Hebrew is on the recto English on the verso. Modern half calf over marbled boards. Calf ruled in blind. Spines with red and brown calf spine labels lettered in gilt. Spines stamped in gilt. Some unobtrusive creasing to upper corner of final three leaves of volume I. A tiny dampstain to top of text block of volume I not affecting leaves. Edges very slightly trimmed as shown by remnants of gilt but still with large margins. Some minor foxing and toning mainly to preliminary leaves most of text is very clean. Overall a near fine copy. "Leeser's career as a translator also began in Philadelphia in 1830 with the publication of his rendering from German of J. Johlson's Instruction in the Mosaic Religion. Leeser as part of his ongoing efforts to contribute to the development of Jewish education and culture in America translated a number of important works into English from German Spanish French and Hebrew. Among his most important translations were Moses Mendelssohn's Jerusalem Joseph Schwartz' Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine as well as his renowned Bible translations first of the Pentateuch and later of the entire Hebrew Bible. Leeser continued to play an unceasing role in creating the cultural foundations of Jewish life in Philadelphia and throughout North America. In 1845 Leeser founded the first American Jewish Publication Society and in the same year published his translation of the Pentateuch entitled The Law of God a bi-lingual edition which included the unpointed unvocalized Hebrew text. " Penn Libraries; Biographical Sketch of Isaac Leeserby Arthur Kiron Schottenstein-Jesselson Curator of Judaica Collections. "The translator of the first American Jewish Bible Isaac Leeser 1806-68 was a modern Orthodox German Jew who immigrated to America in 1822. Leeser 'was the most important Jewish religious leader in the United States during the Ante-bellum Period.' In 1830 Leeser published an English translation of Johlson's catechism Instructions in the Mosaic Religion in Philadelphia another English edition appeared in 1867. However his major work was a Bible translation for American Jews the authoritative English translation until the first Jewish Publication Society translation appeared in 1917." A History of German Jewish Bible Translation Abigail Gillman pg 126. "The translation of the Bible was Leeser's great literary achievement and represented many years of patient labor and devotion to a task which he considered sacred. Leeser was not fully equipped for this work for he was no specialist in Hebrew philology nor a master if Jewish learning in general and he was quite conscious of his shortcomings but he was inspired. He says in his preface: 'I thought in all due humility that I might safely go to task confidently relying upon that superior aid which is never withheld from the inquirer after truth.' He made good use of the various German translations by Jews of the collective commentary known as the Biur vol. III sec. 81 and of other Jewish exegetic works. As a result his translation though based in style upon the King James version can be considered an independent work for the changes he produced are numerous and great. His prime consern was to supply the traditional interpretation when necessary and the retention of the Jewish spirit at times even at the expense of beauty of style. The translation went through numerous editions and until the new Jewish Publication Society version was issued in 1917 it was the only source from which many Jews not conversant with Hebrew derived their knowledge of the Bible in accordance with Jewish tradition" Waxman History of Jewish Literature 1090. HBS 68182. $11500 C. Sherman hardcover books
18452109210003Philadelphia : Printed by C. Sherman for the editor 5605 1845. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. First Jewish Translation of the Pentateuch into English: The Standard American Jewish Bible during the 19th Century 5 volume set; 20 cm. Bound in contemporary tooled calf. Good bindings and covers. Minor shelf wear rubbing but sound. Marbled end sheets. Added title page in Hebrew. Text is printed in Hebrew and English on facing pages. Clean unmarked pages. p. 22 in Leviticus is creased. Early inscription from 1881 to "Mosley from Brother Abraham 1881 Cincinnati." v.2 lacks the blank end pages. Contents: v.1. The book of Genesis.; v. 2. The book of Exodus.; v. 3. The book of Leviticus.; v. 4. The book of Numbers.; v.5. Deuteronomy. <br> Leeser's was the first English translation of the Torah by a Jewish translator. Prior to its publications English Jews used the King James translation. Isaac Lesser 1806-1868 was a Jewish-American newspaper editor The Occident religious leader Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelpha publisher and scholar. Born in Germany Leeser studied Latin German and Hebrew under the chief rabbi of Munster. Leeser helped found the Jewish press of America. His work laid the foundations for Modern Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. Leeser doubted that "the precious word of God ever appeared among us in a more beautiful form than the volumes in which I am now engaged." Leeser avoided reliance on earlier English translations though he made some use of German translations and noted that "the arrangement is strictly Jewish. My intention was to furnish a book for the service of the Synagogue both German and Portuguese." References: Goldman 7; Hills 1273; Rosenbach 569. Philadelphia : Printed by C. Sherman, for the editor, 5605 hardcover
