Teshuvot ha-Rav (Responsa of the Master) Isaac ben Sheshet. Constantinople:Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino, 1547

282 + 21 leaves (11 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.; 290 x 190 mm), lacking only f.157, otherwise a completed copy; foliation in pencil; some leaves laid to size; f.10 precariously attached; dampstained throughout; cracked at gutter after f.280; several tape repairs; some worming, repaired; cropped, not affecting text. Rebound in early blind-tooled calf.

Menashe ben Israel Trani, Ancona, 1779--inscription on title page

Jaume Riera, 'On the Fate of R. Isaac bar Sheshet (Ribash) During the Persecutions of 1391', Sefunot 17 (1983), pp. 11-20 [Hebrew]; A. M. Habermann, Ha-Madpisim Bene Soncino, Vienna 1933, p. 78; Moses Marx, 'Gershom Soncino: Contributions to the history of his life and his printing', Sefer ha-Yovel li-khvod Professor Alexander Marx, ed. David Frankel, New York 1943, pp. I-X; Vinograd, Constantinople 193

Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet served as rabbi of the Jewish community in Saragossa (Catalonia, Spain) from 1371 until 1391, when he moved to Valencia. The year 1391 saw wide-spread anti-Jewish riots, which struck hard in Valencia. In the face of the violence,  Isaac fled Spain and settled in North Africa, where he became rabbi of Algiers. His responsa have wielded great influence on Halakhic discourse and are an important source for the social history of Jews in 14th century Spain and North Africa.

This work reflects yet another chapter in the history of the Soncino printing dynasty, the Italian Jewish family of German origin, who began printing Hebrew books in the town of Soncino in 1483. After establishing a number of presses across Italy, Gershom, who was the most prolific and succesful printer of his time, migrated to Turkey and in 1533 began printing Hebrew books in Constantinople where he died the following year. His son Eliezer succeeded him, and the present volume was the last book printed by Eliezer before his death.