Bible in Hebrew

Sefer Tehillim (Psalms), with commentary of David Kimhi. Naples: Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser, 4 Nisan [5]247 (28 March 1487)



Chancery folio (11 1/8 x 8¼ in.; 284 x 209 mm). Types 1:185 (sq.), 2:120 (sq., vocalized), 3:90 (semi-curs.). Metalcut passepartout and word-panel (Thes A57.2). Double column (text and commentary, the commentary often continuing below the text in page-width lines), 47 lines commentary (variable). Collation: 1^{6 2–118; 12–158: 116 (of 118) leaves, 1r and 118 blank; lacking fol. 5 (with Ps. 4:4-6:3) and the final blank, extensive early notes and a numbered list of the psalms on the preserved original flyleaf and on fol. 1r, marginal annotations on other leaves, many leaves stained, touching text in a few leaves of the sixth quire, the first nine leaves and two other crudely remargined, a clean tear in the lower margin of fol. 3/8. Nonetheless, a large-margined copy. Cream leatherette, gilt title on spine, edges brown-stained.}

On fol. 1r are two purchase records for this book, written out formally. The first records the purchaser as Said ben Yahya Shimon, the seller as Me'utzah ben Salim, and Sa'adiah ben Abraham as witness,  transacted at Sana on Thursday 10 Nisan 1980 (Seleucid era), that is 11 April 1669 (Gregorian). The second, not naming the place, records the purchaser as  Abraham ibn Said ibn Meutzah al-Fotihi, son of Said ibn Yahya ibn Yosef al-Hamami al-Fotihi, the seller as Said ibn Yahya al-Hamimi, and the price as 3 "kadosh," transacted on 23 Av 2023 (Seleucid era), that is 25 August 1712 (Gregorian).

Offenberg 35; Goff Heb-29; Hain 8346 (pt. I); GW 12114 (pt. I); Steinschneider 6; Thes A57; Iakerson 44; BMC XIII 50 (C.50.d.9)

Sefer Tehillim (Psalms), with commentary of David Kimhi. Naples: Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser, 4 Nisan [5]247 (28 March 1487) Chancery folio (11 1/8 x 8¼ in.; 284 x 209 mm). Types 1:185 (sq.), 2:120 (sq., vocalized), 3:90 (semi-curs.). Metalcut passepartout and word-panel (Thes A57.2). Double column (text and commentary, the commentary often continuing below the text in page-width lines), 47 lines commentary (variable). Collation: 16 2–118; 12–158: 116 (of 118) leaves, 1r and 118 blank; lacking fol. 5 (with Ps. 4:4-6:3) and the final blank, extensive early notes and a numbered list of the psalms on the preserved original flyleaf and on fo. 1r, marginal annotations on other leaves, many leaves stained, touching text in a few leaves of the sixth quire, the first nine leaves and two other crudely remargined, a clean tear in the lower margin of fol. 3/8. Nonetheless, a large-margined copy. Cream leatherette, gilt title on spine, edges brown-stained.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Second edition of the Psalms with David Kimhi's commentary, the first being that of unknown place (sometimes hypothesized as Bologna) dated 29 August 1477 (Offenberg 34). That edition printed an unvocalized text. The Naples edition, Gunzenhauser's first imprint, uses a vocalized fount, and in the colophon the corrector, Jacob Baruch ben Judah Landau, refers to the difficulties of gaining an accurate vocalization. A Naples document of 18 March 1487, that is, ten days before the completion of this work, records the names of both Jacob Baruch Landau and Joseph Gunzenhauser, Germans, and also of two Jewish bankers who had shared the costs of the printing venture, ad instampandam libros (BMC XIII, lv; Fava e Bresciano, Doc. XVIII). The Psalms are divided as commonly into five books, and Book V (Ps. 107–150) begins on quire 12 as a separate composition unit. The passepartout frame and word panel on fol. 2r are commonly described as woodcuts, but must be metalcuts.

A widely-travelled copy: in the seventeenth and early eighteenth-centuries it was evidently in Yemen (see Provenance).