Moses ben Jacob of Coucy

Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Great Book of Precepts). [Soncino]: Gershom Soncino, 15 Tevet 5249 (19 December 1488)



Chancery folio (11¼ x 7½ in.; 287 x 191 mm). Types 3:90 (sq.), 2:119 (sq.), 1:240 (sq.). Metalcut initials and floral borderpieces (Thes A48.2). Double-column, 44 lines (variable). collation: (Part I): 1–12^{8 136: 102 leaves, the first blank. (Part II): 1–218 2210: 178 leaves, 178v blank. 278 (of 280) leaves in all, lacking the first blank and fol. 2 of part I, with beginning of text, headlines and foliation supplied by early readers, scattered marginal annotations, some shaved, in part I; fols. 3–8 with worming touching letters, fol. 7 with crude marginal repairs, fol. 11v with censored words, a few re-supplied in an early hand, in part II, fol. 176 with marginal tissue repairs costing a few letters, fols. 177–178 with frayed margins preserved within tissue with text losses including a small portion of the colophon. Nineteenth-century maroon blind-tooled goatskin, edges sprinkled green.}

Ze'ev ben David Henoch

Offenberg 95; Goff Heb-85; Hain 9796; Steinschneider 6453.2; Thes A48; Iakerson 36; BMC XIII 45 (C.50.c.9)

Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Great Book of Precepts). [Soncino]: Gershom Soncino, 15 Tevet 5249 (19 December 1488) Chancery folio (11¼ x 7½ in.; 287 x 191 mm). Types 3:90 (sq.), 2:119 (sq.), 1:240 (sq.). Metalcut initials and floral borderpieces (Thes A48.2). Double-column, 44 lines (variable). collation: (Part I): 1–128 136: 102 leaves, the first blank. (Part II): 1–218 2210: 178 leaves, 178v blank. 278 (of 280) leaves in all, lacking the first blank and fol. 2 of part I, with beginning of text, headlines and foliation supplied by early readers, scattered marginal annotations, some shaved, in part I; fols. 3–8 with worming touching letters, fol. 7 with crude marginal repairs, fol. 11v with censored words, a few re-supplied in an early hand, in part II, fol. 176 with marginal tissue repairs costing a few letters, fols. 177–178 with frayed margins preserved within tissue with text losses including a small portion of the colophon. Nineteenth-century maroon blind-tooled goatskin, edges sprinkled green.
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, the first produced by the unlocated Printer of the Moreh ha-Nevukhim, about 1473–75 (Offenberg 94; BMC XIII 10, C.49.e.6); the first book signed by Gershom Soncino, nephew of Joshua, and the most famous of the early Jewish printers. The Sefer Mitzvot Gadol is dated 1250. It provides an exposition of each of the 613 precepts (mitzvot) of Mosaic law, divided into two parts: negative precepts, and positive ones. It survives also in a considerable number of medieval manuscript copies, and was reprinted by Daniel Bomberg in Venice, 1522 and 1547. A copy in the Library of Congress of the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol bears an inscription in Gershom's hand, recording that he sold it on 29 December 1488, just ten days after its completion.