Nahalat Avot (Inheritance of the Fathers), Isaac Abrabanel, Constantinople: David and Samuel ibn Nahmias,1505

115 leaves (9 7/8 x 7½ in.; 250 x 190 mm). Woodcut title border; first two leaves somewhat soiled, a few light marginal dampstains, a bit heavier on a few leaves in quire 5, occasional marginal worming mended in a few cases, lower margin of last three leaves mended affecting three words, ink spots in lower margin of a few leaves, ff. 24, 115 torn entering text with loss of a few words, f. 77 detached. Cream cloth.

Vinograd, Constantinople 12

115 leaves (9 7/8 x 7½ in.; 250 x 190 mm).Woodcut title border; first two leaves somewhat soiled, a few light marginal dampstains a bit heavier on a few leaves in quire 5, occasional marginal worming mended in a few cases, lower margin of last three leaves mended affecting three words, ink spots in lower margin of a few leaves, ff. 24, 115 torn entering text with loss of a few words, f. 77 detached. Cream cloth.
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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.

Nahalat Avot, Isaac Abrabanel's commentary on Pirkei Avot was written in response to a request from his youngest son, Samuel, then a student in Salonika. In the introduction, Abrabanel bemoans the condition of Sephardic Jewry, whom he observed in Corfu, noting their spiritual deterioration and their ignoring of eternal values to pursue transitory temporal gain, something he considered an even greater misfortune than all their other tribulations. Abrabanel follows the same format in Nahalat Avot as in his other commentaries, beginning each section with a series of questions, and then answering them in the ensuing discussion. Here too, Abrabanel is lengthy and frequently digresses; his wanderings, however, are compensated for by interpretations that are often innovative, daring, and profound. The text of Pirkei Avot utilized by Abrabanel, as evidenced from his commentary, varies somewhat from the standard text of that work.

Nahalat Avot was printed at the same time as Zevah Pesah and Rosh Amanah (see lot 59), with the three works being sold both separately and as a set. There being no title pages, each of these works begins with a poem set within an ornamental border, written by the author's son, Judah Abrabanel, one of the foremost philosophers of the Renaissance, and perhaps better known by his Italian name, Leone Ebreo, author of Dialoghi di Amore. The border was originally designed by Spanish silversmith Alfonso Fernandez de Cordova and later used by early Jewish printers in Spain and Portugal before making its way to Constantinople and to the press of ibn Nahmias.