- 156
Biblia Hebraica . . . Editio Prima Americana, Sine Punctis Masorethicis, Philadelphia: 1814, 2 vols
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- paper, ink
2 volumes (8 3/4 x 5 1/4 in.; 222 x 135 mm). Vol. I [8] 296 ff., vol. II [4] 3-312 ff., lightly foxed. Modern calf, clamshell box.
Literature
Catalogue Note
the first complete edition of the hebrew bible published in america
When Jonathan Horwitz, a young devout Jew, arrived in America in the early 19th century, he brought with him a complete font of Hebrew type. In 1812, Horwitz proposed the publication of an edition of the Hebrew Bible using his precious type, but soon discovered that he was not alone in his desire to produce such a bible for the American market. In early 1813, in the face of stiff competition, Horwitz sold the Hebrew type to William Fry and transferred his right to publish and the subscription lists to Philadelphia publisher Thomas Dobson. It was Dobson who eventually succeeded in bringing out the present edition in 1814. Horwitz decided instead to pursue a career in medicine, enrolling in the medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.
This two-volume work was a reprinting of the second edition of the Athias Amsterdam Hebrew Bible, edited by Johannes Leusden with Latin notes by Van der Hooght. The final product included masoretic notations in Hebrew as well as Van Der Hooght's Latin preface and marginalia. While the absence of Hebrew vowel points and cantillation marks precluded its widespread use among American Jews, this edition of the Hebrew bible marked an important milestone in the advancement of American biblical scholarship as well as inter-denominational cooperation.
LITERATURE:
Vinograd Philadelphia, 6; Rosenbach, American Jewish Bibliography: 171; Wright, Early Bibles of America , 123-24; Darlow and Moule 5168a; Shaw & Shoemaker 30857; Wolf & Whiteman, History of the Jews of Philadelphia, 306; Goldman and Kinsberg, Hebrew Printing in America, #4.
When Jonathan Horwitz, a young devout Jew, arrived in America in the early 19th century, he brought with him a complete font of Hebrew type. In 1812, Horwitz proposed the publication of an edition of the Hebrew Bible using his precious type, but soon discovered that he was not alone in his desire to produce such a bible for the American market. In early 1813, in the face of stiff competition, Horwitz sold the Hebrew type to William Fry and transferred his right to publish and the subscription lists to Philadelphia publisher Thomas Dobson. It was Dobson who eventually succeeded in bringing out the present edition in 1814. Horwitz decided instead to pursue a career in medicine, enrolling in the medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.
This two-volume work was a reprinting of the second edition of the Athias Amsterdam Hebrew Bible, edited by Johannes Leusden with Latin notes by Van der Hooght. The final product included masoretic notations in Hebrew as well as Van Der Hooght's Latin preface and marginalia. While the absence of Hebrew vowel points and cantillation marks precluded its widespread use among American Jews, this edition of the Hebrew bible marked an important milestone in the advancement of American biblical scholarship as well as inter-denominational cooperation.
LITERATURE:
Vinograd Philadelphia, 6; Rosenbach, American Jewish Bibliography: 171; Wright, Early Bibles of America , 123-24; Darlow and Moule 5168a; Shaw & Shoemaker 30857; Wolf & Whiteman, History of the Jews of Philadelphia, 306; Goldman and Kinsberg, Hebrew Printing in America, #4.