SAHULA, Isaac ben Solomon, ibn.

by Isaac ben Solomon, ibn Sahula

£64,500 · Offered by Sokol Books

.Third edition of the first illustrated Hebrew book, with 79 very fine woodcuts, the earlier eds are usually found with 75. Rarely found complete, this is also the earliest obtainable edition, the first (1491) and second (1497) have passed through the market, both in incomplete copies, only twice. This copy is also remarkably preserved in an early binding, with interesting early North Italian provenance.. . .. ..It is the only medieval Hebrew work with a continuous tradition of illustration going back to the author himself who provided rhymed captions for illustrations (Stern). The printer of this lovely and elegant ed., Meir Parenzo, learnt his craft at the Venetian presses of Daniel Bomberg and Marco Antonio Giustiniani. The illustrations had been an integral part of the work since its composition and are present in medieval mss as well, the earliest surviving codex dating from c.1450 (Habermann, p.169). The woodcuts reprise those in contemporary eds of Aesop s fables, depicting animals, and less often people, engaged in various activities, including their discussions. They were prepared by three different hands (Haller, p.333). Although these woodcuts are frequently referred to as sensuous, or even pornographic, there is but one illustration (p.170). that of the faithless wife and her lover, that includes an explicit feature. In some copies [as in the present], this has been obscured by pen-work (Loewe, p.cxxiv). . . ..Isaac bin Sahula (b.1244) was a Hebrew poet, scholar,

• Binding: Hardcover

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