Sefer HaTapuach / Sefer Meshal HaKadmoni.

£4,500 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

the first fully illustrated printed book in Hebrew Although the fable of Sefer HaTapuach is attributed to Aristotle, there are claims that it is in fact a medieval Neo-platonic Arabic work of unknown authorship. Sefer Meshal HaKadmoni is considered to be the first fully illustrated printed book in Hebrew, the first edition of which was printed circa 1491 in Brescia by the Soncino family printers, with different illustrations. It is a collection of moral fables and animal stories by Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, in rhyming prose interspersed with verse. Ibn Sahula, who was both a scholar and a physician, was born in 1244 in Guadalajara (Castile) and was a wanderer for much of his life. He was a student under the Kabbalist R. Moses of Bugros, and wrote secular poetry until around 1281, when his outlook changed. It was then that he began to write Meshal Ha-Kadmoni. Ibn Sahula writes that his material is original but based on the Talmud and Midrashim, and that in style he has followed the example of the prophets who presented moral lessons in allegorical form. He also sets out to demonstrate that Hebrew is as suitable a vehicle for conveying moral lessons as Arabic. The stories show both Kabbalistic and Indian influences. The use of animal characters is not typical in Jewish writing, but Ibn Sahula employs this device in order to deliver the tale's moral in the clearest way possible. While animals in Christian fables were usually characterised by a single dominant characteris

• Binding: Hardcover

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