Efes Dammim: A Series of Conversations at Jerusalem Between a Patriarch of the Greek Church and a Chief Rabbi of the Jews Concerning The Malicious Charge Against The Jews Of Using Christian Blood
London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1841. First UK edition. Hardcover. Quarto. xvi, 208pp. Original cloth with blind-stamped decoration and ruling on covers and gold lettering on spine. Yellow endpapers. "The purpose of my book," says Levinsohn, "is to acquit the Jews before the eyes of Christians, and to save them from the false accusation of using Christian blood." "Efes Dammim" is written in the form of a dialogue between a patriarch of the Greek Church in Jerusalem, Simias, and the chief rabbi in the Jewish synagogue there. The book shows the remarkable dialectic talent of the author. It was completed in 1834, published in 1837, republished three times, and was translated into English at the time of the "Damascus Affair" in 1841, at the instance of Sir Moses Montefiore and Crémieux. It was translated also into Russian (1883) and German (1884; another German edition appeared in 1892). Some age wear of binding with bumped upper corners and rubbed. Head and tail of spine with minor chips. Typical library markings: bookplate on inside of front cover, library pocket on free back endpaper, library stamp on title page and another in lower margin of block. Tiny binder's sticker on inside back cover. Slight age-toning along edges of block. Binding in overall good, interior in good+ to very good condition. Binding and interior in overall good condition. g. Item #38725
Price: $175.00