Еврейская энциклопедия (Jewish Encyclopedia). 16 Vols. (Complete)
St. Petersburg: Brockhaus-Efron, 1906-1913. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto (10-1/2" x 7"). 16 volumes. Approximately 15,000 pages. Text in Russian. Original textured burgundy cloth with blind- and gilt-stamped decor on covers and reverse lettering (burgundy letters against a gilt background) on covers and spines. Decorative endpapers. Illustrated with reproductions of b/w photographs, drawings, colorized and b/w maps, musical scores, and tables throughout. Vol. I contains a double-page chromolithograph view of Jerusalem, vols. III, IV, and VI with one chromolithograph each, with tissue guards. Vol. VIII contains a foldout with a b/w offset reproduction of artwork and four lithographs of maps, vol. IX a foldout of a musical score, and vols. XII and XIII contain four pages each with offset reproductions of artwork on glossy paper.
This a mixed condition set that ranges from good- (Vol. I, gatherings loose); to good+ (Vol. IV, front cover soiled & head of spine chipped, Vol. XV, extremities of spine chipped); to very good or better (Vols. XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XVI). Fifteen of the 16 volumes with the recent library bookplate of "Jews' College Library," Montagu Square, London.
The first large Jewish encyclopedia in alphabetical arrangement, "Pahad Yitshak" was published in 1750 by Isaac Hezekiah ben Samuel Lampronti (1679-1756), a physician in Ferrara. It influenced the 1905 "Jewish Encyclopedia" published by Funk & Wagnalls in New York in 1905. That, in turn, influenced the "The Russian Yevreyskaya Entsiklopediya (16 vols., St. Petersburg, 1906-1913) under the editorship of such outstanding scholars as Judah Leib Katzenelson (Buki ben Yogi), Simon Dubnov, David Guenzberg, and Albert (Abraham) Harkavy. This Russian "Jewish Encyclopedia" while omitting some of the material about Jewish life in America that figured so prominently in the Jewish Encyclopedia, concentrated on Eastern Europe and gave full scope to modern Hebrew literature and dealt in detail with the latest cultural movements, everyday life, and folklore. Its ideology was that of the Galut ("Diaspora") nationalism advocated by Simon Dubnov, but the Zionist point of view was also presented. Thus, it was in a way a complement to the "Jewish Encyclopedia." This is the one and only encyclopedia of its kind in Russian. It was never updated. Item #51562
Price: $1,500.00