[Machzor]. [Hebrew Title] Mahzor shel kol ha-shanah kefi minhag k. k. Italyani

Venice: Nella Stamperia Bragadina, [1750]. Hardcover. Very Good. 2 volumes, 8vo (193 x 127mm). Vol. I: [2], 224 [i. e., 223], 16, 18; Vol. II: [2], 323, [1] leaves, including engraved additional titles. Full-page engraved title pages of Old Testament history (feasts, temple scenes) by Francesco Griselini (1717-1783), born in Venice, who lived as an academic and journalist, but later worked as an engraver. Hebrew text. Contemporary red morocco gilt and gilt edges, marbled endpapers, morocco label on spine (MACASOR ITALIANO); (corners bumped and light edgewear Vol. 2 joints splitting; Vol. 1 covers warped with light dampstaining to opening leaves, additional title partly detached but present, scattered light foxing, repaired clean tear across leaf 192). An excerpt from Midrash Mishlei, the haggadic midrash from the Book of Proverbs, in contemporary hand on recto of leaf 20. Bound at the end of Volume 2 are three leaves of contemporary manuscript in Hebrew by Leah Ashkenazi in memory of her deceased husband Yehuda Hayyim Finzi, brother-in-law Yosef Hai Finzi, sons Nehemya and Meir, and brother Shlomo Hai (additions later dated “1770” by pencil notes). The Prayer Book has likely been part of the prominent Jewish-Italian Finzi family library since its publication.

According to Sephardic rite, the prayers and customs for the New Year festival, Rosh ha Shanah, must be outlined in liturgical books like these. Venetian Jewish community life prospered in the early modern era despite poor living conditions. As the communities were centered on following ritual and custom, Venice became a strong center of Jewish knowledge and learning. The next two centuries saw a fortunate ‘Golden Age’ for Venetian Jews where commerce and scholarship flourished under their influence. During this period, Venice was home to many famous Jewish poets, physicians, and other personalities. By 1750, the year of this publication, the “Golden Age” for Venetian Jews was just beginning to wane as many prominent families left the city due to new constraints. The Bragadina press, renowned Christian printers of Hebrew books, was founded by one of the oldest and most influential families in Venice. Despite such sway, restrictions owing to the Counter Reformation and Roman Inquisition in Europe meant a ban on the printing of Hebrew books in Venice from 1554 to 1563. The prohibition was eventually lifted in 1575 when printing resumed and business picked up. For the next two centuries, the Bragadina publishers enjoyed a relative monopoly of Hebrew printing in Venice where their considerable output spread to customers around Europe and North Africa. Rare find for Judeo-Venetian printing and uncommon edition, OCLC locates a copy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.