The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures Carefully Translated According to the Massoretic Text, on the Basis of the English Version. After the Best Jewish Authorities; and Supplied With Short Explanatory Notes [Pictorial Family Bible: Authorized Version]

Leeser, Isaac

Published by The Bloch Publishing and Printing Company for the Rev. Abraham DeSola, Cincinnati, 1880

Small folio. VII, [1], 1011, [5]pp. Full dark brown-stamped morocco with gold lettering on spine and front cover. Dentelles. All edges gilt. Silk textured endpapers. Engraved half title. Frontispiece portrait of Moses protected with a tissue guard. This work marks a major milestone in scripture translation as it is the first complete translation of the Bible by a Jew. Indeed, in the early 19th century, most American Jews couldn t read the Bible because they were not literate in Hebrew and an adequate English translation didn t exist. Isaac Leeser s "The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures," first published in 1854, attempted to fill this need. Soon after its publication, this work became the standard for American Jews not conversant in Hebrew as well as an important contribution to Jewish American culture. Leeser spent 17 years on this landmark translation, relying almost exclusively on Jewish scholarship. This rare third edition is a large-size illustrated version that was sold door-to-door. It contains 9 tissue-guarded steel engravings from celebrated paintings, including: Philippe de Champagne's "Moses Presenting the Tablets of the Law" (Frontispiece); J. Clark's "Hagar and Ishmael"; Dobson's "Happy Days of Job" and 13 photomechanical reproductions of illustrations by Gustave Doré. Includes four blank leaves for the recording the rite of holy matrimony, marriages, births, and deaths at rear. Some age wear on binding with edges rubbed and front cover stained. Front board starting. Back board darkened and slightly scratched. Offsetting along edges of endpapers. Binding in overall fair, interior in good+ to very good condition. Seller Inventory # 34197

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures...
Publisher: The Bloch Publishing and Printing Company for the Rev. Abraham DeSola, Cincinnati
Publication Date: 1880
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Edition: Third edition.