Sale 2455 - Printed & Manuscript Americana, September 28, 2017

135 FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, PROPERTY OFTHE CO-EDITOR OFTHE SECOND EDITION 135 c   (JUDAICA.) Biblia Hebraica. [6], 296; [2], 312 leaves. 2 volumes. 8vo,modern calf; original front free endpaper laid down, light toning; early owner’s signatures and Hebrew inscriptions on half-titles, perforated library stamps on title pages and elsewhere, bookplates on front free endpapers. Philadelphia:Thomas Dobson, 1814 [5,000/7,500] first hebrew bible published in america . Based on a Bible published in Amsterdam by Everard van der Hooght, this project was launched by Jonathan Horwitz of Philadelphia in 1812, who sold his rights and subscriber list to Thomas Dobson in 1814.The prospectus (not present) promised that it would be printed “with a new pica Hebrew type, cast for the purpose at the foundery of Binny and Ronaldson.”This edition was mainly intended for an audience of Gentile scholars, as shown by its unpointed text and Latin preface.This particular copy was owned by the Rev. Joseph Jaquett, an Epis- copalian scholar from Philadelphia whose name may be familiar to Judaica collectors. In 1848, Jaquett would partner with Isaac Leeser to produce an edition of the Biblia Hebraica with vowels and musical notations (se Goldman 9), presumably using the present copy as a reference. Provenance:The Rev. Joseph Jaquett (1794-1869), 1819 (half-title inscription); gift of descendant Edwin Jaquett Sellers (1865- 1946) to Protestant Episcopal Divinity School of Philadelphia, 1902 (perforated stamps, bookplates with “withdrawn” stamp). Goldman 4; Rosenbach 171; Singerman 236. 136 c   (JUDAICA.) Ascher, Isidore G. Voices from the Hearth: A Collection of Verses. 168 pages. 8vo, publisher’s cloth, minimal wear; minimal wear to contents. Montreal, QB: John Lovell, 1863 [300/400] Isidore Gordon Gottschalk Ascher (1835–1933) was born in Scotland, spent most of his early years in Montreal (where he attended McGill University and helped found theYoung Men’s Hebrew Benev- olent Society), and returned to Great Britain in 1864. Some of the poems touch on his faith, such as “Esther,”“The Traveller and the Tree (from the Talmud),” and “To the Memory of Lady Montefiore” (subtitled in Hebrew). A few were explicitly inspired by Canadian subjects, and two by the American fight against slavery:“Light for Canada’s Sages! (written after theToronto judges had decided to return Anderson the slave, who sought the protection of Canada)” and “Regeneration (vide the Proclamation of the President of the United States in the Autumn of 1862).” Singerman 1757.