Bidspirit auction | (AMERICAN-JUDAICA).   THE OCCIDENT and

(AMERICAN-JUDAICA).   THE OCCIDENT and American Jewish Advocate. A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Diffusion of Knowledge of Jewish Literature and Religion. EDITED BY ISAAC LEESER . (Final volume, vol. 26, edited by Mayer Sulzberger). ALMOST COMPLETE SET OF 20 VOLUMES (of 26) Monthly edition. Present: Volumes 1-11, 13-14, 19-24 and 26. Lacks vols. 12, 15, 16 and 25. Note: Volumes 17 and 18 changed format from monthly to weekly, and from quarto to folio. These two volumes are especially rare and are not part of this offering. Ex-library. Occasionally foxed, few vols shaken, several with signature of Joseph Newhouse. Twelve vols bound in uniform 19-century morocco-backed red boards, three vols bound in uniform 19-century morocco-backed marbled boards, five vols bound in recent red library boards. Title for vol. 2 erroneously bound into vol. 6; two index pages of vol 12 frayed, vol. 6 lacking final few pages. 4to. Rosenbach 541; Goldman, no. 1192. Philadelphia, 1843-69. ALMOST COMPLETE MONTHLY RUN OF ISAAC LEESER’S THE OCCIDENT, THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN JEWISH PERIODICAL.     The Occident (1843-1869), was the first general Jewish periodical published in the United States.     Founded and edited by Rabbi Isaac Leeser from inception through 1868. For 25 years, this was a uniquely important forum for articles on Jewish life and thought. It contained a broad array of content, including sermons, obituaries, juvenile literature, scholarly research, theology, spiritual poetry, domestic and foreign news of Jewish interest, resolutions adopted by congregations and organizations, book reviews and correspondence. See also L.J. Sussman, Isaac Leeser and the Making of American Judaism (1995), pp. 136-150.     THE VOLUMES OF THE OCCIDENT ARE A TREASURE TROVE OF JEWISH HISTORY, BOTH AMERICAN AND FOREIGN.     Isaac Leeser’s legacy to American Jewish history is a well-documented life of pioneering accomplishments. As Bertram Korn succinctly put it: “Practically every form of Jewish activity which supports American Jewish life today was either established or envisaged by this one man. The most lasting testament to Leeser’s energy and hopes can be found in the pages of his journal The Occident which arguably contain the single most important historical record of Jewish life in the Western Hemisphere in the mid-19th century. Through the agency of The Occident, Leeser hoped to bring together in one common forum the many American Jewish communities that were otherwise divided, by either geography or ideology.” Bertram W. Korn, Isaac Leeser: Centennial Reflections, American Jewish Archives, Vol. XIX (1967), p. 136.     Mayer Sulzberger continued to publish The Occident for one year following Isaac Leeser’s death in 1868, however without Leeser’s energy, vision and guidance, this important journal ceased publication. A complete set of the Occident was sold by Kestenbaum & Company, Sale 64, lots, 18-19. THE OCCIDENT IS JUSTIFIABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT RECORD OF AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE IN THE MIDDLE DECADES OF THE 19TH CENTURY.