Bidspirit auction | NATHAN BEN YECHIEL OF ROME.

NATHAN BEN YECHIEL OF ROME. - Sepher Ha’Aruch [Talmudic dictionary]. Second edition. Title within decorative Soncino border. Wider margins. Marginalia. ff. 196. Complete but mispaginated (as in all copies). Light wear, some worming mostly repaired and generally not affecting text. Bound in Valmadonna-custom deep maroon crushed morocco, spine in compartments and titled in gilt. Folio. Vinograd, Pesaro 44; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. no. 2041 (editio rarissima). (Pesaro): Gershom Soncino 1517 Nathan’s Aruch is “a manifestation not only of its author’s brilliance and deep acquaintance with sources, but also of his encyclopaedic knowledge. Indeed, in some instances it is the sole source for ancient traditions of Talmudic interpretation” (see S. B. Linderman, Sefer Sarid Ba’Arachin (1972) Introduction.===The work is important for its many citations of Geonic sources, descriptions of Jewish customs, and citations of long-lost Midrashim. See M.J. Heller, The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book (2004) pp. 104-5.