Bidspirit auction | (HAGGADAH).  Hagadah LeLeilei Shimurim. Illustrated

(HAGGADAH).  Hagadah LeLeilei Shimurim. Illustrated Hebrew manuscript on parchment. Composed by  Eliezer Sussman Mezeritsch. Frankfurt am Main, 1833. 29 leaves (57 pages, excluding blanks). Leaf size: 29.2 x 22.8 cm (11.5 x 9 inches). Hagadah text (in a square Hebrew hand), commentary (in a rabbinic hand), and Judeo-German translation (in vaybertaytsh). Elegantly written and beautifully balanced on the page. With commentary ‘Ma’amar Afikoman’ by Shimon b’r Tzemach Duran (edited by Wolf Heidenheim). Many initial words prepared with bolded letters. Illustration Register: *  f1: Decorated title page set within architectural frame, vignette of the city of Frankfurt below. *  ff. 6r, 6v and 7r: The Four Sons (each posed in separate miniatures). *  f. 12v: The Ten Plagues, each titled in gilt. *  f. 23r: The Splitting of the Reed Sea. *  f. 27v: The Temple in Jerusalem (interior). Many of the illustrations signed in miniature Hebrew letters: “P. [or F.] Feist.” Protective paper interleaves. Wine-stain on f. 10r. Turquoise endpapers. Binding: Contemporary straight grain red morocco, both covers with gilt doubled borders, central sun-burst, half-moons at all corners; elaborately gilt spine. Extremities scuffed. Red slipcase. Background:  Master Jewish artist Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (1800-82) referred in his memoirs to Eliezer Sussman Meseritsch as “the best Jewish calligrapher of his time, ” a description most certainly worthy of the present work.  Mezeritsch collaborated with Charlotte von Rothschild to create another exceptional Hagadah manuscript (presently in the Rene Braginsky Collection, Zurich) see: https://braginskycollection.com/portfolio/charlotte-von-rothschild-haggadah/ and https://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/b-0314  Another Hagadah manuscript by Eliezer Sussman Mezeritsch was offered by Sotheby’s in their sale: Important Judaica, 15th December, 2010, Lot 102 (now housed in the Rene Braginsky Collection, Zurich) see: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2010/important-judaica-n08691/lot.102.html and https://braginskycollection.com/portfolio/haggadah-with-a-german-translation/  Comparing these two Hagadah manuscripts by Eliezer Sussman Mezeritsch: In the earlier (1829) manuscript, the Hagadah illustrations are of a pre-modern nature. In the present Hagadah, the illustrated figures are mostly contemporary, formally dressed according to the norms of Frankfurt, 1833.  Moreover the ink in many pages of the earlier Hagadah has faded, here the ink and penmanship is strong throughout. The overall layout of the page appears to be more advanced in the present manuscript.   The four years between the 1829 Hagadah and the present Hagadah manuscript is obvious. The artistry here is more sophisticated and advanced in quality. The bold use of gilded lettering directly onto the images is a particularly striking stylistic element. Provenance: The Helene and Zygfryd Wolloch Collection, Scarsdale, NY.