Sefer HaTapuach / Sefer Meshal HaKadmoni.

the first fully illustrated printed book in Hebrew

Although the fable of Sefer HaTapuach is attributed to Aristotle, there are claims that it is in fact a medieval Neo-platonic Arabic work of unknown authorship.

Sefer Meshal HaKadmoni is considered to be the first fully illustrated printed book in Hebrew, the first edition of which was printed circa 1491 in Brescia by the Soncino family printers, with different illustrations.

It is a collection of moral fables and animal stories by Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, in rhyming prose interspersed with verse. Ibn Sahula, who was both a scholar and a physician, was born in 1244 in Guadalajara (Castile) and was a wanderer for much of his life. He was a student under the Kabbalist R. Moses of Bugros, and wrote secular poetry until around 1281, when his outlook changed. It was then that he began to write Meshal Ha-Kadmoni.

Ibn Sahula writes that his material is original but based on the Talmud and Midrashim, and that in style he has followed the example of the prophets who presented moral lessons in allegorical form. He also sets out to demonstrate that Hebrew is as suitable a vehicle for conveying moral lessons as Arabic. The stories show both Kabbalistic and Indian influences.

The use of animal characters is not typical in Jewish writing, but Ibn Sahula employs this device in order to deliver the tale's moral in the clearest way possible. While animals in Christian fables were usually characterised by a single dominant characteristic (the cowardly rabbit, the cunning fox), Ibn Sahula gave the animals in his fables complex characters and highly specific religious tendencies: the birds pray in a 'minyan' in a synagogue; the deer prays three times a day; and the lion dreams of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Some eighty woodcut illustrations grace the 64 leaves of this book, with one or two captioned woodcuts to a page. Though the illustrations resemble those of incunabula editions, Meir Parenzo, the printer of this edition, commissioned an entire new series of woodcuts providing more detail and artistic sophistication. The illustrations were prepared by three different hands.

The first edition of this work was printed circa 1491 in Brescia by the Soncino family printers, with different illustrations.

8vo, (18 x 11 cm); modern black cloth with Hebrew hand-written title to spine; 80 woodcut illustrations, some browning to pages, some staining to title; bookplate to front inner cover; 72, 81-84, 65-68, 91-100 ll. (misfoliated).

Vinograd, Frankfurt 479.