Seder Selichoth Mi'kol HaShanah.

scarce Ashkenazic rite Selichot prayer book

A scarce Ashkenazic rite Selichot prayer book with commentary by Yosef Yuspa ben Moshe Cosman.

The Proops family were a dynasty of well known Hebrew printers, publishers and booksellers in Amsterdam. Solomon Ben Yosef (d. 1734), whose father may have been a Hebrew printer as well, was an established bookseller in Amsterdam when in 1704 he set up his own Hebrew press, which produced mainly liturgical books as well as works on halakhah, Kabbalah, Jewish ethics and history. From 1715 productions by Proops carried advertisements of books he had published, and in 1730 he issued a sales catalogue, the first such Hebrew publication.

After his death, appointed guardians continued to operate the press, and even when his three sons took over, they continued trade under the old name until 1751, and later - under their own names. Solomon ben Abraham Proops, grandson of Solomon Ben Yosef split from the family printing house in 1797 and continued to work alone until 1827. In 1785 Joseph Proops sold most of his work to Kurzbeck of Vienna, and when Proops died a year later, his widow and sons continued printing on a small scale, with various partners, until early 19th century. This book was presumably printed by one of the sons.

Yosef Yuspa ben Moshe Cosman (c. 1685-1758) was an German rabbi and author, grandson of rabbi Joseph Yuspa Nördlinger Hahn. Many of Yosef Yuspa's works were never published, but some where brought to print during his lifetime; the commentary 'HaMasbir' for this prayer book was his first publication.

4to; text in Hebrew; contemporary mottled calf, lower board with central floral device in gilt, gilt border upper & lower boards, upper board with later (1816) diamond-shaped red morocco label edged & titled in gilt, spine chipped & rubbed with some loss to top, joints split but holding, extremities rubbed; all edges gilt; particularly fine endpapers; top margin closely shaved, affecting the text on some pages; some light browning & dust soiling to some pages; [4], 146 ll.

Vinograd, Amsterdam 971.