Midrash Hamesh Megillot (Midrash on the Five Scrolls) [Pesaro]: Gershom Soncino, 1519

100 leaves (11 3/8 x 7 7/8 in.; 289 x 200 mm). Woodcut title border repeated on first leaf of text, woodcut initials as section headings; worm punctures in fore-margins of first two leaves mended, leaf 13_{2 torn in fore-margin without loss, some light soiling spotting and dampstaining heavier in first quires, last leaf mended in gutter margin. Owners' inscriptions on title, title verso and final blank page. Nineteenth-century sheep dyed green, blind-ruled; backstrip worn, rear board nearly detached, edges rubbed, a few scrapes.}

Vinograd, Pesaro 48; Steinschneider, 3754 (copied from Wolf); Haberman, ha-Madpisim B'nei Soncino no. 67 (without seeing a copy, relying on Steinschneider); Heller v. I, pp. 130-31

100 leaves (11 3/8 x 7 7/8 in.; 289 x 200 mm). Woodcut title border repeated on first leaf of text, woodcut initials as section headings; worm punctures in fore-margins of first two leaves mended, leaf 132 torn in fore-margin without loss, some light soiling spotting and dampstaining heavier in first quires, last leaf mended in gutter margin. Owners' inscriptions on title, title verso and final blank page. Nineteenth-century sheep dyed green, blind-ruled; backstrip worn, rear board nearly detached, edges rubbed, a few scrapes.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Collectively known as Hamesh Megillot (Five Scrolls), the biblical books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Esther and Lamentations are traditionally read in the synagogues at specific times within the Jewish liturgical calendar. As a result, they have engendered numerous commentaries and served as the subjects of countless homilies. This collection of Aggadic material on the Five Scrolls, is part of the Midrash Rabbah genus of Midrashic literature and was first printed by Gershom Soncino in 1519.

Active from 1489 to 1534, Gershom Soncino was one of the most successful and prolific printers of his time, and for much of the decade 1494–1504 (with an interval from 1499 to 1502) he was the world's only Hebrew printer. His total output of Hebrew books was over 100 volumes, printed in Soncino, the town from which he took his name, as well as in Casalmaggiore, Brescia, Barco, Fano, Pesaro, Ortona, Rimini, Ancona, and Cesena. His constant wanderings were due as much to the chicaneries of local authorities as to fierce and perhaps, in his view, unfair competition. Eventually Soncino departed Italy for Turkey, where he continued to print in Salonika and later in Istanbul. That this work was produced during the "wander-years" of Gershom's career may help us to understand the paucity of known copies. There are no copies of this work in either the Bodleian or the British library and the noted bibliophile David Frankel considered this book (complete with both title pages) to be as rare and valuable as an incunable.

In addition to their content, valuable books such as the present volume represented a form of financial liquidity for their owners and on occasion were used as pledges to collateralize loans. The Italian inscription on the verso of the first title page, memorializing what seems to be such a transaction, is dated 30 August 1711.