Illustrated Book of Esther by Mordecai of Nitra: 1834

11 leaves (7 1/2 in.; 190 mm) x various widths. Printed and illustrated in black ink on paper, originally configured as a scroll with 11 columns, printed on recto only; cut and reassembled in book form at a later date. Owner's inscriptions in ink on endpapers and across the bottom of ff. 1-2. Stained  and soiled; some marginal tears. Cello tape repair to verso of f. 1.; ff. 8-9 adhered, ff. 10-11 unopened. Cloth on pasteboard; worn.

Alexander Scheiber, ‘Marcus Donath’s Second Misrah-plate,’ in Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, vol. 10, no. 3/4 (Winter, 1973/74), pp. 80-82; ibid,  ‘Markus Donath’s Mohel-book’ in Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, Vol. 12, 1979, pp. 9-11; Ernest Naményi, “Ein ungarisch-jüdischer Kupferstecher der Biedermeierzeit : Markus Donath” in Jubilee volume in honour of prof. Bernhard Heller on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. ed., Alexander Scheiber, 1941, pp. 252-261.

Mordecai (Marcus) ben Jozl Donath of Nitra, an expert scribe as well as an accomplished engraver was one of the most productive Jewish scribe/artists of the early 19th century. His work may be seen as a direct continuation of the artistic renaissance of Hebrew manuscript production of the 18th century. Mordechai was active in the town of Nitra (now in Slovakia) between 1820 and 1842. He was widely renowned for his beautifully decorated and illustrated manuscripts, six of which remain extant today. In addition to these manuscripts, his oeuvre included intricately engraved works such as birth amulets, mizrah plaques, omer-calendars and Esther scrolls. Both his manuscript and printed works feature elaborate initial word panels and demonstrate his masterful command of micrography as well as the distinctive technique known as ribbon lettering. His first printed Esther Scroll, created in 1834, proved so popular, that he engraved another version in 1837.  The present lot was in fact originally configured as a scroll but later, cut into eleven sections, each containing a single column of text, and reassembled in book form.