Mivhar ha-Peninim, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Soncino, Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan Soncino: 1484

60 leaves (7 ¾ x 5 ½ in.; 196 x 142 mm) including the initial blank, absent in most copies. collation: 1-7⁸, 8⁴= 60 leaves. Manuscript notes on first and final leaves; several leaves remargined; lower 2/3 of final leaf replaced, though not affecting printed text. Lightly wormed, expertly repaired; lightly stained and soiled. Modern paneled leather in antique style; gilt-stamped titles on spine.

Vinograd, Soncino 3; Offenberg 57; Goff, Heb-98; Steinschneider, C. B. 6916, 1, cols. 2319-23 'ed.rarissima'; Thes A27; Iakerson 21; BMC XIII 28 (C.50.b.4)

FIRST EDITION; THE SECOND BOOK PRINTED IN SONCINO

The Mivhar ha-Peninim (Choice of Pearls, or Choice of Corals) is a collection of epigrams all aimed at the cultivation of a virtuous soul. The maxims are gathered from Islamic, Persian, and Indian sources, and arranged into various themes. The work has long been attributed to the poet and philosopher Solomon ibn Gabirol, who flourished in Spain in the mid-11th century, and wrote both in Hebrew and Arabic. The translation has been attributed to Judah ibn Tibbon, of the 12th century Provençal dynasty and the colophon includes the name of the corrector, Solomon ben Perets Bonfoy Zarfati, whose name appears also in the colophons of several books printed by the Gunzenhausers in Naples.