Schabbes Lamp vun pollische Messing - Meissen, 1835 - Itzig Feitel Stern

A satirical work, by (Itzig Faitel Stern) [Johann Friedrich Sigmund, Freiherr von Holzschuher]. Meissen. 1835. X, 142, [2], pp., 17.2 cm.

The book is in German, with Hebrew letters, and opens like a Hebrew book! The title page is in Yiddish and German, and illustrated. On the frontispiece is a derogatory illustration of a Jew. This satire is written in the form of a play with poetry, and mocks the Ost-Juden, or East-European Jews. The author׳s name is fabricated. His real name was apparently Johann Friedrich Sigmund, Freiherr von Holzschuher!, who lived from 1796–1861. The catalog of the National Library of Israel records the author as Heinrich Holzschuher. He was apparently not Jewish, indicating that already in the 1830s, the German Jews, influenced by the enlightenment and Reform movements, identified themselves more closely with German high-society than with their ״old-fashioned״ Jewish brethren, an astounding phenomenon!

An extremely rare work. Vinograd records only four books printed in Meissen, all satirical works by the same author from the years 1832-1835. This one is not recorded there. Inserted among the leaves of the book is a large full-page illustration mockingly portraying a Jewish family.

The book is in excellent condition, in its original binding.