As we continue work on the 16th century books at the JTS library, we are continuing to find new and interesting footprints within this important collection.  Some highlights are shared below.

Bookplate showing a shield with a horse over a sunburst with a crown above

Bookplate of Elisabeth Sophia Maria  in a 1564 Polyglot Mishle (JTS 1701:15)

In our first example, we see a 1564 copy of the book of Mishle published in Wittenberg as a polyglot (featuring translations of the Hebrew text into Latin, German, Greek, and Aramaic) that was owned by Elisabeth Sophie Marie, duchess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1683-1767). We have featured royally owned books before on the Footprints project, and even other Duchesses! Marie Louis, Dutchess of Parma, donated quite a few Hebrew books (formerly owned by Giovanni Bernardo de Rossi) to the Biblioteca Palatina, as shown in the database as well.  One wonders how many more women (royal or otherwise) can be found by searching the pages of Jewish books!

Another book at JTS, a 1566 copy of the Pentateuch printed in Antwerp, cites another royal, this time  the Duke of Sussex (the note shown below cites the Duke’s catalog of books, the Bibliotheca Sussexiana).  Adam Shear has written extensively on the collection of the Duke of Sussex in a blog post, and we know that he owned quite an extensive collection of Hebrew books. The book currently at JTS also has extensive Latin annotations.

Notes citing the catalog of the Duke of Sussex (JTS 94:4)

Pentateuch, showing extensive annotation (JTS 94:4)

Title page laying sideways, with an owner's inscription facing up.

Ownership note of the Convent of Sargiano.

A 1563 copy of the Psalms published in Basel was owned by the Convent of Sargiano, near Arezzo, Italy. It is unclear when the book left the convent, but world events in the 19th century led to many changes in the monastery, which may have been when the book left its library. Interestingly, it looks like someone wrote over the initial inscription – perhaps to change (or obscure) the name upon change of ownership?

Title page, showing both Hebrew and Latin, as well as an owner's inscription.

Mikhlol ha-dikduk with the inscription of the Chevalier D’Eon Beaumont

Sefer Mikhlol Dikduk (1540, Paris), a Hebrew grammar, was owned by the Chevalier D’Eon Beaumont (1728-1810), a French diplomat and spy. The Chevalier Beaumont was notable for having presented as both male and female over the course of their lifetime, and they were known to appear in both male and female dress.

We look forward to seeing what else we might find in the vast JTS collection!

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