Manuscript from the Era of the Rishonim
Rashi’s Commentary on Pirkay Avos. Italy, 1361
The commentary of the greatest Hebrew commentator of all time, Rashi—Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, on Maseches Avos. This handwritten manuscript was inscribed in Italy in the mid 14th century.
The manuscript, dated 1361, based on the bow and arrow watermark embedded in the paper (type of Briquet 783-785), was written in brown ink in Italian semi-cursive script. The handwritten manuscript differs from the printed version and is generally shorter.
Italy, 1361. [18] leaves. Page size: 22×15 cm. Leaves 14-17 blank; leaf 18 contains a paragraph from Tehillim Ch. 119 in another handwriting. The manuscript is missing the first leaf and begins with Ch. 1:3, continuing until the very end of Ch. 6.
The last page is signed by the censor Giovanni Domenico Carretto, 1618.
Light stains. Bound in new parchment binding with ribbons.
Provenance: H. Hirschfeld, Descriptive catalogue of the Hebrew mss. of the Montefiore Library (London 1904)
Formerly in Solomon Halberstam Collection #265. Sold in Sotheby’s October 27 2004 .
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Watermarks
In the 14th century, paper manufacturers began embedding assorted shapes into paper as a commercial symbol and mark of excellence. Watermarks differed among various printers and eras, making it easy to date documents and letters based on its watermark; it became one of the most useful and reliable methods for dating manuscripts and letters. Numerous studies have been conducted and even books were written on this subject, each presenting dozens of samples of watermarks for comparison’s sake. Watermarks are easily detected when holding the paper beneath a strong light source.
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