The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book ─ An Abridged Thesaurus

The 455 entries of this compendium represent a broad selection of the nearly 2700 Hebrew books printed in the 16th century. Each two-page entry features a description of the book's contents, the author's life and career (when known), details of the book's printing, and a b&w reproduction of one of the pages. The entries are arranged chronologically, and contain the book's title given in English and Hebrew, the date and location of its printing, and notes concerning its format, number of leaves, and printing history. A lengthy introduction describes the history of the Hebrew presses in this period. Appendices contain a list of the bibliographical sources used in each entry; indexes by date, author's name, Hebrew and English name; and an extensive bibliography. Many of the books were printed in Venice, Cracow, and Constantinople; though many other cities are represented. In addition to serving as a rich resource of the Jewish library, the stories of the books, their authors, and their presses provide the reader with glimpses of Jewish life during this era. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Marvin J. Heller writes books and articles on Hebrew printing and bibliography. His workPrinting the Talmud: A History of the Individual Treatises Printed from 1700 to 1750 (Brill, 1999) was recipient of the 1999 Research and Special Libraries Division Award of the Association of Jewish Libraries for Bibliography.