Didn't have time to take photos yesterday, so I'll have to do a thread on what I showed instead for our class on illustration... Printers marks were probably the earliest illustrations:

https://twitter.com/hchesner/status/973962159276294144?t=DRia15zzGlAIsEb5MDdSMQ&s=19

Okay, so here goes: Jewish Women and the book before the 20th century (image from here: tudigit.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/show/Cod-Or-8/…) We start with the question of literacy, for which I bring the Teshuva of the Rambam (in his hand) regarding the 12th century teacher who wanted to go back on his oath not to teach the daughters of a certain man (ie he wanted to teach them again): blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-afri…

Congrats to Laura Gottlieb, at the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives at Temple Beth El & Robbie Terman at the Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives (Detroit), on Archival Innovator Award @archivists_org for the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage!

www2.archivists.org/2022-Archival-… "Gottlieb and Terman, who work at similar institutions with similar histories, collections, and donor bases, realized the benefits of collaboration, and so the pair developed an innovative approach that increased access to their collections while keeping them legally separate."

Here we go.

Early print as a hidden archive: tracing footprints in Jewish books One of my favorite Footprints sets the scene: Alfasi's Halakhot Gedolot (Krakow, 1597-8) with an owner's inscription expressing his amazement at holding a book printed 181 years ago

קניתי פה שטך אויגשט 1778 מכאל סג"ל מהענה איזט עד היו'= 181 יאר' גטרוגט
footprints.ctl.columbia.edu/footprint/7141/

Okay, finally went to @TheJewishMuseum's provenance exhibit. Zoomed pretty quickly past the art (although seeing the paintings "in real life" next to the photograph of how they were found in the "Room of Martyrs" was very cool).

It was the books that got me.. I couldn't capture the cover of this calendar book, but it was beautifully decorated with little decorative scenes on the front. The description says printed, but it looks hand drawn..?

.@gerbenzaagsma speaking at the @polinmuseum conference “What’s New, What’s Next” on “Exploring Jewish History in the Digital Age.” Shoutout to Judaica Librarianship articles (@JewishLibraries) from the early ‘90s that were already dealing w/#dhjewish, in this case regarding a database by @lbinyc of Jewish Archives in Germany.
And librarian Heidi Lerner’s Perspectives in Technology for @jewish_studies

Let me tell you the story of a book. Akedat Yitzhak was written by Isaac ben Moses Arama, who died in 1494. He lived in various places in Spain until the Jews were expelled in 1492, at which point he fled to Naples. Naples is not far from Salonika, where the first edition of his commentary on the Bible was printed in 1522.

The call number for the copy @columbialib is B893.1 Ar12
clio.columbia.edu/catalog/113780…

It is a worn copy, showing many signs of use (binding both volumes in one made it solid)

Love this idea. Maybe...

https://twitter.com/JuliaWalworth/status/1417524309594185729

I mean, the @CULHebrewMss bot basically does this, but with less context.

Should I tweet an ms a (work)day from the @columbialib collection?

A lot of really good nuance here.

“If the drive to tell stories comes from defending rather than celebrating, the stories will not be compelling.”

https://twitter.com/prof_dainy/status/1417478249685323785

As someone who celebrates my own Orthodoxy, I think it’s critical to listen to those who left (that doesn’t mean accept every word uncritically when there is clear sensationalism and lying, as with JH, but allow yourself to hear and learn when it’s sincere, as this piece is).

Haggadot from the 10th-18th centuries:
First, a disclaimer - there is no way to do a comprehensive overview of haggadot. They were probably the most reproduced Jewish text. Some are super simple, meant to last for a day or two, while others are incredibly lavish. The earliest haggadot were found in the Cairo Geniza. This one is known as Halper 211, and is @upennlib @katzcenterupenn. It's interesting for many because of the third question: "...on this night, we eat only roasted," following the Palestinian Talmud rather than Babylonian

To celebrate the completion of the Shas cycle, I’m going to (mostly re)tweet the many examples of Talmudim @Columbialib.

I’ll start with one of my favorites, which doesn’t include Rashi and Tosafot because... 🥁 ...they weren't born yet. (Dated to roughly 10th century)

https://twitter.com/culhebrewmss/status/1163465660283772928

@columbialib This one doesn't have commentaries either, and is known as the "Columbia Talmud" to Talmud scholars. It is an early Yemenite version, with significant differences from the printed text. We have Betsah, Pesahim, Megillah, Moe'd Katan, and Zevahim in 2 v.

https://twitter.com/CULHebrewMss/status/1200142335062863872?s=20

Sometimes you see an acquisition that stops you in your tracks.

In this case, my colleague Jane Siegel, who acquires artists' books for the collection, told me about a new book she just bought for @Columbialib #rbml The book is made of glass, and housed in a soft, protective case. It is called "they did not know that the books were already in our head," by Becky Slemmens.

I'm not *really* a follower-counter, but as it's now the century of Hebrew incunabula, I can't help it. First prints were Rome, 1469-72/3 (Shorashim, Ralbag on Daniel, Ramban + Rashi on the Torah, Sma"g, Arukh, and Shu"t Rashba). All practical books not in scrolls at shul. Here are some images of @columbialib's She'elot u-teshuvot Shelomo ibn Aderet (Goff Heb-95), with lovely annotations!