Rothschild Miscellany (Fine Facsimile Edition of Illuminated 15th Century Manuscript)

      Facsimile Editions. New The most lavish of all Hebrew manuscripts. 948 pages containing 70 religious and secular works including the Passover Haggadah and Siddur. 816 illuminated pages and miniatures illustrate in exquisite detail almost every custom of Jewish life. Executed in northern Italy in 1479. A strictly limited facsimile edition of 550 numbered copies. Size 21cm x 15.6cm x 10.2cm (8.25" x 6.125" x 4") approximately (page sizes vary slightly). 948 Pages, 474 folios numbered 0-473. 816 illuminated pages with raised burnished gold, flat gold, powdered gold, silver and brilliant delicate colours. 160gsm, uncoated, neutral pH paper. A paper mill in Italy took more than a year to make a paper that accurately reproduces the opacity, texture and thickness of the manuscript's vellum and has been widely acclaimed as the closest likeness to vellum ever achieved. The paper was developed exclusively for this facsimile. David Harris the renowned Israeli photographer, photographed the manuscript at the Israel museum in Jerusalem using large-format Ektachrome film in order to capture the finest details. In order to completely eliminate any curvature close to the spine the manuscript was disbound prior to photography so that it could be photographed flat. Specially manufactured glass which is both 'optically flat' and 'optically white' was used to hold the manuscript flat during photography. The printed page is, therefore, exactly the same size as the original. Offset lithography in up to twelve colours. The three different types of gold found in the manuscript have all been faithfully copied in the facsimile. The raised burnished gold of the original has been reproduced by applying the metal leaf to a specially built up area (replicating the original gesso) exactly where the leaf is raised in the original manuscript. Flat gold was reproduced by applying a metal leaf by hand. Gold powder was applied to all the illuminations that contain it in the original. Silver metal leaf was applied by...