Kestenbaum & Company to Auction Fine Judaica on May 2nd including Holy Land and Travel

Material relating to the Alfred Dreyfus Affair includes the L’Aurore newspaper issue with Emile Zola’s iconic J’Accuse headline, Paris, 1898, estimated $2,000-3,000 (Lot 107); and the first Hebrew edition of Theodor Herzl’s Medinat HaYehudim: Der Judenstaat, Warsaw, 1896, estimated at $2,000-3,000 (Lot 290).

Among the map related books in the auction is Johann Simonis’ Onomasticum, featuring the celebrated “grapevine map” of the Holy Land, Halle, 1741, estimated at $10,000-15,000 (Lot 178).

Within the Manuscript section of the sale is the Seder Hagadah shel Pesach, with Festival prayers – extracted from the Siddur Reb Asher. The Hagadah itself is extracted from the Reb Asher Siddur, Lemberg, 1787, the pre-sale estimate $80,000-120,000 (Lot 349). Another prominent lot is an original manuscript proclamation from 1935 praying for the recovery and restoration to health of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, signed by dozens of Rabbinic leaders and Chassidic Rebbes, estimated $25,000-30,000 (Lot 375). Another lot, no. 387, is an autograph manuscript written by the Baal Shem of Michelstadt, estimated $15,000-18,000.

Other material in the Manuscripts section include autograph letters by renowned Rabbis and historical figures including Rabbi Meir Arik of Tarnow, Rabbi Naphtali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (Netziv) of Volozhin, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, R. Dov Berish Weidenfeld (Tchebiner Rav), members of the Schneerson family of Lubavitch and Prof. Albert Eintstein.

For further information contact Jackie Insel at 212-366-1197.

Here are links to the catalogue on AE and Kestenbaum & Company's website.