Seder Haggadah shel Pesach, commentary by Isaac Abrabanel, with the folding map, Amsterdam, Asher

Seder Haggadah shel Pesach, commentary by Isaac Abrabanel, 54pp., additional engraved title (laid down, from another copy, its wormholes repaired) depicting large figures of Moses and Aaron beneath six circular vignettes of Biblical themes, strip at bottom together with a strip18mm. wide on the left side lacking and expertly replaced in facsimile, numerous engraved illustrations in text, with the often missing folding engraved map (washed and laid down), some soiling and stains, modern blind-stamped morocco, small folio (294 x 180mm.), Amsterdam, Asher Anshel & Partners, 1695.*** The famed Amsterdam Haggadah is a milestone in the history of Hebrew printing and illustration, introducing a whole new iconographic approach to haggadah illustration. The artist Abraham ben Jacob — a convert to Judaism — borrowed most of the illustrations from Mathaeus Merian, a Christian artist. Of all early printed illustrated Passover haggadot, the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695 had the greatest impact on subsequent editions. The map of the Holy Land is particularly important and often missing - it represents the first obtainable map of the Holy Land to utilise entirely Hebrew lettering.Because the Haggadah was a functional prayer book, utlised at the Seder Table, the book rarely survives in good condition and more normally shows significant wear and staining, owing to the ritual use at a dinner table, around wine and food. The Haggadah was intended for both Aschkenazic and Sephardic audiences, and it provides both versions of the Grace After Meals (Birkat ha-Mazon, and specifically states, “Here conclude the Sephardim; the rest is said by the Aschkenazim” (f.23r.). The “rest” consists of the hymns “Adir Hu,” “Echad Mi Yode’a” and “Chad Gadya,” all provided with Judeo-German translation (Almechtiger Gott nun boye Dayn Tempel,” etc.).Literature: Yudlov 120; Yaari 73; Yerushalmi, plates 66-69; From the Ends of the Earth - Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, p.80.