Obj. ID: 38676
Jewish printed books  Chamishah Chumshei Torah, Amsterdam, 1665

This text was prepared by William Gross:

This volume of the Torah was brought to press by Ya'akov de Castro, brother of the printer David de Castro Tartas.
David de Castro Tartas, active from 1662 - 1698, published close to 70 books in Hebrew and a number in other languages, primarily Spanish. He was the son of conversos who came to Amsterdam in 1640 via France where they returned to their ancestral faith. His brother Isaac, having gone to Racife and Bahia, was burned at an auto-de-fe in 1647, refusing to abjure his faith. David learned the printer's craft at the press of Menasseh Ben Israel, working there as a compositor. In 1662 he established his own press, in competition with the already-active presses of Uri Phoebus and Joseph Athias.
The book is bound in a magnificent tortoise shell binding with silver clasps. The this binding was added later, as attested by the clasps, which are inscribed: Sarfattim Ao 5455.
Winograd lists the wrong printer for this volume.