Obj. ID: 35451
Jewish printed books  Tikkun Shtarot by Meir ben David of Lublin, Amsterdam, 1697

This text was prepared by William Gross:

This small book is guide to the documents needed for various aspects of Jewish life. It is a compilation of forms to be used in contracts and ceremonies.
Caspar Pietersen Steen (1643-1703) was the only Christian printer in Amsterdam who only printed Jewish books. He printed only for Ashkenazic Jews, mainly for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth market, and did not cooperate with the Sephardic community at all. There were earlier instances of Jewish works published in Amsterdam with the involvement of a Christian typesetter, bookbinder, bookseller, or even paper trader, but such works were printed at Jewish presses. There were even Jews who came especially from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to commission a Bible or another religious work from Caspar Steen, though they could rely on a Jewish press.
Caspar Steen's family was not involved in the printing trade. His father was a sailor. Caspar only became involved in the trade through his marriage. Soon after his wedding in 1669, to the daughter of his employer Gerrit Huygen Klaresteyn, a Catholic involved in the trade in Jewish works and in their binding, Caspar himself converted to Catholicism. In 1670 he was admitted as a bookbinder to the Amsterdam Guild of Booksellers, Printers and Bookbinders. After many years of working for Jewish printers as a bookbinder, he set up his own press, relying on his extensive knowledge of the book production and trade market. He was already nearly 50 years old by then. In spite of the fierce competition in the Jewish book market, he managed to operate in it for more than 10 years, from 1692 until his death in 1703. Following his death, his family closed the press down. In all, Caspar Steen published 13 works throughout his career as a printer.