Obj. ID: 35475
Jewish printed books  Arba'ah ve-'Esrim, Amsterdam, 1724

This text was prepared by William Gross:

This frontispiece was often used in Amsterdam prints and exists in the Gross Family collection in three different colors. This one is in black ink, and additionally there is one in brown and one in red ink. This is a classic edtion of the Tanach in Amsterdam by Proops.
The press set up by Solomon Proops became the most famous of all the presses operating in Amsterdam in the 18th century, apart from the Menasseh ben Israel press. Solomon's father Joseph came to Amsterdam from Poznan. Solomon Proops was initially involved in the bookselling trade, and in 1677 was admitted to the Amsterdam Guild of Booksellers, Printers and Bookbinders. In 1704 he set up his own press, which was to become the longest operating and most productive of all the Jewish presses in Europe in the 18th C. He acquired the fame of a printer who produced beautiful books that could be bought at a reasonable price.