Obj. ID: 38180
Jewish printed books Olilot Ephraim by Shlomo Ephraim ben Aharon Luntschitz, Amsterdam, 1777
This text was prepared by William Gross:
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.
Solomon Proops died in 1734, and his three sons Joseph, Jacob and Abraham inherited his press. The brother's first operated together, and then, in c.1761, started working separately. After Jacob’s death in 1779, his widow and sons took over his branch of the family press in 1779, identifying themselves as the Widow and Orphans of Ya'akov Proops.