Obj. ID: 54556
  Ephemera  Wedding Poem, Livorno (Leghorn), 1795

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The Hebrew wedding poem, composed by friends and family of the bridal couple, was an integral part of this popular genre among both Christians and Jews in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The form usually began with an honorific statement praising the bridal couple and their families and expressing good wishes. The central section was the poem itself, specially composed for the occasion. The form was often either sonnets or poems of multiple stanzas with regular allusions to and printing emphasis for the names of the couple. The last section was the salutation from and the signature of the author. While mostly found as printed documents, there are manuscript versions known as well. Both sorts exist in the Gross Family Collection.

This poem was published in honor of the wedding of a Sephardic couple, written by a friend, Yaakov de Medina, who is signed at the bottom of the broadside and who is known as the author of other wedding poems as well. This sheet was one of the first publications of a new printing firm in Leghorn that began printing in the same year as the wedding, 1791.  During the course of the next few years, the press issued almost 50 Hebrew books. The use of the woodcut decorations significantly adds to the visual pleasure of the reader.  The poem is filled with good wishes and praise for both the couple and the institution of marriage.  This wedding was celebrated on June 15, 1791 (13 Sivan, 5551) in Leghorn.

Bride:                                Blanca Bat Gavriel Pereira De Leon

Groom:                             Daniel Ben Paltiel Tzemach