Obj. ID: 38395
Jewish printed books Haggadah shel Pesach, Amsterdam, 1729
This text was prepared by William Gross:
This is a miniature Amsterdam publication of a Haggadah with a Minhag picture of "bidikat chametz" on the reverse of the title page. These small publications are rare as the small size led them to being lost and discarded.
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.