Obj. ID: 37292  Lekutei Amarim by Raphael ben Eliyahu Katzin, Izmir (Smyrna), 1855

This text was prepared by William Gross:

A book dealing with disputations with Christians and Christianity.
Title page with image of a printing press.
Izmir became an important center of Hebrew printing in the Ottoman Empire beginning in the mid-17th century. Its first printing house was founded in 1657 by Avraham b. Yedidya Gabbai, who published in Izmir in two distinct periods, from 1657-1660, and again from 1671-1675. After Gabbai left Izmir, all printing activity in that city ceased for the next fifty years. It was resumed between 1728-1739, and again between 1754-1767, and then lay dormant again for another 60 years.
Only from the mid-19th century onward did Hebrew printing in Izmir continue uninterrupted until 1950. Several printing houses were active in the 1850’s, including that of two brothers (Ya’akov and Avraham) “The sons of Yehuda Shmuel Ashkenazi”, who had been engaged in printing work in Livorno during the 1840’s. They produced six books during the years 1852-1855, including the present volume. After an interval of 6 years they printed five more books in partnership with Rabbi Nissim Hayyim Moda’i over a three year period, 1861-1863. The press closed when the younger brother, Avraham Ashkenazi, went to work for the Ottolenghi press in Alexandria.