Description
Overview: A fascinating bibliographical variation of the important 1865 printing of Sefer Mateh Dan (ספר מטה דן), globally celebrated under its alternative title Kuzari Sheni (כוזרי שני). Written as a brilliant defense of the Oral Torah, it serves as the modern philosophical sequel to Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi’s classic Sefer HaKuzari.
Author: Authored by the towering Western Sephardic philosopher, physician, and communal leader, Haham David Nieto (רבי דוד ניטו; 1654–1728), the illustrious Chief Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in London.
The Three Pillars of Authority: The detailed title page explicitly draws upon the combined rabbinic weight and approvals of three historical giants spanning diverse traditions: the Ashkenazi leader Chacham Tzvi, the halachic master Sha’agat Aryeh, and the legendary Sephardic traveler and bibliographer The Chida.
Unique Production Error: This specific copy features a remarkable 19th-century printer’s signature imposition error: a sequence of internal leaves was physically bound upside down by the original Warsaw workshop. The pages are textually complete and follow correct numerical sequencing, presenting a highly prized oddity for specialized bibliographical collectors.
Elite Historic Provenance: The title page bears the prestigious blue archival stamps of the "Comunidad Israelita Sefaradi del Uruguay" (The Sephardic Jewish Community of Montevideo, Uruguay), tracking this volume’s incredible transatlantic migration from Imperial Russian Poland to the early Jewish diaspora in South America.
Condition report:
Status: Good Antique Condition with Wide Margins.
Format: Deluxe Large-Margin Copy, featuring significantly wider paper borders than standard trade printings of this edition.
Binding: Housed in its original 19th-century half-leather binding over marbled paper boards. The exterior covers show honest period rubbing, scuffing along the outer leather corners, and loss to the spine backing material, though the structural binding matrix holds tight.
Interior: Complete text. The leaves display a rich natural cream patina with beautiful floral-patterned antique endpapers. Scattered age-spotting (foxing) is present, but the text blocks remain crisp, dark, and perfectly legible.
