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Judaica and Hasidic Books and Manuscripts

Lot 81:

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Historic 1906 Polish Ketubah (Marriage Contract) – Printed and Handwritten in Mława (Mława / Milawa), Płock Governorate, Congress Poland

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Start price: £100

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Description

A highly visual and evocative primary legal document of Eastern European Jewish life, capturing the cultural and genealogical history of the historic community of Mława at the turn of the 20th century.

  • Overview: An official communal marriage contract (Ketubah), utilizing an ornate, locally authorized printed letterpress frame with extensive filled-in rabbinic ink calligraphy.
  • Date & Location: Explicitly dated within the text to the fourth day of the week, the 11th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, in the year 5666 from creation (אחד עשר יום לחדש תמוז שנת חמשת אלפים ושש מאות וששים ושש לבריאת עולם / June 27, 1906). The wedding was celebrated in the vibrant district seat of Mława (מלאווא / Mława, listed in the text next to the river as במלאווא דיתבא על נהר דזילקא וסמוך למי באר).
  • The Bride and Groom: The contract legitimizes the holy union between the groom, Tzvi ben Zeev Yehuda and the bride, the maiden Chaya Breina the daughter if Moshe Dan
  • The Signatories: The bottom margins preserve the bold, legal ink endorsements of the two authorized community witnesses (Eidim) who validated the transaction and the halachic acquisition (Kinyan): Moshe Mordechai Ben Avrahamben Avraham and Chaim Chaikel ben Moshe Yosef Shatz.
  • Collector’s Highlight: Documents tracing family lineages from the Płock governorate of Congress Poland are highly sought after by genealogists and collectors of European Judaica. Due to the total destruction of Mława’s Jewish institutions and the devastation of its population at the Auschwitz and Treblinka death camps during the Holocaust, surviving personal religious documents of this nature from the pre-war era are rare and carry a profound historical premium.

Condition report:

Status: Good Antique Condition.


Details: The large single sheet is structurally sound and complete, displaying its original vertical and horizontal mailing creases. The paper exhibits a natural, uniform light-tan patina with soft, dark uniform aging spots and historic moisture staining concentrated heavily along the blank left-hand margin, well outside the print borders. The printed text, filled-in ink script, and the bold signatures at the bottom remain dark, prominent, and entirely legible.