Hebrew prayer book from medieval Bavaria sells for $8.3 million

Rare book collectors appear to be growing in popularity. During a huge sale dedicated by Sotheby’s in New York, the historic tome “Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor” sold for $8.3 million, setting a new high for a Hebrew prayer book. The text, dubbed “Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor” after its previous owner, was estimated to be worth between $4 and $6 million by the auction house. According to Sotheby’s, the bidding increased to $8.3 million thanks to an unknown American collector who has a large collection of mediaeval Hebrew texts. The “Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor,” which had been in the Alliance Israelite Universell’s possession for a long time, was released for the first time.

The “Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor,” which had been in the Alliance Israelite Universelle’s possession since 1870, was the first time it appeared on the market. This is one of the few illustrated Ashkenazi Mahzors still in existence today, according to Sotheby’s, and perhaps the only one in private hands.

This manuscript was produced between the late 13th and early 14th centuries by a scribe named Abraham. At that time, Ashkenazi congregations often spent large sums of money to hire a scribe to copy their prayer rites into two large volumes of the Mahzor, one comprising the liturgy of the winter, spring and summer festivals and fast days (from Hanukkah to Tish’ah be-Av ) and the other that of the autumn celebrations (from Rosh Hashanah to Simhat Torah).

Although produced in southern Germany, the “Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor” found its way to many homes in Alsace, the Lake Constance region, northern Italy and France over the centuries. Annotations left in the margins of the book by its various owners attest to its many travels throughout Europe.