On Auction: A Bookbinder’s Private Collection of Rare Hebrew Books
On September 12, the New York-based auction house Kestenbaum & Company will open its fall 2006 season with a sale of intricately bound Hebrew books dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. The items are from the personal library of Berlin-born Joseph Gradenwitz, who immigrated to London after fleeing Germany to escape World War II. In addition to collecting, Gradenwitz learned the craft of bookbinding, and later he personally bound and restored nearly all the books in his own collection (as well as those of some of his fellow collectors).
According to the auction house, the item set to make the most waves at the upcoming sale will be a mid-18th-century illuminated miniature manuscript on vellum, with a presale estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. For more information, visit www.kestenbaum.net.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
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