Bidspirit auction | A Hasidic Legend, by Shmuel

A Hasidic Legend, by Shmuel Lewin, with Woodcuts by Joseph Budko – Signed and Numbered Edition - Chassidische Legende – A Hasidic Legend, by Shmuel Lewin. Translated into German by Arno Nadel; accompanied by seven original woodcuts by Joseph Budko. Berlin, 1924. Private bibliophile edition of 377 numbered and signed copies. Copy No. 219, signed by the author Shmuel Lewin in his own hand in the colophon. German. A Hasidic Legend by the writer Shmuel Lewin (Samuel Lewin), translated into German by the Jewish poet, composer, and scholar Arno Nadel, accompanied by seven original woodcuts by Joseph Budko. The book presents a Hasidic legend set in Poland, exploring the world of Hasidism and the yearning for redemption. Among the figures appearing in the story are Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz – the Seer of Lublin, the Maggid of Kozhnitz, and other Hasidic figures. The text combines Hasidic tradition, faith, mysticism, and motifs of redemption, and is accompanied by Budko’s woodcuts depicting rabbis and Hasidim, the synagogue, streets of the Jewish town, and scenes from the narrative. The book was originally written by Shmuel Lewin, and the German translation was prepared by Arno Nadel in collaboration with the author from the manuscript completed in the autumn of 1920. The edition was produced as a Privatdruck – a private printing – at the initiative of the Jewish bibliophiles and publishers Abraham Horodisch and Ernst Rathenau, and printed by Otto von Holten in Berlin. The 377 copies were divided into several bibliophile tiers. Copies 1–7 were bound in full vellum and accompanied by a portfolio of proof and state impressions of the woodcuts, signed by the artist; copies 8–32 were likewise bound in full vellum and accompanied by signed impressions on Japanese paper; copies 33–67 were bound in full vellum. Copies 68–377 – including the present copy, No. 219 – formed the principal group of the edition and were originally bound in half vellum. [15] leaves, 28 cm. Copy No. 219 of 377 numbered copies. Good condition.