Pnei Yehoshua – Amsterdam, 1739 – First Edition, Published in the Lifetime of the Author – Signatures of Rabbis and ...

Pnei Yehoshua – Amsterdam, 1739 – First Edition, Published in the Lifetime of the Author – Signatures of Rabbis and Handwritten Leaves
"Pnei Yehoshua, Apei Zutrei – Panim Masbirot L'Halacha", [Part II], novellae on Tractates Ketubot, Gittin and Kiddushin, by R. Yaakov Yoshua [Falk], rabbi of Metz. Amsterdam, [1739]. First edition. First book of the author printed in his lifetime.
The work Pnei Yehoshua on Talmudic tractates is a classic Torah text, regularly studied to this day. The Mareh Yechezkel, rebbe of Deyzh, writes in his Responsa Avnei Tzedek, in the name of his teacher the Chatam Sofer: "I have heard directly from the mouth of my teacher the Chatam Sofer that from the time the Rashba wrote his composition, no work was written that can compare to the Pnei Yehoshua". The Chida, in his book Shem HaGedolim, writes: "The work Pnei Yehoshua earned him worldwide renown… I merited visiting him for several days, and his appearance is like an angel of G-d, and he gave me the book Pnei Yehoshua as a gift".
Several handwritten leaves (5 written pages) are bound at the beginning of the book, in early script (typical of ca. 18th century), novellae on Talmudic topics of chapter Eizehu Neshech, tractate Bava Metzia, copied from the Pnei Yehoshua (part III, Frankfurt am Main 1756). In the heading of the first page, the copyist writes: "Since the teaching of my relative, the author are so dear to me, I decided to copy here what he wrote at the beginning of Eizehu Neshech… and I did not merit to acquire his composition on Nezikin, to find pleasure in it".
Early ownership inscriptions, signatures and stamps. At the top of the title page, ownership inscriptions by three writers, one after the other: "This Pnei Yehoshua belongs to the distinguished community leader, R. Aharon Sh. of Oedekoven / And he gave it to me Nethanel Fürth / I purchased this book by exchange, Elchanan Henle son of the Torah scholar and dayan, R. Nethanel". Another ownership inscription on the title page and front endpaper: "Eli. R.G.".
R. Nethanel Fürth, whose signature appears in this book (d. Elul 1786) was a dayan in Mannheim. He was the son of R. Seligmann Dinkelspühl, dayan in Fürth; and son-in-law of R. Binyamin Wolf author of Ir Binyamin (a relative of the Pnei Yehoshua. The title page of his book Ir Binyamin, Frankfurt an der Oder 1698, lists his lineage up to R. Yoshua of Kraków author of Meginei Shlomo, also an ancestor of the Pnei Yehoshua).
His son, whose signature also appears in this book – R. Elchanan Henle Fürth-Dinkelspühl (d. Tishrei 1802), a dayan in Mannheim. In 1776, he was appointed rabbi of the Kloiz in Mannheim. He is presumably the one who wrote these five pages, copying from the book of his relative the Pnei Yehoshua.
4; 115; 106; 81; 20 leaves. Approx. 31 cm. Good condition. Stains (including dark stains). Creases. Minor tears to several leaves. Minor worming. Inner margins of several leaves reinforced with paper. New binding.
This edition has several variants. The Bibliography of the Hebrew Book and Vinograd-Rosenfeld record copies with a different foliation (4; 115; 106; 81; 26 leaves). However, in Otzar HaChochma and other libraries, there are copies with 20 leaves at the end, as in the present copy.