Diary Handwritten by a Jewish Leather Merchant – Czechoslovakia, 1848

A handwritten diary-notebook (Hebrew), written by a Jewish merchant of the Prague region throughout the year 1848.
In the notebook, prepared by the merchant for personal use, appear – on the left hand side - the names of the Hebrew months in a table arranged by days, holidays and the weekly portions of the Torah, with detailed daily comments about the weather ("clear and warm the whole day", "light rain, cold and cloudy", "large ice very strong" etc).
On the right hand side - the merchant documented his travels to sell leather in the villages and towns in his area, most of the time with his spouse, accurately recording the quantity of merchandise and general expenses. He also documented each encounter with family and friends, dinners he shared with them, hours of arrival and departure and some other details. Most of the travels were to the town of Churdim and to Podolí , Lushe, Zdechovice, Skotnice, and of course to Prague.
An interesting inscription documents a letter which the merchant received from Rabbi Hanoch Schick, Av Beit Din of Tučapy: "I received a letter…from my friend rabbi Hanoch Schick of Tučapy asking for assistance since his spouse Malka has been sick for two years".
Alongside with the picturesque weather reports, appear events "of much ado and emotion" in his town and in Prague. He also tells about his brother in law and his sons and daughters who fled Prague "fearing the arrows…" – which might be a reference to the revolution of 1848 which was suppressed immediately in Prague. He writes further that "Prague is quiet again…" [16] leaves, 22 cm. Good condition. Spotting.