Sefer HaZohar – Slavita, 1799 – Signatures

Sefer HaZohar, Part One – Bereshit. Slavita, [1799], printed by Dov Ber ben Yisrael HaLevi and Ya'akov ben Moshe (partners of Rabbi Moshe Shapira).
Before the title-page there is a signature of Rabbi Chaim Berlin of Volozhin. The title-page is signed by Moshe of Bershad. Last leaf is missing.
Rabbi Chaim Berlin, Rabbi of Moscow (1832-1813, Otzar 5925) was the eldest son of the Netziv of Volozhin, and a well-known Torah giant in his own right. He maintained halachic correspondence with many great rabbis from around the world. He served as Rabbi in Moscow and in other places. For a short period, he stood at the head of the Volozhin yeshiva – until its closure by the Russian authorities in 1892. Toward the end of his life he made aliya to Jerusalem and was one of its leading rabbis. His wide and varied library contained thousands of books, and the one we see before us was purchased in his youth, when his ink-stamp still read Chaim Berlin of Volozhin.
[3], 251; 13 leaves (should be 14), 20 cm. Blue paper. Fair condition. Some pages have moth-damages. Title-page and last leaves are heavily damaged; some have been professionally restored. Last leaf is missing. Worn half-leather binding.