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he Barcelona Haggadah is recognised as one of the finest illuminated Hebrew manuscripts in the collections of London's British Library. It dates from the middle of the fourteenth century, and is named after the heraldic shield it bears, which resembles the arms of Barcelona. When the manuscript was created, the Jews of Aragon and Catalonia formed one of the largest communities in Europe, and Barcelona was home to a flourishing centre of manuscript illumination, linked to the Court and influenced by Italian and French styles.

Of all categories of Jewish prayer book, the Passover Haggadah tends to be the most extensively and richly decorated. The narrative itself, the Rabbinic elaboration, the family meal, the symbolic foods and the fact that the story is told to children, provide added incentives for colourful illustration. The size of the manuscript indicates that it was intended to be used, and enjoyed, at the Passover table on the eve of the festival, for the family gathering known as the Seder.

This Haggadah is outstanding for the rich decorative and representational illuminations scattered throughout the text: no fewer than 128 of its 322 pages are richly ornamented. Its fanciful figures and pictorial scenes provide fascinating insights into Jewish life in mediaeval Spain. For instance, music and culture in general flourished in Barcelona and its environs, and the Jewish community was proud to be fully involved. Indeed, until the forced conversion of the Jewish population of Barcelona in 1401, Jewish musicians played a vital role in drawing the Jews and Christians closer together. It is not surprising, therefore, that a lively interest in music is clearly displayed throughout the manuscript: in all, twenty-eight different instruments appear in the illustrations. More intimate details, such as the pictures of the meal, take us straight into a Jewish home of the period, while the synagogue scene reflects fourteenth-century conditions and traditions. The illustrations of the five rabbis of Bnei Brak, the four sons, the story of Abraham breaking the idols, and the Exodus, (which is shown taking place on horseback in mediaeval costume), are of great historical value. The unrestrained humour of the artist is clear from the dogs and rabbits that romp through the illuminated pages of the manuscript.

The large, clear script, probably designed to be read more easily by children, was written on eight lines per page. The text of the Haggadah occupies 180 pages; the remaining leaves contain liturgical poems and prayers for the other days of the Passover festival.

A manuscript as splendid as this must always have been treasured by its owners, some of whom we are fortunate in being able to trace through inscriptions on its pages. We find that it was sold by a Shalom Latif of Jerusalem to one Rabbi Moses ben Abraham of Bologna in 1459 for fifty gold ducats, and that it therefore left Spain before the expulsion of the Jews. The manuscript also bears the signature of an ecclesiastical censor: Visto per me Fra. Luigi del Ordine de San Dominico 1599. We similarly have evidence that it was owned by Jehiel Nahman Foà in the seventeenth century and later by Mordecai and Raphael Hayyim, two members of the Ottolenghi family. The British Museum bought it in 1844.

COMPANION VOLUME

The companion volume contains eight important contributions by leading scholars in their fields and is edited by Jeremy Schonfield. The codicology and palaeography of the manuscript is discussed by Malachi Beit-Arié, Ludwig Jesselson Professor of Codicology and Palaeography at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Evelyn Cohen, Curator of Jewish Art at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, discusses the art history and decoration and Menahem Schmelzer, Professor of Mediaeval Hebrew Literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, explains the liturgical content of the manuscript and discusses the poems following the Haggadah section. The translations of the poems and Targumim are made by Raphael Loewe, Goldsmid Professor of Hebrew Emeritus, University College London, with other translations by the late David Goldstein and Jeremy Schonfield. Leila Avrin of The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, discusses the binding. Diana Rowland-Smith, Curator at the British Library, describes the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the manuscript.

Finally, this volume contains the detailed notes on the manuscript by the late David Goldstein, Curator of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books at The British Library. The Barcelona Haggadah was his favourite among all the Hebrew manuscripts in the great collection for which he was responsible, and he encouraged the publishers to produce the present facsimile.

THE LIMITED EDITION FACSIMILE

The Barcelona Haggadah, Facsimile Editions' third facsimile, follows in the footsteps of the Kennicott Bible and Rothschild Miscellany, both of which have been acclaimed as probably the finest facsimiles in publishing history. The Publishers, not content merely to reproduce the appearance of the original, recreate the overall aura of the manuscript by including every detail, no matter how minor. The facsimile is designed to be used and enjoyed for many generations to come, and thereby to preserve and make accessible a rich cultural heritage.

From its inception the Barcelona Haggadah facsimile was planned as a lavish and accurate copy. The vellum of the original manuscript was measured for its average weight and opacity, and a special vegetable parchment paper, with a neutral pH, was milled to simulate the feel of the original.

Each page includes the pricking (minute marks made by the scribe to rule the lines for the text) and the scoring indicating these lines.

The facsimile is printed in up to twelve colours, demanding great care and attention by the master printers, colour separators and our own quality-control team. Many proofs were made and corrected against the original manuscript before the facsimile was ready for the final impression. At this crucial period, the publishers moved to Italy to supervise the printing of each page personally.

As gold leaf cannot be adequately simulated by printing, it was decided to reproduce the raised burnished gold in the original by laying metal leaf by hand, in order to achieve the richness of the fourteenth-century gilding. Gold metallic leaf is laid on 105 pages, built up to reproduce the burnished gold faithfully. The manuscript also contains many illustrations with powdered gold, flat gold and silver that, in the facsimile, have similarly been applied individually to each page.

The irregular page edges of the Haggadah have become brown with age. Thus each page of the facsimile is cut to exactly the same size and shape as the original, and aged at the edges.

The blind-tooled binding, made by craftsmen in Italy, is in fine brown calfskin over boards with bevelled edges. The accompanying companion volume is produced to an equally high standard, printed on Magnani paper and bound in a full calf binding to match the facsimile. The title is blocked in gold on the spine.

The numbered facsimile and companion volume are presented in handmade slipcases. Every copy is accompanied by a certificate bearing the seal of The British Library, verifying the number of the facsimile and the size of the edition. The number of each facsimile is irreversibly blind-stamped on the inside of the back cover.

All 550 copies have been bound (500 numbered and 50 ad personam copies) and the printing plates were be destroyed (in compliance with Halachic requirements), to preserve the significant investment value of each facsimile.

SPECIFICATION

CODICOLOGY

Size 260 x 190 x 35 mm (10 1/4" x 7 1/2" x 1 1/3") approximately. Page sizes vary slightly. 322 pages, 161 folios. 138 illuminated pages, with raised and flat gold metallic leaf applied by hand, powdered gold, silver and vibrant colours.

PAPER

Several years of research and development have culminated in the production of a paper that exactly simulates the opacity, texture and thickness of the vellum on which the manuscript was written. The paper, made by a small Alpine paper mill, is similar to that used in the Kennicott Bible and Rothschild Miscellany facsimiles and has been widely acclaimed as the closest likeness to vellum ever achieved. The neutral pH, 160gsm, paper is uncoated and has been developed exclusively for this facsimile.

COLOUR SEPARATING AND PROOFING

The colour separators combine laser scanning equipment with painstakingly precise hand work in order to make the colour separations necessary for the first proofs. These proofs are then compared with the original manuscript in London by the separator, the publisher and the printer, and corrections made. New proofs are produced and compared yet again to the original. Up to four sets of proofs are made for each page to ensure an exact likeness prior to printing.

The facsimile is printed by offset lithography in up to twelve colours. The printed page is exactly the same size as the original. Every single sheet is printed under the close and critical supervision of the publishers, who remained at the press in Italy for the duration of the printing.

GOLD

The three different types of gold and silver found in the manuscript are all faithfully copied in the facsimile. The raised gold and silver of the original is reproduced by a unique process developed especially for our facsimiles. Craftsmen apply the metal leaf by hand to each page, using a special building-up process so that the gold is raised as in the original. Gilding powder is applied to all the illuminations that contain powdered gold in the original and as much of the silver in the manuscript has tarnished yet another new technique was developed to simulate oxidised silver.

PRICKING

The scribe pricked minute holes on either side of each folio, between which he would rule lines for his script. These tiny holes are reproduced in the facsimile.

CUTTING

BINDING

The fine Italian binding is in tanned calfskin over boards, blind-tooled on both covers and the spine. The book block is sewn over handmade head and tail bands, each leaf having first been cut and aged. The quire formation of the manuscript has been scrupulously observed.

The companion volume is similarly bound in calfskin with the title blocked in gold on the spine.

PRESENTATION

The facsimile and companion are individually presented in hand-marbled slipcases.

GIFT CERTIFICATE

Your facsimile can be personally dedicated by our calligrapher at no extra charge. Whether the facsimile is intended as a gift to an institution or a private individual, our calligrapher can inscribe a beautiful illuminated gift certificate with an appropriate inscription.

EDITION

Strictly limited to 500 numbered and 50 ad personam copies. Each volume, discreetly numbered by hand inside the leather binding using minute steel dies, is accompanied by a numbered certificate carrying the seal and verification of The British Library.

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