Rodriguez de Castro, Jose — Biblioteca Española [Two Volumes]

Madrid, En la Imprenta Real de la Gazeta, 1786. First edition. 18th-century mottled sheep decorated in gilt with morocco lettering pieces, edges stained red. [34], 668, [168]; [10], 748, [1] pp. including half-titles and final errata leaf in Volume 2. Folio. Tomo 1. La noticia de los escritores rabinos españoles desde la epoca conocida de su literatura hasta el presente; Tomo 2. La noticia de los escritores gentiles españoles, y la de los christianos hasta fines del siglo XIII de la iglesia. An important work by Rodriguez de Castro (1739-1799) which contains much material usually not found elsewhere. Volume 1 covers Iberian Rabbinic authors writing in Spanish, Hebrew, or any other language from the 11th to 17th centuries. Volume 2 covers Spanish writers, Christian and pagan, writing in Latin or in Spanish through the 13th century. "Aunque esta orb quedo sin terminar lo publicado es interesante por extractos de codicies y por las muestras ineditas de obras de Astronomos, Cabalistas, Comentadores y Expositores, Filosofos, Gramaticos, Historiadores, Juristas, Matematicos, Medicos, Poetas, predicadores, Retoricos, Talmudistas, Teologos y traductores de judios espanoles," (Palau, Manual del librero hispano-americano, XVII, p.256). Material for an extensive supplement was collected by the author but never published. ABPC shows only two copies at auction in the last 30 years. Palau 273764. Foulche Barrau 306. Ticknor p.306. Brunet I: pp.1637-38. Biblioteca de Salvá II: 2491. Heredia 8091. Kayserling: Biblioteca española-portugueza-judaica: Dictionnaire bibliographique (1890) p. 36. Cowley p. 135. Sizes not uniform; some dampstaining, mainly to the edges of the first and last two dozen leaves in volume 1 and the top edge in volume 2, minor worming in blank margins, 19th-century institutional stamp on first text page in each volume; unidentified branded ownership mark on top edges, otherwise leaves quite bright.