Seder Ha-Haggadah Shel Pesah Im Tziyurim. L'Haggadah illustrata, tradotta da A. V. Morpugo.

Folio (311x232 mm). [4], 64, [2] pp. Beautiful lithographed title-page with a gothic frame depicting  Moses, Aaron, David and Solomon in the columns. With 58 in-text lithograph illustrations by C. Kirchmayr and several initials. Text in Hebrew and Italian. The last page contains the sheet music of some traditional melodies for Easter evenings (Adir Hu, Adir Bimlukha, and Ehad Mi Yodeyah). Contemporary shagreen binding. Stamp on the back panel and on the title-page "Libri Ebraici Via S.F. Pola N. 9 Pescarolo Gabriele". Slightly foxed and browned, overall a good  copy.

"The Trieste Haggadah is undoubtedly the most distinguished illustrated edition produced in Europe during the 19th century. As the lithographed title page already indicates, the Haggadah differs in format and illustrations from any previous edition; at a time when the illustrations of the Venice and Amsterdam Haggadahs were being copied and recopied, in this edition nearly every page contains a large, innovative lithograph above the text, designed by C. Kirchmayr. While drawing inspiration from the iconographic themes of the past, the Trieste illustrations do not simply reproduce the stereotypes of the time, but display a welcome freshness in their design [...] For example, the scene depicting the family around the Seder table had been a standard feature of almost all Haggadah illustrations [...] yet in the Trieste Haggadah, the artist clearly chose to portray a middle-class Italian Jewish family of his time. Not only are the men and women dressed in the contemporary style, but each of them displays a personality rarely seen before [...] another example is the depiction of God on page 52, where Moses kneels before the burning bush from which God's bearded face is clearly distinguishable—a highly unusual occurrence in Jewish art" (Yerushalmi, pp. 102-105).

Haggadah or Aggadah, a narrative text, is a form of storytelling used in the Talmud and in certain parts of Jewish liturgy and Midrash. The term refers to homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in classical rabbinic literature. In general, the Haggadah is a compendium of rabbinic homilies that incorporate folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice in various fields, ranging from business to medicine. Of particular importance is the Passover Haggadah, which constitutes the liturgy associated with the Passover Seder and is a description of the exodus of the Jewish people from the Egypt of the Pharaohs.

Italian Union Catalogue, PUV\1161295; Yaari, 898; Yudlov, 1217.

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