Illustrated Books: The Szyk Haggadah

The MAGNIFICENT Szyk Haggadah, One of 250 copies printed on Vellum -
The Passover narrative as Zionist allegory

"A book worthy to be placed among the most beautiful
of books that the hand of man has produced"
– London Times

THE SZYK HAGGADAH. Executed by Arthur Szyk. Edited by Cecil Roth. Hebrew and English Text. London: Beaconsfield Press (1940). Large 4to., 114pp. with 48 in color. Printed on double page pure vellum leaves. Exquisite full blue levant morocco binding by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt design. Original three-quarter morocco box lined in velvet. Near Fine condition.

LIMITED EDITION, ONE OF 250 COPIES PRINTED ON VELLUM, SIGNED BY ARTHUR SZYK AND CECIL ROTH. There could be no more a fitting subject for the milestone collaborative work of the internationally acclaimed Polish Jew, Arthur Szyk, and the eminent British scholar and historian, Dr. Cecil Roth than the Passover Haggadah. Through Szyk's efforts, as the greatest 20th century illuminator working in the style of the 16th century miniaturist painters, this Haggadah represents the culmination of the great illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and of Haggadah illumination particularly, where every individually illuminated text is in itself a work of extraordinary artistic accomplishment as well as a work of profound scholarship. Upon its publication, The Szyk Haggadah was described by the London Times as "a book worthy to be placed among the most beautiful of books that the hand of man has produced." It took the printer three years just to gather the fine materials for its war-time production in London.

Given the unfolding events in Nazi Europe, the Haggadah became for Szyk a personal and political statement. Dedicating his Exodus narrative to King George VI, Szyk acknowledged the key role that England, his temporary place of residence, had to play in Jewish survival. Yet the British Mandate on Palestine, symbolized by its White Paper and its restrictive immigration to Palestine weighed heavily on Szyk. On the dedication page of his Haggadah, he skillfully presents his work to the King: " At the feet of your most gracious majesty I humbly lay these works of my hands, shewing forth the affliction of my people Israel." Then Szyk followed with his self-portrait, brush and palette in hand, in standing position, leaning against his illumination. Behind him he has drawn huddled Jewish refugees, to their left a passenger ship, one of the "illegal" ships hopeful of breaking the British embargo to bring Jews into Palestine. The Hebrew word "Zion" is inscribed on British castle pillars nearby.

Of his accomplishment, Szyk has written: " I am but a Jew praying in art, and if I have worked, and if I have succeeded to some degree, if I have been favorably accepted among the elite of society, I owe it all to the teachings and the traditions, and the eternal virtues of my People." This is truly one of the most magnificent illuminated books of all times, and certainly the greatest illuminated haggadah in centuries.

The [Szyk] Haggadah. Executed by Arthur Szyk. Edited by Cecil Roth. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv: Massadah and Magen, [5716], 1956. Double-leaved pages with Hebrew and English text. Profusely illustrated. Blue velvet binding. Original 3/4 leather and blue cloth case with some fading and wear. Internally Near Fine Condition. $650. Call 650-343-9578 for availability.

FIRST TRADE EDITION, and first edition printed on paper. The Szyk Haggadah first appeared in a Limited Edition of 250 copies printed on vellum in 1940. It was acclaimed by The London Times, at that time, to be one of the most beautiful books ever produced by the hand of man.

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