The International Market of Jewish Manuscripts and Books (1900-1948)

The encompassing objective of BookSHUK (book and shuk, in Hebrew market) is to provide the first historical and transnational analysis and digital visualization of the scholarly and trade networks related to the market of Jewish manuscripts and early printed books from the beginning of the twentieth century to the aftermath of WWII and the foundation of the State of Israel.

Although the last decades have seen a rich harvest of studies on a multitude of aspects concerning the history of the Jewish book from the Middle Ages to the Holocaust, in-depth research on the market in the twentieth century has been largely neglected.

BookSHUK aims to assess the international and interconnected nature of networks involving market actors (such as antiquarians, booksellers, private dealers, auction houses, collectors, scholars, librarians) between Europe, Mandatory Palestine (then Israel), and the United States also reflecting on the impact that major historical events such as WWI and WWII had on the trade.

Through archival research on selected cases of study concerning sellers, customers, and objects across Europe, Israel, and the United States, the project intends to: a) identify the sellers and their business networks; b) unravel the role of auction houses in the international trade of Jewish manuscripts and early printed books; c) reconstruct the interests and taste that drove customers both privates and librarians acting on behalf of libraries to purchase specimens or collections for their private and/or institutional libraries; d) trace back relations among sellers and customers while providing geographical, chronological, and data visualizations of their connections thanks to digital tools, thus contributing to a more inclusive intellectual and cultural history.

The three-year MSCA-GF will bring me to the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and, during a secondment, to the University of Amsterdam.