Wall Calendar, Altona: Aaron ben Elijah Katz, 1735
A rare exemplar of a genre considered “possibly the most evanescent objects” of ephemera.
In antiquity, rabbis developed a series of calculations to ensure that the solar and lunar calendars would not diverge too widely, primarily so that the Passover festival, which falls during the (lunar) month of Nisan, would always be observed in the (solar) springtime. In the medieval and early modern period, knowledge of the solar calendar took on added significance, as it became necessary for Jewish merchants living in Christian lands to be aware of saints’ days and Christian holidays, as well as city fairs and market days. Jews therefore had to create calendaric works that would present this information in an easily interpreted format, generally either as a pocket-sized book or as a wall calendar to be displayed at home or, more commonly, in a public space like the synagogue.
The earliest surviving Jewish wall calendar from German lands (specifically, Hanau) dates to 1625-1626. Over the following centuries, the fundamental layout of these calendars would remain largely consistent, although local tastes and concerns would inform the design. The present lot, printed in Altona for the Hebrew year 5496 (1735-1736), typifies the German wall calendar. The upper lines provide basic information about the nature of the year, the rightmost column gives the dates and times of the year’s tekufot (seasonal turning points) and moladot (lunar conjunctions), and the leftmost column displays the times of sunrise and sunset at regular intervals so as to facilitate the calculation of the onset of the Sabbath. In the center are twelve tables listing all the days of each Hebrew month, as well as their corresponding Gregorian dates and the relevant days of the week, plus information about Jewish festivals and liturgical variations, the onset of the Sabbath, and Christian holidays, saints’ days, city fairs, and market days.
Given the inherently ephemeral nature of documents meant to become obsolete with the passage of time, as well as their tendency to be used in communal contexts, the survival of such a wall calendar as this one makes it a rare witness to a genre of Hebrew print culture that helped trace the rhythms of Jewish daily life.
Physical Broadside (15 7/8 x 13 5/8 in.; 404 x 345 mm) on paper; each Hebrew month name accompanied by a woodcut depicting the labor of the month and its Zodiac sign. Slight scattered staining; small holes at head and foot (perhaps where calendar was affixed to wall) repaired; minor repairs along upper and lower edges. Mounted on white cardboard.
LiteratureElisheva Carlebach, Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011).
Elisheva Carlebach, “Precious Time: Jewish Wall Calendars in the Valmadonna Collection,” in Sharon Liberman Mintz, Shaul Seidler-Feller, and David Wachtel (eds.), The Writing on the Wall: A Catalogue of Judaica Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library (London; New York: Valmadonna Trust Library, 2015), 20-31.Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact sharon.mintz.consultant@sothebys.com
Wall Calendar, Altona: Aaron ben Elijah Katz, 1735
A rare exemplar of a genre considered “possibly the most evanescent objects” of ephemera.
In antiquity, rabbis developed a series of calculations to ensure that the solar and lunar calendars would not diverge too widely, primarily so that the Passover festival, which falls during the (lunar) month of Nisan, would always be observed in the (solar) springtime. In the medieval and early modern period, knowledge of the solar calendar took on added significance, as it became necessary for Jewish merchants living in Christian lands to be aware of saints’ days and Christian holidays, as well as city fairs and market days. Jews therefore had to create calendaric works that would present this information in an easily interpreted format, generally either as a pocket-sized book or as a wall calendar to be displayed at home or, more commonly, in a public space like the synagogue.
The earliest surviving Jewish wall calendar from German lands (specifically, Hanau) dates to 1625-1626. Over the following centuries, the fundamental layout of these calendars would remain largely consistent, although local tastes and concerns would inform the design. The present lot, printed in Altona for the Hebrew year 5496 (1735-1736), typifies the German wall calendar. The upper lines provide basic information about the nature of the year, the rightmost column gives the dates and times of the year’s tekufot (seasonal turning points) and moladot (lunar conjunctions), and the leftmost column displays the times of sunrise and sunset at regular intervals so as to facilitate the calculation of the onset of the Sabbath. In the center are twelve tables listing all the days of each Hebrew month, as well as their corresponding Gregorian dates and the relevant days of the week, plus information about Jewish festivals and liturgical variations, the onset of the Sabbath, and Christian holidays, saints’ days, city fairs, and market days.
Given the inherently ephemeral nature of documents meant to become obsolete with the passage of time, as well as their tendency to be used in communal contexts, the survival of such a wall calendar as this one makes it a rare witness to a genre of Hebrew print culture that helped trace the rhythms of Jewish daily life.
Physical Broadside (15 7/8 x 13 5/8 in.; 404 x 345 mm) on paper; each Hebrew month name accompanied by a woodcut depicting the labor of the month and its Zodiac sign. Slight scattered staining; small holes at head and foot (perhaps where calendar was affixed to wall) repaired; minor repairs along upper and lower edges. Mounted on white cardboard.
LiteratureElisheva Carlebach, Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011).
Elisheva Carlebach, “Precious Time: Jewish Wall Calendars in the Valmadonna Collection,” in Sharon Liberman Mintz, Shaul Seidler-Feller, and David Wachtel (eds.), The Writing on the Wall: A Catalogue of Judaica Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library (London; New York: Valmadonna Trust Library, 2015), 20-31.Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact sharon.mintz.consultant@sothebys.com
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