"THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE FIGURE IN JEWISH LIFE": SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF CHAIM WEIZMANN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ONE OF ONLY 500 COPIES SIGNED BY HIM

WEIZMANN, Chaim. Trial and Error. New York: Harper & Brothers, (1949). Two volumes. Octavo, original blue cloth, paper spine labels, original tan dust jackets, restored slipcase. $6000.

Presentation copy of the signed limited first edition, number 260 of only 500 copies printed on special paper, with Volume I signed and numbered by Weizmann on the publisher's original tipped-in leaf, a handsome copy in the original dust jackets and slipcase. Additionally presented and inscribed in the year of publication by Weizmann on the limitation leaf, "To —-, with affection and thanks for a great evening. Apr 23/49. Ch Weizmann."

"Endowed with diplomatic gifts of the first order," Weizmann, a Russian-born chemist, was perhaps the most important figure in the history of Zionism (DNB). The 1917 Balfour Declaration, "Weizman's primary achievement, was a turning point in modern Jewish history" and has been described as "the greatest act of diplomatic statesmanship of the First World War." Weizmann would become "universally recognized as the most authoritative figure in Jewish life" and was voted Israel's first president in 1949 (Encyclopedia Judaica, 430). His autobiography, which appeared that same year, details the story of his childhood, the long struggle for recognition of the Zionist Movement, and the triumph of statehood. First edition with "First Edition L-X" on copyright pages, indicating publisher's month of publication as November 1948. Original slipcase with publisher's printed label; Volume I with frontispiece portrait.

Slipcase renewed, with original printed side panels and rear panel neatly laid down over black cloth. Books and dust jackets fine. A desirable inscribed copy of the signed limited edition.