LOVELY 1948 LONDON ILLUSTRATED HAGGADAH FOR CHILDREN, WITH MOVING PARTS

(HAGGADAH). The Children’s Haggadah. London: Shapiro, Vallentine & Co., 1948. Folio, original half cloth with pictorial boards. $985.

Early edition in English of this illustrated Haggadah for children printed in London, with numerous color illustrations by Erwin Singer, five with moving parts.

“Born in Hungary, [Abraham Moritz] Silbermann [1889-1939] was ordained as a rabbi at Berlin Rabbinical Seminary, but engaged in publishing and bookselling… his Children’s Haggadah was popular” (Encyclopedia Judaica). This book was a featured selection in the Brooklyn Public Library’s 2000 exhibition, Brooklyn Pops Up!: The History and Art of the Movable Book. The illustrations with moving parts depict baby Moses on the Nile, the Jews’ bondage in Egypt, the plagues, the Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea, and the hiding and finding of the afikomen at a contemporary Seder. In addition, there is a two page full-color illustration entitled “Next Year in Jerusalem” in Hebrew. Printed in Hebrew, with English translation facing. With lyrics and music for a number of songs at the end. First published in Berlin in 1933, as Die Haggadah des Kindes. This is the third English edition, so stated on the title page. Small publisher label and bookseller label to front pastedown.

Movable parts present and functional, text block and some moveable parts expertly reinforced. Text and boards clean. Very good condition.