Zmir Aritzim – Newark, 1899 – Bibliophile Edition Printed on Paper in Various Colors

Zmir Aritzim – Newark, 1899 – Bibliophile Edition Printed on Paper in Various Colors
Zmir Aritzim, "Against the Chassidic sect and their many saints, the false prophets", by R. David of Maków, with a foreword by Efraim Deinard. Newark, New Jersey, 1899.
Special bibliophile edition. The book was printed in a tall narrow format, on paper in various colors: green, red, blue, pink and white. On some of the blue pages, the text is printed in red ink.
The title page states that this is the second edition, but in fact it is the third edition, since the book was first printed in Warsaw in 1798 and then in Königsberg in 1860.
Zmir Aritzim is one of the sharpest books challenging Chassidism. The author calls in his book for a war against Chassidism, derides its customs, and sharply and bluntly contests the heads of the movement, especially its founder, R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, and the books attributed to him by his disciples.
Efraim Deinard (1846-1930) was an author and Hebrew bibliographer – one of the greatest of modern times, book collector and book dealer, historian and polemicist, who was considered a fascinating and colorful figure. Born in Sasmaka (present day Valdemārpil, Latvia), from a young age he frequently travelled around the world, studying various Jewish communities and collecting Hebrew books and manuscripts. In the 1880s he maintained a book shop in Odessa. He emigrated in 1888 to the United States, in 1913 to Eretz Israel and in 1916 he returned to the United States. Deinard authored dozens of books, including research books and sharp polemic books (against Christianity, Chassidism, etc.). He was considered a provocative writer and many of his books aroused harsh criticism.
XXVIII, 76 pages (without [1] page - the English title page at the end). 15 cm. Dry and brittle paper. Good condition. Light stains. Small marginal tear to one leaf. Old binding, with damage.