(YIDDISH).
Wolf Ehrenfried von Reizenstein. Der Vollkommene Pferde-Kenner [“[A Guide for] the Complete ...

(YIDDISH).
Wolf Ehrenfried von Reizenstein. Der Vollkommene Pferde-Kenner [“[A Guide for] the Complete Horse-Expert.”]


First edition. Two volumes bound in one. German text with smattering of Hebrew. With engraved frontispiece and 28 plates, some folding. Charming head and tail-pieces and printer’s ornaments.
pp. (26), 176, (14), (Anhang: 36), 176, (14) + plates. Lightly browned, occasional staining. Contemporary calf-backed boards, rubbed. 4to. Lipperheide 2928.
Uffenheim: Joh. Simon Meyer 1764


A most unusual text. A comprehensive equestrian and veterinary manual with a most interesting 36-page supplement that comprises a dictionary with some 1,500 Yiddish and Hebrew terms - indeed entire phrases - transliterated into Gothic letters and with German translation. This is followed by five lengthy sample dialogues intended to aid Gentiles in understanding the dialect used by Jewish horse-traders speaking in their distinct Hebreo-German dialect. The inclusion of such an unusual appendix was likely in order to enable Germans avoid being at a commercial disadvantage, and instead, obtain a linguistic insight into the discussions conducted between their Jewish competitors - for the trade in livestock in Central Europe was a predominantly Jewish one. Further details available upon request.