Der Jude – Part 1 – Engravings – Leipzig, 1781

Der Jude, oder, Altes und neues Judenthum [The Jew: Or, Old and New Judaism], by Gottfried Selig. Leipzig: Publisher not indicated, 1781. Volume 1. German.
Work by Gottfried Selig (1722–after 1792), a convert from Judaism, about the customs and lives of Jews in Germany in the 18th century. The book – which deals, among other things, with customs and laws of marriage, marital relations, circumcision, and burial – contains two engravings. The first depicts a Jewish wedding held outdoors, and the second depicts a circumcision ceremony.
After converting to Christianity, Selig taught Judaism and rabbinic literature in Leipzig, and between 1768 and 1772 he published a nine-part series, also entitled "Der Jude," which dealt comprehensively and in detail with Jewish life and customs. The volume offered here is the first in a series meant to complement his previous work.
[15] leaves, 512 pp. + [2] engraved plates, 17 cm. Forty pages of the index at the end of the book are missing. Good–fair condition. Stains. Worming to binding. Tears and open tears at the edges of the binding and on the spine. Tears at the joint between the back binding and the spine.