Igeret Baalei Chaim – Mantua, 1557 – First Edition – Signatures of Rabbi Ezra and Rabbi Shlomo Alchadav

Igeret Baalei Chaim, parable of animals and people, by R. Kalonymus son of Kalonymus. Mantua: Venturino Ruffinello for Yosef son of Yaakov of Padua, [1557]. First edition.
The book has five sections, and tells a tale about animals, people, kings and devils, integrated with words of wisdom and ethics. As written in the introduction to the book by R. Kalonymus son of Kalonymus, this composition is part of a long literary work in Arabic which he translated, adapted and edited.
R. Kalonymus son of Kalonymus was a 14th century Jewish French-Italian intellectual who descended from the important Kalonymus family. In the framework of his literary work, he translated books of ethics, philosophy and medical literature from Arabic to Hebrew. The famous book of ethics which he authored, Even Bochan, gained wide circulation and was reprinted a number of times.
A "poem containing all the content of this nice book", composed by R. Avraham ibn Ezra (his name appears in the acrostic) based on the Arabic source, is printed at the end of the book. This section was omitted from all the following editions (with the exception of the Jerusalem 1949 edition).
This composition has been printed in many editions, some translated into Yiddish.
The initial words and letters are adorned with fine woodcut decorations.
The printer's name is mentioned in the colophon at the end of the book: "And its printing was finished on Rosh Chodesh Iyar 1557, here in Mantua in the house of Venturino Ruffinello, by and for Yosef son of R. Yaakov of Padua…". The printer's device of Yosef of Padua appears under the colophon (see: A. Yaari, Diglei HaMadpisim HaIvriim, p. 12, illustration no. 19; and p. 132).
Ownership inscriptions in Sephardic script with calligraphic signatures on the verso of the title page and on the (blank) last leaf: "Our rabbis have taught that a person should always write his name on his book lest a random person come along and say that it is his, therefore I have written [my name] in this book… EzraAlchadav"; "I will write my name in my book with the help of my hand and my quill… Shlomo son of Ezra Alchadavi".
[The first signature, apparently, belongs to R. Ezra son of R. Shlomo Alchadav, a Venetian sage, disciple of R. Aharon ibn Chaim author of Lev Aharon and of R. Yehuda Aryeh of Modena, friend of R. Azaria Piccio (Figo) author of Gidulei Teruma. R. Ezra was the scribe of the Venice Yeshiva and many documents of the Venice Ledger from 1630-1633 bear his signature. For further information, see: M. Benayahu, The Relations between the Jews of Greece and the Jews of Italy, pp. 237-240].
Latin inscriptions on front flyleaf.
[92] leaves. The last leaf is blank (this blank leaf is not recorded in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book). 13.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, dampstains. Minor worming. Repaired tears to title page (slightly affecting its border) and several other leaves. New elegant leather binding, slipcased.