Soncino (printer)
Soncino ( Hebrew שׂוֹנְצִינוֹ Sōntsīnō ) is the name of a Jewish printer dynasty.
More than a third of all surviving incunabula in Hebrew come from Soncino printing works.
Over five generations and in three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa), the Soncino produced Hebrew books. They played an important role in the European and especially the Jewish cultural history of the 15th and 16th centuries. Their products are characterized by both the philological reliability of the content and the quality of the typography , materials, illustration and decor. In addition to Hebrew texts, the Soncino printing works also produce incunabula and early prints in Greek, Latin and Italian.
origin
The family's traces go back to Speyer . In documents from Fürth in southern Germany, a certain Moses from Speyer or Moses de Spira is mentioned in a document. The first of the family to be named as a printer is Israel Nathan Ben Samuel, father of Joshua Moses and grandfather of the most famous family member Gershon Soncino .
The Soncino derive their family name from the small Italian town of Soncino in the former Duchy of Milan, where Gershon Soncino had set up an off- press .
In Montefiore , a district in the Mitte district of Tel Aviv, the Rechov honors Sontsino (רְחוֹב שׂוֹנְצִינוֹ) family memory.
Individual evidence
literature
- EN Adler: Talmud Printing before Bomberg. In: Festschrift D. Simonsen. Copenhagen 1923.
- Tipografia ebraica a Soncino 1483-1490 . Catalogo della mostra, Soncino - Rocca Sforzesca 1988. quinto centenario della prima edizione della Bibbia ebraica, Soncino, April 22, 1488. Ed. Giuliano Tamani.