This catalogue is for the collectors. Look what we could have bought and at what low prices! Shapiro Vallentine, the famous publishers and bookshop was in Wentworth Street in the East End of London. It was originally owned by the Nirenstein family and then by their son-in-law, Chimen Abramsky, son of Dayan Abramsky. They published various catalogues which themselves seem to be scarce today. This one is of books that are not in Hebrew. Their catalogue of rare Hebrew books was separate.
Some of the books were priced in multiples of a Guinea. For those who cannot remember, a Guinea was 21 shillings – one Pound and one Shilling or 1.05 pounds.
For two pounds you could buy 19 handwritten pages, autographed, written by Sir David Salomons, Lord Mayor of London, to the Duke of Wellington. 10 Guineas buys a Haggadah, printed in Venice in 1609. Twelve Pounds 10 Shillings buys a Hebrew Bible (Tanach), printed by Menasseh Ben Israel in Amsterdam in 1625.
Jewish Miscellanies 