A Collection of Purim Plays [Purim-Sphils]1910s-1950s.

As mentioned elsewhere I acquired this group of plays as a group. I believe that their original origin as a collection was the library of The Temple in Cleveland, Ohio during the years when Abba Hillel Silver was the rabbi of the congregation. They were most likely published in paper covers but have been bound into library boards. For the most part these are uncommon in Library collections and scarce or absent in the secondary market. For a longer introduction to this material see my other post on the wider subject you can look here. As the bindings are boring to look at I have supplied images of title pages as illustrations. These books are available through the Hollander Books website.

THE BOOKS

Bain, Donald. Queen Esther: A Purim Play. Buffalo, New York, Union and Times Press, 1917. Duodecimo, blue cloth with printed pastedown on the front board, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 63 pp., minor soiling to the rear endpapers. Hardbound. Good.  (71435)      $15.00

Becker, Charles S. The Great Robbery at Goldfarb Gulch: A Purim Shpiel. Cincinnati, Ohio, Bureau of Jewish Education, 1951. Duodecimo, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 22 pp. Hardbound. Good.  (71431)      $20.00

Elmaleh, Leon G. Esther the Queen: A Purim Play. New York, Bloch Publishing Company, 1916. Second Edition. Duodecimo, green cloth with white spine lettering and call letters on the front board, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 15 pp., mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71420)     $20.00

Epstein, Aaron. Shushan by Short Wave. New York, The Furrow Press, 1939. Small octavo, black cloth with gold lettering and call letters, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 25 pp., mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71414)      $25.00

Freehof, Lillian S. Story Book Purim: A Fantasy for Purim in Three Acts for Younger Children. Cincinnati, Ohio, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1950. Quarto, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 12 single-sided pp. Hardbound. Good.  (71444)     $25.00

Garvey, Robert C. Prologue to Purim. New York, Young Judea, 1953. Quarto, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 4 single-sided pp. Hardbound. Good.  (71445)      $18.00

Gordin, Jacob, adapted from the Yiddish of. A Purim Injunction. New York, Young Judea, 1940s. Quarto, brown cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 3 single-sided typed pp. with a few tears. Hardbound. Good.  (71446)     $18.00

Heijermans, Herman. Ahasverus: A Play in One Act. Boston, Walter H. Baker Company, Publishers, 1934. Duodecimo, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 24 pp., bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, mild wear to the rear endpapers. Hardbound. Good. Translated from the Danish by Caroline Heijermans-Houwink and Dr. J.J. Houwink. (71407)      $15.00

Kalish, Alice. The Purim Puzzle: An up-to-date purim play for children. With a simple purim project. New York, Bloch Publishing Co., 1942. Quarto, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 9 single-sided pp., with a puzzle. Hardbound. Good.  (71442)     $25.00

Leiser, Joseph. The Belle of Shushan: A Purim Play for Children in Three Act. Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Synagog and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation, 1923. Duodecimo, blue cloth fraying at the spine ends with a soiled paper pastedown over most of the front board, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 27 pp., mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71411)     $25.00

Leiser, Joseph. Evelyn Dreams of Purim. New York, Bloch Publishing Company, 1930. Duodecimo, blue cloth with gold lettering and call letters on the front board, 12 pp., soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71425)     $20.00

Leopold, Jeanette and Nathan, Hortense. A Purim Cantata and A Purim Party Program. Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Synagogue and School Extension, 1940. Quarto, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 19, 10 single-sided typed pp., with two pp. of musical notation, water-stained, soiled rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71450)      $15.00

Levi, Ruth. The King's Choice: A Purim Sketch. New York, Bloch Publishing Company, 1910. 16mo, blue cloth spine and white spine lettering and white call letters on the front board, 11 pp., soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71427)     $20.00

Levinger, Elma Ehrlich. The Pageant of Esther: A Purim Pageant in Eleven Scenes. With Plates for Costumes. Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Synagog and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation, 1923. Duodecimo, blue cloth minor wear at the spine ends with a soiled paper pastedown over most of the front board, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 48 pp., five b/w plates, mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71419)     $20.00

Levinger, Elma Ehrlich. A Sick Purim: A Modern Purim Play in One Act. Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Synagog and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation, 1923. Duodecimo, blue cloth fraying at the spine ends with a soiled paper pastedown over most of the front board, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 26 pp., five b/w plates, mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71410)     $18.00

Levinger, Elma Ehrlich. The Star of Judah: A Purim Play in Five Acts. With Plates for Costumes. Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Synagog and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation, 1923. Duodecimo, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 36 pp., five b/w plates, mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71429)     $20.00

Levinson, Abraham. Esther (The Story of Purim). In Five Acts. London, Edward Goldston, Ltd., 1938. Duodecimo, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 48 pp., mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71413)     $20.00

Linsky, Fannie Barnett. A Purim Fantasy: A Play in One Act. Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Synagog and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation, 1929. Duodecimo, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper, 20 pp., mild soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71412)     $20.00

Neumann, Harold. Esther: A Purim Farce with Music in Two Acts. [No place], [No publisher], 1940s. Quarto, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 19 single-sided pp., 6 single-sided pp. of musical notation. Hardbound. Good.  (71443)     $25.00

Newman, Louis I. The Miracle of the Scrolls, or, The Purim of Saragossa: in Three Acts with Prologue and Epilogue. New York, 1936. Quarto, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters, ii, 13 single-sided typed pp., soiled rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71448)     $25.00

Newman, Louis I., arranged by. Star Over Shushan: A Purim Cantata. New York, Bloch Publishing Company, 1950. Quarto, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters, viii, 30 single-sided typed pp., two illustrations from E.M. Lilien, with musical notation. Hardbound. Good.  (71447)     $18.00

Plotkin, Celia and Rubins, Esther. Purim Streamlined (A Play With Incidental Music). New York, Celia Plotkin, 1940. Quarto, green cloth with gold lettering and call letters, 8 single-sided typed pp., with two pp. of musical notation, water-stained at the edges, soiled rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71449)     $15.00

Segal, Samuel Michael. Mr. Haman Objects. New York, Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1934. Duodecimo, tan cloth spine and tan card covers with  the original paper cover pasted down to the front panel, 20 pp., soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good.  (71426)     $15.00

Soifer, Margaret K. A Merry Good Purim. Brooklyn, New York, The Furrow Press, 1935. Small octavo, red cloth with gold lettering and call letters on the front board fraying along the spine edge, 20 pp., b/w drawings by Papiroff, soiling to the rear endpaper. Hardbound. Good-.  (71424)      $20.00

End