Constitution and By-Laws of the American Jewish Publication Society.
[Judaica]. American Jewish Publication Society. Constitution and By-laws of the American Jewish Publication Society (Founded on the 9th of Heshvan, 5606). Adapted at Philadelphia, on Sunday, November 30, 1845... Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5606 (1845).
12mo.; plain tan wrappers; discrete library de-accession stamp on title page, top front wrapper; pages fresh, bright. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First edition of the earliest publication of the earliest Jewish publishing society in the United States. The American Jewish Publication Society was founded in 1845 by Isaac Leeser, Hazan of the Sephardic congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia. This pamphlet, printing the organization’s by-laws and constitution, was the group’s inaugural publication; it appeared in the year that the AJPS was formed.
From the very start, Leeser and the AJPS recognized the power of the printed word as a political force. “The impulse which brought this organization into existence grew out of a genuine fear of the Christian missionary and his free literature. The Jewish religion was in danger because there were no Jewish books,” felt Lesser, according to UJE (Vol. 6, p. 138). Leeser’s organization was designed as a counterforce to the many Christian missionary presses. Through the American Jewish Publication Society, Leeser intended to educate and unify the Jewish people by publishing and disseminating the works of major Jewish writers and thinkers.
This pamphlet spells out many crucial aspects of Society life: it prints membership requirements (“every male Israelite over age 21”)–women, minors, and non-Israelites could become contributing, non-voting members; the regulations for election of officers; schedules of meetings; and a detailed break-down of the Society’s fiscal responsibilities and fundraising activities, etc. A particularly interesting section on 6-7 concerns the guidelines for the acquisition of works to be considered for publication by the Society.
Under Lesser’s leadership, the first incarnation of AJPS maintained itself for five years, issuing 14 volumes and pamphlets–until December 27, 1851, when a fire wiped out the plates and stocks of books and the Society ceased to function. Some thirty years later, Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf of Philadelphia organized the Jewish Publication Society of America, founded in 1888. Although far better known, this Society was in fact the second American-based Jewish publishing group.
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