Codex Sassoon going on display in New York

FOR SALE: The world’s oldest Hebrew Bible will be publicly displayed in NYC. The Codex Sassoon has a long and mysterious history but remained in Jewish hands for its 1100-year existence (LISA KEYS, JTA via Jerusalem Post).

After stops in London, Tel Aviv and other locales, the world’s oldest nearly complete Hebrew Bible will be on view in New York City beginning on Sunday.

Known as the Codex Sassoon, the book — which was written by a single Jewish scribe on 400 pages of parchment about 1,100 years ago — will be on view at Sotheby’s auction house (1334 York Ave.) by appointment through Tuesday, May 16. The following day, it will be sold at auction and is estimated to fetch between $30 million to $50 million — possibly making it the most expensive book or document ever sold.

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For background on the Codex Sassoon, the Sassoon family and their antiquarian collections, and the upcoming sale, see here and links.

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