“Ohncensurirte viel übles in sich enthaltende Bücher”: On the Registration and Censorship of Hebrew Books in Moravia in the Mid-18th Century
“Ohncensurirte viel übles in sich enthaltende Bücher”: On the Registration and Censorship of Hebrew Books in Moravia in the Mid-18th Century

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the Hebrew printing press of Franz Joseph Neumann in Brno in the years 1755–1760. It focuses on a dispute that emerged in 1755 between the printer and the Jesuit censors in Olomouc and Prague. At issue was the censorship of Hebrew books, in particular liturgical works, which were printed by Neumann. On the basis of this dispute, it is possible to show the (non-)functioning of the censorship of Hebrew books in the 1750s in Moravia, when there was a significant change in censorship practice, namely a transfer of implementation powers from the Jesuit order to the state authority. The paper compares the situation regarding Hebrew printing, book censorship and the book trade in Moravia with the conditions and practices that existed in Bohemia at the time. It describes the functioning of the Hebrew book trade and its regulation in Moravia, and provides details about the stamping of Hebrew books for registration purposes. It also gives specific examples of terms and passages that were unacceptable to the censors. Based primarily on an analysis of archival materials, the paper supplements existing overviews and case studies while also correcting some of the claims made so far.

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