Need help with an art mystery

[Harel13]

Hi. I would very much appreciate some help with some research I'm doing on the following piece from any who have sharper eyes than me or are more knowledgeable on the subject.

Intro:
Meet the "Vilna Shaar", also known as the "Shaar Blatt", the title page of the 3rd edition of the Vilna Shas (full set of Talmud printed by the Romm Family printing company in Vilnius, Lithuania):

This title page is quite famous in the Jewish world because it's been reused for many subsequent editions of the Talmud and many other Jewish books.

It's an engraving, probably made based on Baroque style-architecture (from my amateur, no-nothing point of view ), which was based on the style of many title pages of the era, and in particular, Jewish title pages. The concept of the title page was to be a kind of "gate", inviting the reader to delve into the world of the book, and was based on the verse in Psalms 118 "This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter into it." As such, the Hebrew name of the piece is "Shaar", which means gate. The style was based on the style of European synagogue holy arks of the era (though after having scoured many different synagogue pictures (and even some churches), I think it's more probable that this wasn't based on any particular ark but at best is an amalgam of several or a completely custom design of the engraver (also because there's a bit of an angle issue with the four columns)).

For many years, though, I've been wondering who created it. Having carefully examined several versions of the title page, including a first-printing copy available online, I managed to find what I thought were three inscriptions on the lower-half of the image:

1.

This appears on the bottom-right step. Cross-checking with other versions and asking an expert by email from The Center For Jewish Art, I'm almost 100% certain that it says "PYS. S. HOLG" - does anyone know to what or to whom it's referring to? Plausible guesses also appreciated.

2.

This is on the top-left corner of the left base-cube. I thought it may be in Hebrew, but I can't make it out. The same expert told me she thinks it's just line-art that looks like writing, possible just a mistake in the engraving, so it may very well be one. The reasons I think that it may be an inscription is: a. You don't really such possible mistakes anywhere else on the piece - not something so vivid, anyway - this engraver was quite precise in his work. b. Later copies of this title page have erased this inscription. Usually things like this are done to avoid copyright issues (inscription no. 1 was also erased in some editions, but poorly). Thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

3.

This is on the bottom-left step. I originally thought it was some kind of Russian-book-serial-number (like the ISBN system), but the expert told me that it's a name. She managed to make out most of the last name, which is something along the lines of "Bruchoski" or "Bruchocki", but couldn't make anything else. Here's another version:

I will be very thankful if anyone could make heads or tails of this inscription and tell me what it says.

Furthermore, if anyone knows of a probably 19th century (because sometimes older art was reused) engraver with a similar name, or if anyone has any information on the maker of this piece, I'd be very happy to hear.

 

[Terry Sampson]

This appears on the bottom-right step. Cross-checking with other versions and asking an expert by email from The Center For Jewish Art, I'm almost 100% certain that it says "PYS. S. HOLG" - does anyone know to what or to whom it's referring to? Plausible guesses also appreciated.

Wish I had a higher resolution image of the Vilna image. However, ...

• On my own, I came up with "PYS.S.HOLO". Your copy of the image and better eyesight gives you the better version. Once I had that, my suspicion that it's either the artist's or the etcher's name, or both if the artist and the etcher were the same person, which--in my guess--they were.
  • I explored family names using my primary genealogy resource, Ancestry.com, and confirmed that "Holg" is, indeed, a family surname. Haven't checked yet but will, to see if I can trace a Holg family with roots in or around Vilna. Will get back you.
    
  • There is a possibility, i.e. a mere speculation on my part, that the "PYS." is not a name but an abbreviation for a particular job title, .... in Lithuanian/Polish which puts a roadblock on my imagination, since I don't know the language and have no idea what job titles may have been in the Romm Family printing house, much less what Lithuanian/Polish abbreviations for the job titles may have been.
  • As a consequence of my speculations, I further speculate that "S." is the first initial of the artist/etcher's given name.
  • I suspect that if you were able to track down a specialist in Jewish printing houses, AND locate "employment records", you'd find an "S. Holg" listed among the employees.

 

[Terry Sampson]

YIVO | Romm Family
YIVO | Printing and Publishing: Printing and Publishing after 1800

 

[Terry Sampson]

By the way, I was wondering:

• Did all books published by the Romm family printing house use the same Vilna Gate title page?
  • I don't know.
    
  • If they did, it doesn't seem likely that the engraving would have held up well under prolonged usage over an extended period of time. In other words, I imagine new engravings would have to have been made somewhere along the line.
  • If so, it would be interesting to find, compare, and contrast variant copies of the Vilna Page, to note changes in that portion which I addressed in my post #2; and, as well, in the areas that you mentioned but which I did not address.
• If all books published by the Romm family printing house did not use the same Vilna Gate title page, I would be surprised to discover that S. Holg was the artist/etcher of just one engraved plate (assuming that I'm correct and that S. Holg was the artist/etcher of the Vilna Page). Who knows? Maybe there's a Holg descendant somewhere who still has original prints of S. Holg's works.
• If S. Holg was indeed an employee of the Romm family printing house, was that house the only house that has ever used the Vilna Gate title page?
  • If so, what other names are found and are all preceded by "PYS."?
  • If not, what are the differences between the Romm family version and the other printing houses' versions?

 

[Harel13]

Did all books published by the Romm family printing house use the same Vilna Gate title page?

No they didn't. This was used by Romm specially for their 3rd edition Talmud. If you want, when I'll have time, I can post some other titles they used.

If all books published by the Romm family printing house did not use the same Vilna Gate title page, I would be surprised to discover that S. Holg was the artist/etcher of just one engraved plate (assuming that I'm correct and that S. Holg was the artist/etcher of the Vilna Page). Who knows? Maybe there's a Holg descendant somewhere who still has original prints of S. Holg's works.

I thought of that, but have yet been able to find his signature anywhere else (which doesn't disqualify the theory, it just means we need to keep on searching).

If S. Holg was indeed an employee of the Romm family printing house, was that house the only house that has ever used the Vilna Gate title page?

At the time, to my knowledge, yes. In later years (a decade or two, even), other houses already started copying the Romm Talmud and used the same title page.

 

[Terry Sampson]

1. No they didn't. This was used by Romm specially for their 3rd edition Talmud. If you want, when I'll have time, I can post some other titles they used.
2. I thought of that, but have yet been able to find his signature anywhere else (which doesn't disqualify the theory, it just means we need to keep on searching).
3. At the time, to my knowledge, yes. In later years (a decade or two, even), other houses already started copying the Romm Talmud and used the same title page.

re: #1. As intriguing as this research adventure is, I'm going to beg off. I'm already into the History of Vilnius (History of Vilnius - Wikipedia,) "Russian Empire" period and exploring frequency and geographical migrations of Holgs. Lithuania Online Genealogy Records
re: #3. To be expected, IMO, one will find expected name change and possible changes in the location of the name, as well other minor differences in the etchings, I suppose.

 

[Harel13]

As intriguing as this research adventure is, I'm going to beg off.

Thanks for your help so far!

 

[PureX]

As an artist, I am somewhat curious to know what you're looking for. Does this image speak to you in some way that drives you to seek more of the artist's work? If so, what about it has captivated you? I admit that the change in the line quality at the bottom of the image is puzzling, but if it was intended to obscure/reveal some sort of text it has succeeded a little too well.

 

[Harel13]

As an artist, I am somewhat curious to know what you're looking for. Does this image speak to you in some way that drives you to seek more of the artist's work? If so, what about it has captivated you?

I'm also an artist, but I can't really explain why this captivates me. It's really well-known in Jewish communities, though. I sent it really grabbed me for the first time about seven years ago when one of my high school teachers (not even an art teacher) casually mentioned that it's an engraving, which shocked me, because at the time I had no idea that it was possible to engrave so many tiny details into a piece of metal, certainly not a couple hundred years ago.

 

[Terry Sampson]

Question: I understand that the Vilna Gate portrayed in the Vilna Page is artwork. But I've never been in a synagogue and have only seen a few pictures of the inside of a synagogue over the years? Does the structure portrayed in the Vilna Page have a name that is not specific to Vilna? If "yes", are such structures common or rare? What's the chance that there was such a structure in the largest synagogue in Vilna?

 

[Harel13]

Does the structure portrayed in the Vilna Page have a name that is not specific to Vilna?

It's a Baroque-style holy ark, also known as an "Aron Kodesh" or Torah ark. Several such as this could and can be found around Europe. The first step of my search was to try to find what ark it was based on, but I haven't had luck on that end. I found a few that are a little similar such as these:

Izaak Synagogue in Krakow (the cloth covering isn't the original of course, but by chance features the Vilna gate)

Synagogue of Congeliano Veneto (though if I understood correctly, the ark is no longer there but in some museum)

Scuola Grande Spagnola in Venice

Tedesca Synagogue, Venice

Etc.

I also tried checking Vilna and Lithuanian synagogues, but unfortunately, many were destroyed during WWII and in Vilna in particular only one remains. The "Great Synagogue" of Vilna is being excavated right, and there are some old and low-quality pictures of its ark, but it doesn't resemble the gate.

 

[Terry Sampson]

I had no idea that it was possible to engrave

Gustave Dore's engravings are among my favorites. Several Bible printing companies of the early 1900s included some of his works in them, which is where I first saw them as a child. I knew nothing about the intaglio artwork then. I'm not an artist, but in the mid-1970s I worked as a sign language interpreter on college campuses, interpreting for Deaf students in classes. One semester, I interpreted for a student in his Intaglio course, and had the opportunity to observe the instructor and students first-hand and close-up. I really enjoyed that opportunity, and that experience is what led me to get involved in this thread.

 

[Harel13]

Small update:
I was informed that the name "Bruchoski" comes from the Hebrew name "Baruch". The "ski" part is one of the many Jewish-surname-affixes that means "son of". The only person that I know of that was called Baruch and may be connected to the Romm company was Baruch Romm, the 18th century founder of the Romm Publishing Company. He died years before the printing of this edition of the Talmud, so I very much doubt this is him. Furhtermore, his last name was Romm.
I did my best to try and figure out what those previous letters are, and didn't get much. So far they appear to be: BR or DR - EW - B -HO - BC BRUCHOCKI or BRUCHOSKI IC. I couldn't find, per @Terry Sampson's suggestion, related abbreviations, except for the first one: If it's BR, it might be short for "bieżącego roku" which means "of the current year" or if it's DR, it might be short for "drukara" which means "printer".

However, this made me think of another question: To my knowledge, at the time, there was a Russian ban on printing books in the Lithuanian language, which used Latin letters, unlike the Cyrillic used by Russia. The Romm press was one of only two Jewish presses allowed to operate at the time, so they were allowed to print Hebrew books, but any technical info that had to appear in the book was printed in Russian. The Bruchoski inscription, on the other hand, is in Latin letters. Was the title-page engraver a print-rebel?

 

[Terry Sampson]

there are some old and low-quality pictures of its ark, but it doesn't resemble the gate.

As an amateur genealogist, interviewing elderly family members about their past and those relatives who had passed on, I've had the pleasure and privilege of seeing old photos when an interviewee had them and pulled them out of a cupboard to show me, reminiscing while they did.
Just think, somewhere, in some dark place, is a forgotten photo of a Torah Ark, perhaps the one that inspired the Vilna Page etching, waiting for you to come find it, if you can and will.

 

[Harel13]

Gustave Dore's engravings are among my favorites.

I just checked, and yeah, amazing.

 

[Terry Sampson]

Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[Harel13]

As an amateur genealogist, interviewing elderly family members about their past and those relatives who had passed on, I've had the pleasure and privilege of seeing old photos when an interviewee had them and pulled them out of a cupboard to show me, reminiscing while they did.
Just think, somewhere, in some dark place, is a forgotten photo of a Torah Ark, perhaps the one that inspired the Vilna Page etching, waiting for you to come find it, if you can and will.

I still think that may be a possibility. However, there's one point that I mentioned in my OP which is that there's an angle issue with the four columns of the Vilna gate: they were drawn as if one was looking at them from below, yet the structure in its entirety is drawn as though one was looking at it directly from the front (at a horizontal angle). Which is why there's a good chance this was invented by the engraver.

 

[Terry Sampson]

there's an angle issue with the four columns of the Vilna gate: they were drawn as if one was looking at them from below, yet the structure in its entirety is drawn as though one was looking at it directly from the front (at a horizontal angle). Which is why there's a good chance this was invented by the engraver.

Think so? I went back up to your first image and looked. Dang! you're right. That slipped right by me. Looking at it a bit longer, "tunnel perspective" occurred to me. So I googled "tunnel perspective pictures". Take a look. tunnel perspective pictures - Google Search

 

[Terry Sampson]

If so, what about it has captivated you?

You didn't ask me, but ... for me, it's the tunnel perspective of the etching. Looking into a tunnel that either leads to the past or the future. It "calls" me in.

 

[Harel13]

Think so? I went back up to your first image and looked. Dang! you're right. That slipped right by me. Looking at it a bit longer, "tunnel perspective" occurred to me. So I googled "tunnel perspective pictures". Take a look. tunnel perspective pictures - Google Search

Hey, you're right.