William Zeitlin
Encyclopedia
William Zeitlin was a Russian scholar and bibliographer born at Homel, government (guberniya
) of Moghilef, about the middle of the 19th century. He is known especially as the author of Kiryat Sefer, or Bibliotheca Hebraica Post-Mendelssohniana (Leipzig, 1891-95), a bibliographical dictionary of modern Hebrew literature from the beginning of Moses Mendelssohn
's epoch until 1890. The compilation of this work occupied Zeitlin for twenty years. He made extensive use of Benjacob's Otzar ha-Sefarim and of Fürst
's Bibliotheca Judaica, and visited Vilna and Warsaw
, the centers of the Hebrew book market, as well as many university cities—as Königsberg
, Berlin
, Geneva
, and Paris
—from the libraries of which he gathered additional material for his work.
The Qiryat Sefer indexes not only works in book form, but also important periodical articles, biographical sketches, and scientific essays, in addition to giving biographical notes on several authors. Zeitlin had previously prepared an index of works written on the Hebrew calendar
, in which he enumerates seventy-seven Hebrew works; this index was published by Chayyim Jonah Gurland in Yevreiski Kalendar (St. Petersburg, 1882). In the Zeit. für Hebr. Bibl. (ix.3-4) Zeitlin has published an alphabetical list of anagrams and pseudonyms of modern Hebrew writers; he was also a contributor to several Hebrew periodicals, writing mostly biographical articles.
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
) of Moghilef, about the middle of the 19th century. He is known especially as the author of Kiryat Sefer, or Bibliotheca Hebraica Post-Mendelssohniana (Leipzig, 1891-95), a bibliographical dictionary of modern Hebrew literature from the beginning of Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
's epoch until 1890. The compilation of this work occupied Zeitlin for twenty years. He made extensive use of Benjacob's Otzar ha-Sefarim and of Fürst
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
's Bibliotheca Judaica, and visited Vilna and Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, the centers of the Hebrew book market, as well as many university cities—as Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
—from the libraries of which he gathered additional material for his work.
The Qiryat Sefer indexes not only works in book form, but also important periodical articles, biographical sketches, and scientific essays, in addition to giving biographical notes on several authors. Zeitlin had previously prepared an index of works written on the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
, in which he enumerates seventy-seven Hebrew works; this index was published by Chayyim Jonah Gurland in Yevreiski Kalendar (St. Petersburg, 1882). In the Zeit. für Hebr. Bibl. (ix.3-4) Zeitlin has published an alphabetical list of anagrams and pseudonyms of modern Hebrew writers; he was also a contributor to several Hebrew periodicals, writing mostly biographical articles.