Moses Mendelssohn Letter sold Oct 3, 2013 at Skinner's Auction IS APPARENTLY A FORGERY ! buyer paid $5,100 for a fake

On Oct 03, Skinner held a Judaica Auction, lot 22 was a letter written by Moses Mendelssohn, which sold for $5,100. This letter is a apparently a Forgery, or an early copy, sold unknowingly by Skinner. The lot was sold as part of the collection of the leading Zionist, Nahum Goldmann, who passed away in 1982.

This is a great accusation to make, but after reviewing the facts, the conclusion seems indisputable.

THE PHOTO OF THE LETTER AS IT APPEARED IN AUCTION CATALOG

Above is the photo as it appears in the auction catalog. Unbeknown to the catalogers, this letter was written to Rabbi Yaakov Emden, and was published by Rabbi Yaakov Emden in התאבקות published in 1762. As is known, Mendelssohn referred to R. Emden as his Rabbi and their correspondence regarding delaying burial according to halacha appears in She'elat Yaavetz, Emden's responsa. Thankfully I have the Renaissance Hebraica facsimile of Emden's book and was able to look up the original letter as Emden transcribed it. Below is a photograph of Emden's transcription of the Letter he received from Mendelssohn as it appears on דף קסב in התאבקות.

3 lines into the letter R. Yaakov Emden notes in parentheses that "from this point on, the letter was burnt"  מכאן ואילך נשרף והאריך בענין כת הטומאה של ש"צ שר"י שהם גרועים מחזירי יער עד
In the copy of the letter, most likely copied in the 19th century from התאבקות the letter is complete and nothing is burnt or missing !

Jehoshua Pierce, a dealer who specializes in this field and who has seen numerous Mendelssohn pieces informed me that he independently made the conclusion that the handwriting on the letter offered was not of Mendelssohn. For comparison, see below a letter in the Leo Baeck Collection written by Mendelssohn.

A MENDELSSOHN LETTER FROM THE LEO BAECK COLLECTION

In addition, there are differences in the actual handwriting of the one offered for sale and Mendelssohn's known handwriting, as well as several grammar differences from Mendelssohn's own style. For example, Berlin is spelled on the above letter בערלין while Mendelssohn wrote is as ברלין, and see the header of the page which has the acronym בע"ה while Mendelssohn wrote is as ב"ה.


I think we can safely assume that the sale of this letter was done unknowingly by all parties involved, but this case just reinforces what most of us already know, that even auction houses can err. A buyer of anything, especially of something of such historical importance should do his own diligence in evaluating the item offered.

Many Thanks to Yosef Goldman for discovering the original letter in התאבקות and sharing with me the source and pointing out the difference.