Wiener, Samuel

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WIENER, SAMUEL

WIENER, SAMUEL (1860–1929), Hebrew bibliographer. In 1887 Samuel Wiener was called upon by the Royal Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg to work in its department of Hebrew and Yiddish books at the Asiatic Museum attached to the Academy. He assisted Moses Aryeh Leib *Friedland (1825–1899), the wealthy St. Petersburg communal worker and philanthropist, in acquiring and arranging a large and valuable collection of Hebrew books and manuscripts entrusted to the Asiatic Museum in 1892.

His large bibliographical work Kohelet Moshe (Bibliotheca Friedlandiana), which lists all the books in Hebrew characters of the Asian Museum, remained unfinished; the first seven volumes, covering the letters alef to kaf and a total of 5,507 entries, were published (1893–1918), and the eighth volume, containing the letter lamed, was edited by Joseph Bender, and published in 1936. This bibliography is unequaled in Hebrew for its accuracy and itemization. In his work Reshimat Haggadot Pesaḥ ("List of Passover Haggadot," 1901), Wiener describes about 900 Passover Haggadot. He also edited and completed the work of I.T. Eisenstadt, Da'at Kedoshim (1897–98).

bibliography:

A. Marks, in: Hadoar, 8 (1929), 387 8; A. Tauber, in: KS, 6 (1930), 108; lnyl, 3 (1960), 451–2; E. Simon, in: Mitteilungen der Soncino-Gesellschaft, 6 (1930), 27–28.

[Gedalyah Elkoshi]