Missing Treasures: Tracking Lost Ladino Books

Abstract A comprehensive project conducted over the past few years to locate and document every book printed in Ladino, revealed that between the years 1490–1960, nearly four thousand titles were published. In this article, I will show that many Ladino books were lost over the generations. Some of those missing books were referenced in assorted sources. Others did not come to researchers’ attention until fairly recently. This study contains several examples of Ladino books from the 16th century, which were lost and then rediscovered – due to the fact that their fragments were preserved in the Cairo Genizah or found in the bindings of antique books.