These photos are from a rare trove of more than 11,000 Hebrew books and manuscripts that was up for sale in February 2009 at Sotheby’s in New York City. These books were collected almost entirely by one 84-year-old diamond merchant who spent decades assembling the collection. The books and documents date from between the 10th century and early 20th century and were created in Italy, Holland, England, Greece, Eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, India, and China.

To see all photos by Shelomo Alfassa click here: OPEN PHOTOS