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Kestenbaum & Company is the first auction house in the United States to specialize in antiquarian printed books and manuscripts, with a particular focus on Hebraic texts and Judaic fine and applied arts. Kestenbaum also offers periodic sales of fine kosher wines, musical instruments, and rare silver.

Since its establishment in 1996, Kestenbaum has sold more than $65,000,000 worth of material.

History
Kestenbaum & Company was founded in New York City by Daniel Ethan Kestenbaum (born 1962) in 1996. After serving as Department Founder and Chairman of the rare Judaica division at London-based Bloomsbury Auctions for ten years, Kestenbaum went on to serve as Founder and Chairman of the Jerusalem branch of Swann Galleries.

Following a series of successful auctions at Swann, Daniel opened his own Auction House, Kestenbaum & Company, offering the first sale of rare Judaica on November 14th, 1996 at the Doral Park Avenue Hotel in Manhattan. Daniel still continues in his role as Founder and Chairman.

To date, Kestenbaum & Company has offered more than 105 auctions, roughly 3-4 each calendar year, totaling more than $65,000,000 in sales.

Kestenbaum & Company also is one of the largest niche Auction Houses in the United States, having sold to date over 40,000 lots at auction of rare and antique Judaica.

In 2013, Kestenbaum & Company was honored at a congressional luncheon held in the U.S. Capitol building in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month. In particular, the event, organized by the lobbying firm the Friedlander Group, recognized the Company for its work in seeking to preserve historic Jewish material culture and publicizing such via its auctions. United States Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio lauded Kestenbaum & Company for its commitment to the continuity of Jewish culture.

After 25 years operating out of midtown Manhattan, Kestenbaum & Company moved to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in March of 2020.

Jewish Museum of Prague Restitution Incident
In a collaborative effort involving the Jewish Museum in Prague and Kestenbaum & Company, a significant restitution endeavor was undertaken to return a rare 16th-century print to the library collections of the Jewish Museum in Prague. This endeavor reached its culmination during a restitution ceremony held on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at the Auditorium of the Education and Culture Centre of the Jewish Museum in Prague.

At the heart of this ceremony was the return of a nearly 500-year-old literary work, "Mikneh Avram-Peculium Abrae," authored by Abraham de Balmes and originally printed in Venice in 1523. This unique artifact, once belonging to the Jewish Community of Prague, had been absent from the museum's archives for an extended period.

During the restitution ceremony, Daniel Kestenbaum, representing Kestenbaum & Company, formally delivered the rare book to Leo Pavlat, Director of the Jewish Museum in Prague. This event marked a significant step in the ongoing efforts to preserve and honor Jewish cultural heritage.

The successful restitution was facilitated through the support and collaboration of Kestenbaum & Company, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO).

Fine Musical Instruments
Kestenbaum & Company held its Inaugural Auction of Fine Musical Instruments on October 22nd, 2018. The event garnered significant attention, with a substantial audience within the salesroom, while numerous buyers from across North America and overseas closely followed the proceedings.

After officially opening their Musical Instruments Department in 2018, Kestenbaum more than doubled sales the following year. Pieces included Eugene Sartory silver mounted violin bow ($16,000), Charles Pecatte silver silver-mounted violin bow, ($13,000), Albert Caressa's 1924 French violin decorated in gold leaf ($11,000), and Giuseppe Tarantino 1922 Neapolitan violin ( $8,000).

Fine Wine
On September 22nd, 2011, Kestenbaum & Company conducted the world’s first kosher wine auction. The items, all vintage and kosher, included rare Capcanes, a Spanish wine made about 100 miles south of Barcelona; a 1.5 L Magnum of Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Solomon Lot 70, one of only six magnums produced, and a Carmel vintage from 1976 produced in the Golan Heights.

Rare Silver
On December 6th, 2012, Kestenbaum & Company conducted the world’s first Jewish-related rare silver auction which included ceremonial religious objects, medallions, and cups. An 18th-century Polish parcel-gilt silver filigree spice container sold for a record $280,000, the most expensive silver piece ever sold by Kestenbaum.

Notable Items
In its more than 100 auctions, Kestenbaum has sold some of the most important items in the Jewish world, including:


 * The first ever printed edition of Rashi (Rabbi Solomon Yitzchaki) on the Pentateuch, including previously unknown commentary, in 1457. Sold For $390,000
 * The first ever printed edition of the Mishna, one of the most outstanding of Hebrew incunables, in 1492. Sold for $300,000
 * German-Jewish artist Moritz Oppenheim’s groundbreaking paintings of traditional Jewish life in Eastern Europe, one of the first to depict Jews as equal members of society. Breaking a world record for the most expensive painting sold by Oppenheim, the item sold for $380,000
 * The first ever printed edition of Abraham Ibn Ezra on the Pentateuch in 1488. Sold for $200,000
 * A 1721 extraordinarily rare parcel-gilt silver filigree spice container from Galicia. Sold for $280,000
 * Isidor Kaufmann’s famous painting, Portrait of a Young Jewish Bride, the most outstanding of all Jewish portrait artists. Sold for $230,000
 * The first ever printed edition of Maimonides's (Moses ben Maimon) commentary to Mishnah Tractate Avos in 1584. Sold for $170,000
 * The first ever printed edition of Maimonides’s (Moses ben Maimon) groundbreaking Mishneh Torah (Yad Chazakah) in 1509. Sold for $127,000
 * The first ever printed edition of The Tosfos Yom-Tov (Yom Tov Lipmann Heller) in 1614. Sold for $120,000
 * The personal Menorah of actress Marilyn Monroe. Sold for $112,000
 * The first ever printed edition of the Shulchan Aruch (The Code of Jewish Law) in 1565. Sold for $155,000
 * The first ever printed edition of the Tanya, the magnum opus of Chabad Chasidic thought, in 1796, sold for $96,000

Noted Collections
In its more than 100 auctions, Kestenbaum has sold some of the most important collections in the Jewish world, including:


 * The Rare Book Room of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. The auction represented only the second time in its 100-year history that the Seminary has deaccessioned duplicates from its Library.
 * The Honorary Officers of the United Synagogue’s Library of the Beth Hamidrash of the Court of the British Chief Rabbinate and its Beth Din, containing a collection of Solomon Hirschel (1762-1845) writings, England’s first formally recognized Chief Rabbi. The collection sold for $1,900,000.
 * The Library of the late Salman Schocken, noted scholar and Judaica collector. The collection sold for $819,530.
 * The Elkan Nathan Adler-Wineman Family Collection, including a leaf from the famous Gutenberg Bible. The collection sold for $3,780,00.
 * The Autographic Collection, including the very earliest recorded autograph letter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The letter sold for for $30,000.
 * The Valmadonna Trust Library, in conjunction with the Public Authorities of the State of Israel. A complete reference and bibliographic of the library sold for $190,000.