TONGUES OF FLAME Levitan, Kalman L. Published by Kaycee Press, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida USA. 1989. Hardcover. >>MINIATURE BOOK<<

Title: TONGUES OF FLAME

Publisher: Kaycee Press, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Publication Date: 1989

Binding: Hardcover

Section: Miniature Books

miniature book (5.3 x 6.7 cm.). blue paper covered boards stamped in gilt, top edge gilt. (66) pages. (Bradbury, Kaycee 3). No limitation given but Bradbury states 200 copies. Printed by Ward Schori with "gilt cloth boards by Hugo Grummich" - Bradbury.  . Humorous and sensitive poetry to the memory of his mother by one of the founders of the Miniature Book Society. Levitan was elected as the first President of what became the Miniature Book Society. Kalman Levitan, rabbi, was a chaplain in the US Air Force, who also wrote and spoke extensively about miniature books. He wrote a reference book entitled "A Collection of References Pertaining to Miniature Books" published by Kaycee Press in 1985. This work drew upon Levitan's extensive personal collection of such material.

Levitan spent 30 years active duty in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He was a member of the Department of Defense Armed Forces Chaplains Board and served nine years as Senior Jewish Chaplain as advisor on Jewish activities to the Chief of Air Force Chaplains. He was Founder and first Chairman of the Miniature Book Society of America. He was an active teacher of Judaism. He received his BA from Yeshiva University, Master of Hebrew Letters from the Jewish Institute of Religion and Doctor of Divinity from Hebrew Union College. He did graduate study at Harvard Law School and Columbia University. In addition he published his own miniature books and wrote and edited volumes about miniature books. In 1983 he was instrumental in bringing together the collectors and publishers from around the United States that eventually formed the basis for the Miniature Book Society. Elected the Society’s first “Chairman” he helped draft bylaws and began an informal newletters. As a child, Rabbi Levitan’s father gave him a pocket-sized Hebrew prayer book printed in Warsaw in 1903. That was the beginning of a 2,000 volume collection that David Bromer (Bromer Booksellers, Boston) said was considered one of the most important collections. It spanned five centuries and included many rare and precious volumes.