Rare private collection of Hebrew books goes on display in New York

The Valmadonna Trust Library includes documents of unparalleled significance, including a copy of a 16th-century Hebrew Bible once owned by Westminster Abbey. Some have burn or water marks or other signs of religious persecution.

"I don't know any other collection quite like it in private hands. It even rivals some of the great institutional collections in the world," Arthur Kiron, curator of Judaica collections at the University of Pennsylvania, said. "There are very few cultural moments like this one where a collection of such great significance is made available for sale."

The complete library, valued at more than $40 million, is being shown in its entirety for the first time at Sotheby's Manhattan galleries until Thursday. The trust has asked the auction house to facilitate the complete collection's sale to a public institution or private collector. It will not break up the collection or sell individuals works.