A Gate or Door to the Holy Tongue, Opened in English (The 1653 1st Edition)

London: Printed by J. Flesher, for Joseph Cranford, 1653. Full calf. Very Good. The uncommon 1653 true 1st edition of this Hebrew grammar, titled "A Gate or Door to the Holy Tongue, Opened in English". Printed in London "by J. Flesher, for Joseph Cranford". Signed on the title page by John Robertson, author of "The True and Ancient Manner of Reading Hebrew without Points, and the Art of the Hebrew Versification Deduced from It". One other signature (unidentified) on both the front and rear endpapers. Handsomely bound in a well-preserved 19th century full brown calf and including 19th century pastedowns, endpapers and preliminaries. The 1653 original text has held up nicely as well. Clean, clear and eminently legible, with a degree of light, forgiveable rubbing and just a touch of light foxing. 32mo, easily VG to VG+. The author was a teacher of Hebrew in London and this was the first of his books on the subject. A "Secong Gate" appeared in 1655.