SIGNED BY AUTHOR with dedication dated 26.1.1954. Arnold Wiznitzer was Emeritus research professor at the University of Judaism, Los Angeles and president of the Brazilian-Jewish Institute of Historical Research; among his publications is the important monograph `Jews in Colonial Brazil` (1960). RARE English translation with commentary of the original Portuguese text of the Minute-Book of the Jewish community of Recife - the earliest Jewish community records in the Western Hemisphere, the manuscript of which is still preserved in the archives of the Portuguese Jewish Community of Amsterdam. 230x155mm. XIII+108 pages. Blue cloth Hardcover with gilt lettering on front cover and spine. Cover stained. Cover corners, edges and spine worn. Spine yellowing, gilt faded. Spine edges bumped and tattered. Author`s dedication and two stamps on front whitepage. Pages yellowing. [SUMMARY]: This extremely rare translation with commentary of a significant source for early Jewish history in South America, signed and dedicated by the author, is in good condition.