1843 English translation of 18 Treatises from the Mishna; also, orangutans

It's definitely worth checking out Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna, an English translation of 18 massekhtos from 1843. See the circumstances surrounding its production in the Preface below (and check out that footnote!*).



This is the not the first English translation of a part of the Mishnah. I believe that honor is due to William Wotton, whom I blogged about here.

* But see here about a question of delicate sensibility in translation, where an English machzor from 1796 translated mei raglayim, and a siddur from 1949 didn't. Of course, the translator of the machzor was an Ashkenazi; the translators of the Mishna were Western Sefardim!

See also the following footnote (pg. 30) on אדני שדה:


Apparently Tiferes Yisrael was preceded by Jost.