How a ban over Graetz's history book led to detention in jail in 1876.

In October -November 1876 the following little notices appeared in successive issues of Der Israelit, Frankfurt's Orthodox newspaper edited by Rabbi Marcus Lehmman:





It seems that in Lancut in Galicia a Mr. I. Weissmann bought his copy of the 9th volume of Graetz's History of the Jews to a bookbinder. It was seen, denounced, and he was placed in cherem by the local rabbi (who may or may not have been R. Menachem Pinchas Spira, a son of the Bnai Yissaschar).

Trouble is, the cherem was against the law. Seven people were convicted; three received four weeks detention, three received three weeks, and the book-binder received two weeks. They appealed the conviction.

If we are talking about the same Weissmann, then we can identify this man as the "Weissmann Isak (aus Lancut)" described as בקי בחדרי תורה ובמשכלות ידיו רב לו in Lippe's Bibliographisches Lexicon (Vienna 1881) p. 528.