Moritz Steinschneider (1816-1907) is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the study of modern Judaism, and his work is still relevant today. Steinschneider's studies encompassed traditional Jewish subjects as well as classical and Semitic languages and cultures. He belonged to a small group of scholars who changed the scope of Jewish learning from that of rabbinics to a broader view of Jewish civilisation. Steinschneider also sought to provide a complete and accurate record of printed publications of Hebraica and Judaica. In this 1878 publication, Steinschneider lists all the Hebrew manuscripts held in the Hamburg State Library. He divides the manuscripts into thirteen categories, including homiletics, prayers, the Kabbalah, and theology and philosophy. Also represented are poetry, rhetoric, mathematics and medicine. Steinschneider also comments on each manuscript and evaluates the significance of the Hamburg collection compared to other German library collections.