It was customary, therefore, to include hare-hunting scenes in many illuminated Haggadot. It is most unusual, however, to actually depict a hare on the Seder table itself since it is an unkosher animal and forbidden for consumption. The Venice Haggadah of 1609 is one of the most beautiful early printed Haggadot. The compositional conception of this edition differs from its precursors in the monumental layout of the page. The decorated frame consists of two columns crowned by a pediment, and a text illustration at the bottom of the page.
Several pages feature two larger pictures with a picture at the top in place of the arch.
It is not known who the designer of the Venice Haggadah was. The printer, Israel ben Daniel Zifroni, however, was a well known publisher during the last quarter of the 16th century having printed books in Basel, Freiburg, and in Venice from 1588. In 1695 there appeared in Amsterdam a new edition of the illustrated Haggadah which followed closely the example of the then accepted Venetian prototype. The technique of copper engraving made possible illustrations that were much more refined and detailed . The artist was Abraham ben Jacob, a convert to Judaism.