Original Ketubot


Custom-Print Ketubot


Photo Ketubot

Customer Information, Standard Texts and Order Forms

Lettering samples

The revival of illuminated ketubot as part of the wedding has added both beauty and meaning to modern marriage ceremonies and to Jewish homes. When a couple selects a ketubah, they are choosing a work of art which is also a very personal document and becomes a family heirloom. It helps fulfill two mitzvot, that of making the khatan and kallah rejoice, and of hiddur mitzvah, the beautification of a mitzvah. While a plain ketubah would suffice, our tradition encourages us to increase its beauty, demonstrating the value we give to the tradition of the ketubah.

A Peggy Davis hand-lettered and decorated ketubah will enhance your celebration and remain as a work of art to display in your home. Her new line of Custom-Print Ketubot now bring the beauty of her commissioned work to the budget-minded.

Peggy H. Davis has been creating unique ketubot since 1980. They range in style from classic to contemporary and include a variety of techniques and materials. Custom ketubot are created on rag paper or vellum and may use watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, gold leaf or papercutting in their border designs. The text is that of your choice, in any combination of Hebrew, English, Yiddish or Russian.

You may see larger images of printed and custom ketubot she has made by clicking on the miniatures on this page. If you'd like to place an order, call or write to discuss your ideas and preferences. For a custom ketubah, she draws one or more sketches in colored pencil for your approval. Once approval is received, she will proceed to make your ketubah and ship it to you. The paper is approximately 22x30" in size, and the area of art work varies. The photographs here are of ketubot done on that size paper. For a Custom-Print ketubah, once your wedding information is received, you will receive a proof of the text and when approved, it will be combined with the border of your choice.

There are three resources usually found in Jewish book stores and synagogue libraries in which you can find reproductions of antique ketubot from many parts of the world. These are The Ketubah by Davidowitz, Ketubbah by Sabar and the Encyclopedia Judaica under the entry, Ketubah. Excellent on-line resources include: http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/ketubbot/ and http://www.library.yale.edu/judaica/exhibits/asch/pages/ketubah.html. Any ideas you have based on these or other art work, and symbols, themes and designs which are personally meaningful to you can be incorporated into a personalized design for your ketubah.

The cost of most Custom-Print Ketubah (see below) begins at $250, and an original, custom ketubah begins at $900, the cost depending on the extent and complexity of the text and border. For example, because of the additional time they require, the use of gold leaf, papercutting, parchment, a text in a second language or watercolor miniatures within the border result in a higher price. At the time when the final sketch is approved, you will be told the total cost for that design.

Click on any of the pictures below to see a larger image of each ketubah.

Ahava Ketubah

Custom ketubah combing watercolor and papercutting.

Jerusalem Ketubah

The lithographed Jerusalem Ketubah shown above (a limited edition print created in 1983, its border is already printed) can now also have a custom-printed text within the border for $220 total, or a pre-printed Orthodox text filled in by hand for $135 total.

Other Languages

Do you need a Russian language Ketubah? Yiddish? French? Spanish? We can do it. Any language that uses Hebrew, Roman or Cyrillic characters. You must supply the text to us. We do not provide translation services.

detail from a Hebrew/Russian/English three language ketubah.

Something Different:
The Custom-Print photo ketubah

  

Have your ketubah text printed on a fine-art reproduction of a photograph dear to your heart. We'll fit your text to the photograph and print it on our 100% cotton archival paper. The ketubot above incorporate photos of the scenes where the customers' weddings took place. Others used photos of city skylines. We have also printed ketubot incorporating (with the artists' permission, of course) reproductions of paintings. Prices, including one of our standard texts, begin at $400.

Undecorated Ketuba Texts

Peggy does not offer handlettered texts to others to decorate. She can, however, supply you with one of our standard printed texts with Hebrew in her personal font and English in a beautifully designed font (click for samples) for $150, including personalization. It can be printed on Arches hot press (smooth) paper in black ink, or you can send some samples of a paper you'd like to use and we can try it out. Maximum paper size: 17" x 22." Specify the size of the text rectangle and orientation on the paper. $75 additional charge for custom texts. $75 additional charge for non-rectanglular text area shapes. We do not recommend wetting the lettered area of the paper when painting a border with water color paints, as the ink in the lettering may run. Additional copies of the undecorated text may be ordered at a nominal cost in case the artist damages the text in the process of painting the border.