Square Black & Gold Zemiros Shabbos Booklet #266

Black and gold, square, 4.5 by 4.5 inches, and 96 pages, which makes it one of the fuller booklets in the square format. The extra pages show in the spine. This has some body to it rather than being a folded pamphlet that flops open in the hand.

Ashkenaz or Eduth Mizrach. Ninety-six pages means the zemiros are printed unabbreviated with room for what comes before and after the singing, so nobody at the table is turning to a neighbour to fill in a missing verse partway through.

Black is the outlier in a category dominated by white, ivory and marble, and that is precisely the reason to take it. On a dark wood table, or at a men's melave malka, a black-and-gold square looks intentional where a pale booklet looks borrowed from somebody's chasunah. It is also the colour that shows the least handling over a year of Friday nights, which matters for booklets that live on the table rather than in a drawer.

• Malchut design #266
• Nisuch: Ashkenaz, Eduth Mizrach

Sold by Judaica Square, Lakewood NJ. Free shipping on orders over $75. Returns within 15 days.