•  This ed. not in Darlow & Moule, but mentioned in 4735.   Contemporary speckled calf panelled in plain calf with blind tooling, rebacked with lighter speckled calf and spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; original leather scuffed and abraded, corners rebuilt/refurbished (most notably the front lower outer one). Front pastedown with inked inscription as above, date partially obscured by institutional bookplate (no other markings). Waterstaining to lower portions of leaves, generally light to moderate with occasionally some other, associated soiling, and with cockling; paper not weakened or embrittled, however, and the volume now quite sound for scholarly use.  (26241)

In this printing, a fine engraved title-page shows an angel delivering Luther's translation of the Old Testament to a Church still in bondage to the requirements of the old Law. A similar sectional title-page, depicting God the Father, Jesus Christ, and allegorical figures of the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, comes before the New Testament. Six special pairs of leaves, bound in at various places, each offer a first page containing an engraving of biblical figures and three following pages containing their biographies. A woodcut vignette of the unusual triple arms of the city of Nürnberg appears on the title-page; a number of chapters are adorned, at head, with one-third page woodcut illustrations set in neat borders; and the books typically open with typographically appealing two-column "headers." The text is in a handsome and relatively legible fraktur. The size, decoration, and overall composition of the volume, along with its faults (especially the manner in which which pages are worn), suggest a history as a lectern Bible in a Lutheran Church.

Arndt lists three states for this edition, of which this appears to be C, based on the absence of a two-leaf addendum giving a short history of Bible translation—that a buyer could choose to have bound in or not.

•  Rumball-Petre, Rare Bibles, 159; Darlow & Moule 4240; O’Callaghan 22; Wright, Early Bibles of America, 24–44; Evans 5127–28; Sabin 5191; Arndt, The First Century of German Language Printing in the United States of America, 47C; Hildeburn, The Issues of the Press in Pennsylvania, 1685-1784, 804. Contemporary calf over bevelled boards. Binding scratched and abraded with tears to spine leather. Hinges (inside only) open. A printed poem has been affixed to the front pastedown, over a strip of cloth. Ownership inscriptions in German (in gothic cursive) and English on endpapers. Pp. 1–2 with loss of part of margins, some text, and part of headpiece, repaired with paper. Lightly age-toned with darker brown-spotting, some waterstaining, occasional dog ears, and some holing or chipping in the margins—some of the latter repaired with paper. First two leaves, i.e., main title-page and preface supplied in facsimile; the New Testament title-page is present.

Provenance:  Old inked inscription of John Ebersole, dated 1793, on front free endpaper; later pencilled signatures of Anna Ebersole and another person to pastedown.

•  Evans 9602; Hildeburn, Pennsylvania, 2045; Arndt & Eck, First Century of German Language Printing in the U.S., 296; ESTC W20981.   Contemporary calf with one clasp working and a remnant of the other; moderate rubbing to covers, leather on spine showing flex marks from the tight-back binding. Later spine labels. Faint library pressure-stamp on title-page; signatures as above. Age-toning and some staining; in fact the paper in cleaner condition than is often seen.  (25959)

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

The volume opens with a woodcut portrait of Martin Luther which according to Hamilton (cited in Reilly [see below]) “might have been made by Justu Fox who was working in Philadelphia at this time.”

•  Evans 11714; Hildeburn, Pennsylvania, 2561; ESTC W21005; Warrington, History and Practice of Psalmody in the United States, p. 39; Reilly, Dictionary of American Printers' Ornaments & Illustrations, 1577.   Contemporary sheep, rebacked some time ago, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-, place, “Chris. Saur,” and date labels; rubbed in the ordinary degree and with remnants of clasps. Back free endpaper lacking; pastedowns and blanks with old inked and pencilled signatures and writing practice(?) — which we do not make out much of, beyond “Johann(es).” Three leaves each with closed tear from outer margin extending into text; three index leaves with tattered outer edges, one with loss of lower outer portion; small section of pages with odd little dent to outer edge; last leaf present (and that leaf only) with a couple of pin-type wormholes; final leaf lacking. Pages age-toned, with moderate spotting and staining. Priced according to its described “issues,” not according to its considerable charm on shelf and in hand.  (25105)

•  Prayer Book, Psalter: not in ESTC. Bible: not in Darlow & Moule or ESTC; Herbert 1286. Contemporary calf, covers panelled in blind with remnants of clasps. Front joint open with cords strongly holding; covers abraded with incisions and leather loss to edges; spine leather dry and cracking; front fly-leaf detached. Lacking title-page and two preliminary leaves of Prayer Book; another early leaf detached with a closed tear across, no loss of text; four or half a dozen leaves with a crescent of waterstaining along upper margin and some lines into text. Bible: scattered foxing and brown spotting, with a few closed tears and occasional chipping in the margins, resulting in loss of words from a few shouldernotes. The copy described by Herbert had engravings and maps not present here; this copy is complete textually.

This edition ends with leaf 6M4 and does not match Darlow and Moule 957 (Edinburgh: M. & C. Kerr, 1793), described as a folio with text ending on 9R2, although that entry's statement that “The insertion of the Apocrypha interrupts the signatures” would seem to explain the absence of the non-integral Apocrypha; the accompanying Scotch Metrical Psalms of 1795 are also present in Darlow and Moule's listing. Herbert finds additional Kerr printings of 1793, but none that match the format and collation of this copy.

Scarce: ESTC, OCLC, and NUC Pre-1956 find only two U.S. holdings.

Provenance: The beautifully written ownership note, “Rebecca Jane Emack,” at top of first text leaf.

•  ESTC T91818; this ed. not in Darlow & Moule or Herbert.   Recent quarter calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped thistle decorations, leather edges tooled in blind. Upper portion of title-page neatly excised and probably something off the bottom also; early inked ownership inscription as above. Light staining and foxing; several instances of laid-in dried plant matter.  (25336)

Each volume closes with extensive Notes; the last leaf of vol. I offers a list of other works by this author for sale from the same publisher; and the last page of the second volume has an affixed errata slip. The notes are quite direct and personal, with Wakefield remarking, e.g., on what effect or variety of accuracy he is trying to achieve; what the knot of difficulty at a particular point actually is, for the translator; and whose “excellent” reading he is following (and how the chosen version from the Coptic differs from the Syriac or AEthiopic). He expresses surprise that an “obvious construction” has “escaped the critics” so “remarkabl[y]” long as it has, and in another case confesses that he is “quite at a loss” as to how one clause is supposed to connect with another — definitely, he's a scholar who yetlives in his pages.

Provenance:  Armorial bookplates of Justinian Minoch laid in.

•  ESTC T93093; Darlow & Moule 933 (see note); Herbert 1362. On Wakefield, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Recent quarter black morocco and stone pattern marbled paper–covered sides, leather edges tooled in blind; spines with gilt-stamped title, volume number, place/date, and compartment decorations. Bookplates laid in as above. Half-titles and title-pages with handsome old institutional pressure-stamp; each first text page with inked numeral. Intermittent light foxing, pages otherwise clean. An engaging pair of books in all respects.  (25784)

This volume has the first two parts bound together, comprising the four Gospels; a third part was added in 1800, but is not considered intrinsic to the work by either Darlow and Moule or Lowndes. The Hebrew is printed with the points.

Provenance:  Private pressure-stamp of “J.H. Williams, Rector of Llangadwaladr” (Anglesey).

Uncommon: OCLC and ESTC find only six U.S. holdings of this Hebrew-only printing, one having since been deaccessioned.

•  ESTC T2307 (for part I); Darlow & Moule 5164; Lowndes 2654; Horne, Introduction to the Critical Study & Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, 48.   Recent quarter calf and marbled paper–covered boards, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-dotted raised bands. Title-page with inner margin reinforced and pencilled inscription dated 1825 in upper margin; additional title-page with inked numeral in lower margin; title-page, additional title-page, final page, and one other pressure-stamped with the Rev. Williams's stamp and/or that of a seminary. Foxing; two pages with ink stains touching but not obscuring text. Final leaf with small central tear, without loss of text. Occasional unobtrusive pencilled corrections, underlining. In fact a nice clean copy.  (25810)