•  Hills 618; O’Callaghan 189. Contemporary plain calf, spine with raised bands, gilt-ruled above and below and with gilt-lettered title in second compartment; gilt a little rubbed. Hinges (inside) repaired with paper. Shallow chipping and tattering, and many dog ears; tears mostly in the margins of pages and plates, but a few closed tears into text, on pp. 283–84 with loss of individual letters but not of sense; tattering on last leaf just touching text, leaf repaired with cellophane on verso; tissue repairs on pp. 273–74 and on the reverse of the frontispiece. Moderately foxed throughout; lacking pp. 765–68 of supplementary material (only). Pp. 618–19 are here misprinted in place of pp. 622–23—all text being present, if out of order! This significant Bible is here in a trim, neat contemporary binding.

Adomeit notes that the “long run of Phinney Bibles . . . are distinctive as the majority of the cuts are portraits, which Stone suggests are portraits of neighboring farmers.” The present example is illustrated with 24 wood engravings.

Provenance:  Early inscription “Abby A. Wades Book” on front free endpaper.

•  Adomeit, Three Centuries of Thumb Bibles, A66; this ed. not in Rosenbach.   Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped title, rubbed; spine leather cracked and front cover all but detached, but text block very sound and with all corners gently rounded in a style of the era. Endpaper with inscription above. Light to moderate foxing only.  (25208)

•  Adomeit, Three Centuries of Thumb Bibles, A71; this ed. not in Rosenbach, Early American Children's Books.   Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped title; slightly sprung, covers each with one small spot of worming, minor wear. Frontispiece recto with early pencilled inscription. Pages with some light spotting and occasional edge nicks. A nice example of this sort of production.  (25201)

Click the images for enlargements.

Binding:  Contemporary embossed rich cordovan-colored morocco cathedral binding featuring inter alii the Holy Ghost (in Pentacostal dove–form), the Agnus Dei, and stained/leaded glass “windows” both pointed and rosette. Spine additionally with gilt-stamped title; turn-ins with blind-roll design. All edges brightly gilt.

•  Not in Herbert.   Binding as above, in beautiful condition. First front fly-leaf with early inked familial gift inscription (including an explanation of one brother's having opted out of the group present!); second front fly-leaf with inked dedicatory poem.  (22266)

Binding: Straight-grained red morocco amply gilt in the Regency style: Front corners with a wide gilt-stamped foliate frame enclosing a narrow blind-ruled frame. Spine with raised bands, a broad foliate gilt roll on each band, second and fourth compartments gilt-lettered within, rest with gilt frames. Gilt inner dentelles and board edges. Red and white silk head bands. Marbled endpapers in a stone pattern. All edges gilt.

Provenance: Presentation inscription on front fly-leaves: Preston(?) S. and Francis M. Lincoln, to their grandmother, Hannah Shepard, 1835. Small booklabel of Michael Zinman on front pastedown.

•  Hills 733; O’Callaghan 208. Binding as above, edges and joints with minor rubbing, front joint of vol. II opening from foot, bindings showing a few light or small abrasions. Lacking frontispiece for vol. I and possibly a frontispiece for vol. II: O’Callaghan gives this edition as having a frontispiece for each volume, while Hills cites two copies, one this size with a frontispiece for vol. I only, and a large paper copy with a frontispiece for each volume. A few closed tears into text without loss; some pages, especially towards the end of vol. I, shallowly chipped without loss of impression; light foxing throughout with occasional darker browning or staining. Inked ownership inscription on the recto of the first fly-leaf of each volume.

Binding: Contemporary mottled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title label, gilt-stamped bands, and a small square decorative gilt device in each compartment.

Provenance: 20th-century booklabel of collector Michael Zinman on front pastedown; laid-in slip reading “A Chrismas preasent [sic] to Miss Nettie Holding given by Mary E. Hunt.”

•  Apparently identical to Hills 773 (1832 ed.), with this ed. not described. Moderately rubbed but showing less acid-pitting than is often seen on this type of leather, spine with a small puncture and leather starting to show slight cracking. Front free endpaper torn and separated; lacking frontispiece (not by Miss Bracket) and final leaf (an etymological chart). A few laid-in slips of paper, some with notes or figures in an early hand; one pencilled marginal note. Browning and spotting ranging from imperceptible to moderate; some corners dog-eared. A volume sound for use and pleasant to see on the shelf.

Binding: Contemporary speckled calf, covers framed in gilt triple fillets and panelled in gilt rolls with gilt-stamped corner fleurons, spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title-label.

•  Darlow & Moule 1132. Binding as above, rebacked some time ago; edges rubbed, original spine leather chipped, portions of covers abraded. Hinges (inside) showing evidence of old repairs. Front pastedown with small institutional bookplate, title-page pressure-stamped. One front fly-leaf separated and one splitting along reinforced inner margin, both with edges chipped. Title-page with two light stains; a few scattered spots of staining to pages, mostly clean.

Binding: Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt roll, spine with gilt-stamped title and compartment decorations.

Provenance: Ownership initials of William R. Whittingham (G.R.W., the "William" being rendered as "Guillelmus" for his love of Latin), fourth Episcopal Bishop of Baltimore; stamp of an Episcopal Diocesan lending library.

•  Front joint almost entirely broken, back joint starting from top, head of spine chipped, with binding showing minor darkening and scuffing overall. Free endpapers excised. Front pastedown with rubber-stamp as above (no other institutional markings); first text page with inked ownership inscription as above dated [18]64. Title-page of first work lacking. Pages slightly age-toned, some creased; one leaf with lower outer corner torn away. Small emphasis marks to index of Hymns, with an additional manuscript entry in the table of first lines.

•  Not in Herbert, Hills, or O’Callaghan, but see Herbert 1802, Hills 818, and O’Callaghan 221–22. Contemporary sheep, spines with black and tan labels; leather scratched and abraded. Pp. 1049–56 lacking and pp. 1057–64 repeated. Pages generally clean and even bright; endpapers and many plate leaves however with foxing and age-toning, mostly light but sometimes darker (and off-setting from the plate leaves to adjoining pages). Overall sound and serviceable.

Click the images for enlargements.

OCLC and American Imprints locate only five U.S. institutional holdings of this edition, one of which has since been deaccessioned.

•  American Imprints 40-701. This ed. not in O'Callaghan or Hills.   Contemporary treed calf, spine with gilt-ruled raised bands and gilt-stamped leather title-label; board edges darkened, corners and joints lightly rubbed. Title-page and first text page institutionally pressure-stamped and front pastedown with bookplates; first text page with numerals in lower margin. Front free endpaper with early inked annotation (apparently incorrect, unfortunately) regarding edition, signed by H. Cone. Fly-leaves foxed, some pages with scattered lighter spotting, most clean.  (25941)

Binding:  Contemporary black morocco, heavily blind-stamped and covers further graced by central gilt-stamped cartouches touched with red and green enameled highlights. Spine with similar blind- and gilt-stamping, highlighted in red and green. All edges gilt.

•  Not in Herbert.   Binding as above, minimal rubbing to edges and extremities, gilt lightly rubbed in a few areas, corners bumped. Front free endpaper with pencilled ownership inscription dated 1846. Back free endpaper with spot of dampstaining partially adhered to back pastedown and offset onto last leaf of text. Pages gently age-toned, otherwise clean. A little knockout.  (21996)

•  O’Callaghan 288–89; Hills 1161. Binding as above, carefully and reasonably rebacked, with portion of uppermost spine compartment left free of gilt; a few small scuffs, and some minor refurbishing over extremities. All edges gilt. First few leaves with outer edges ragged; pages very faintly age-toned, otherwise clean. A gorgeous copy, with the interesting manuscript additions described above.

Binding:  Publisher's papier maché boards covered with black plaster molded to create a gothic “carved wood binding.” The spine is black leather.

McLean states: “It was . . . the first of the so-called 'papier maché' bindings, contrived to look like carved ebony.”

•  Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England, 231; McLean, Victorian Book Design (second edition), pp. 99, 210.   Very nicely preserved copy with just a few small cracks in the binding; no leaves detached (unusual in our experience). Final leaf explaining the rationale of the illuminations stained; no chromo pages themselves, affected. Perhaps the nicest example of this publication we've seen in more than a decade. Housed in a red cloth clamshell case.  (26693)

Binding: Pebbled black leather sumptuously gilt: The covers tooled with a design composed of a base and pavilion formed of foliated C and S curve volutes enclosing fine foliated strapwork. Ornate columns support the pavilion, which encloses a shell. From the base hang a pair of acroteria, and the base supports a vase of flowers on a rocaille. Board edges gilt-rolled; gilt inner dentelles. Spine divided into compartments by narrow raised bands: Each compartment with a frame of treble fillets, within the second compartment the title gilt-lettered, the remaining compartments ornamented within by fine foliated filigree. All edges gilt.

Provenance: Presentation copy to Harriet E. Henderson with her name in gilt centered on the front cover.

•  Not in Hills; not in Herbert; not in O'Callaghan. Binding as above with a few barely noticeable small abrasions. A few spots of light staining on some pages. As nice an example of this kind of Bible “production” as you are ever going to find.

Binding: Signed reddish-brown morocco binding by Root & Son, with covers and spine gilt extra; extremely wide and handsome turn-ins elaborately gilt tooled — these last are illustrated in our last image here.

•  Not in Darlow & Moule. Leather showing small rubbed spots over edges and extremities, with faint leather discoloration to part of front cover; front pastedown with traces of a now-absent bookplate. The weight of this substantial volume has partially cracked the front joint; however, with careful use (and storage on the volume’s back, not its lower edge), this damage should not quickly progress. A lavishly produced Victorian New Testament, in a still-impressive binding.

Provenance:  Presentation copy, front covers gilt-stamped “Presented to Samuel A. Crozer, by the teachers of the Upland Baptist Sunday School”; front pastedowns with armorial bookplate of Samuel Aldrich Crozer. Crozer was the son of John P. and Abigail Crozer, who endowed the Crozer Theological Seminary (now part of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School); he served as president of the seminary's Board of Trustees and erected the chapel of the Upland Baptist church.

Binding:  Signed binding by Lewis & Sons of London: Black morocco, covers framed and panelled in gilt fillets with gilt-tooled corner fleurons, spines gilt extra, front covers with gilt-stamped presentation as above; board edges gilt-dotted, turn-ins with gilt roll. All edges gilt.

•  This ed. not in Darlow & Moule (see 1193 for 1855 ed.).   Binding as above, very minor wear to corners and spine, overall bright and beautiful. Two vols. only, lacking first vol. of O.T. Front pastedowns each with private bookplates as above; then ex-library with stamps/annotations variously placed and of various generations, back pastedowns and free endpapers with paper adhesions; properly deaccessioned. One frontis. map with tear along one fold, neatly repaired from rear. A very few scattered small spots of light foxing in one volume, pages otherwise clean.  (26128)

Provenance:  The family register leaves record that one Peter Paul Shank, presumably the Bible's original owner, outlived three wives (born in 1833, he married in 1857, 1896, and 1903, and died in 1913 in Mineral Springs, NY). The birthdates of Shank and his wives are all listed, but no offspring are recorded.

Binding:  Publisher's deluxe embossed brown roan in imitation of morocco, covers with central medallions surrounded by ivy motifs, spine with gilt-stamped title and blind-tooled knotwork and floral decorations.

•  Hills 1796. Not in Wolf, From Gothic Windows to Peacocks.   Binding as above, minor rubbing to joints, edges, and extremities. 64 pp. of appended material (index, concordance, metrical Psalms) lacking, with Biblical text and index complete; four plates (of six) lacking, with no indication of their ever having been present. Sewing loosening; first few leaves partially separated. Pages age-toned with some foxing. Front free endpaper torn from outer edge; one leaf with tear from outer margin, extending into text without loss.  (24453)

•  Publisher’s cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped title; cloth faded along edges and spine. Front hinge (inside) slightly tender. Pages faintly age-toned; in fact, a very clean nice copy.

Binding: Ornately gilt- and blind-tooled black morocco (with but remnants of gilt on covers and spine) including gilt inner dentelles. White silk endpapers. Purple silk placemarker. All edges gilt.

•  Not in Hills. Binding as above, and at right; lightly rubbed and beautifully refurbished. Light foxing on engraved title-page and some plates; a few of the latter with traces of soiling; guard papers with occasional folding and a little tattering. Instances of light waterstaining, not affecting impression, on plates facing pp. 716 and 736; the plate facing p. 368 has remnants of adhesive. Pages lightly age-toned, with a few more instances of light waterstaining. Tears in the margins (only) of some leaves. Ownership inscription in ball point in a pretty hand on front pastedown, and notation in same hand on last page. Unusually solid for a centennial-era Bible of this size—the weight of such an imposing volume works against its retaining its covers as here, over the years.

•  Not in Darlow & Moule.   Binding as above, corners and spine extremities mildly rubbed, a band at top of back cover a bit lightened in color. As with many examples of this publication, the volume's own considerable weight has partially cracked the front joint; however, with careful use (and storage on the volume's back, not its lower edge), this damage should not quickly progress. Title-page institutionally pressure-stamped (NOT rubber-stamped); no other markings. Clean and beautiful.  (26123)

Provenance:  Front cover gilt-stamped “Miles R. Bowers”; presentation leaf inscribed to Bowers by the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Royersford, PA.

•  Limp morocco-covered wrappers, front cover with gilt-stamped American flag, spine with gilt-stamped title; clean and in very good condition, contained in its original cardboard box with publisher's label, box showing only minor wear. Pages clean.  (6105)

We offer a copy of the last of those variants — the decidedly rare Signers’ Edition. Bound in full morocco, it containstwo original Bible leaves, one from the Old and one from the New Testament.  (The “Colonial Edition” contains only one leaf, from the Old Testament, and it was bound in quarter leather.)

Single-click either image, for an enlargement.

Not content merely to double the ordinary offering of Aitken Bible leaves, the Signers' Edition added a special insert on Benjamin Franklin that contains a third original leaf — this from Franklin's 1745 printing of the Confession of Faith — being, in this copy, the start of ch. XXVIII, “On Baptism.”

Found only here in the Signers’ Edition, in addition to the standard (and handsome) facsimile of a 3-page letter from George Washington, are a facsimile of Aitken's printing of the Declaration of Independence and a special frontispiece that presents facsimiles of all of the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

All editions of this fine leaf book end with Edwin Grabhorn’s still-notable essay on typography in America at the time of the Revolution.

•  Full crushed morocco, some spots to covers and without the slipcase; clean, and quite a good copy. (10453)

•  Binding as above with leather abraded at edges and joints open and fragile; slipcase lacking. A compromised copy, but a handsome and interesting production not necessarily easy to find on the market.

Produced as above, bound as below, were 1500 copies only.

•  New. Dark brown gilt and embossed leatherette over thick boards, dark brown moiré doublures. With one white ribbon place-marker and with all edges brightly gilt.