This Bible is illustrated with two full-page and 130 in-text woodcuts (including some repeated images), a few of which have early hand-coloring, mostly but not entirely in green or yellow. One full-page cut shows the six days of Creation — partially hand-colored in green, brown, red, blue, and yellow — while another depicts the manger scene. The text is followed by the Interpretationes nominum hebraicorum, a dictionary of Hebrew names often appended to manuscript and early printed Bibles.

Binding: Contemporary blind-tooled, alum-tawed pigskin over beech boards, elaborately worked using embossing rolls with religious vignettes and busts. Covers with etched metal corner bosses and remnants of leather and metal clasps.

•  Adams B988; c.f. Darlow & Moule 6101 & 6091. Binding as above, spine with hand-inked title; overall dust-soiled and darkened with several short tears to leather; leather no longer tight to the boards. Straps, clasp locking-mechanisms, and lower front metal corner now lost. Title-page and final two ff. of Interpretationes lacking; front pastedown separated from board and back pastedown lacking. First and last few leaves with insect damage to outer edges. First text page (contents) with old institutional rubber-stamp and shadow of pencilled numeral. A few leaves separated; a number of leaves with short tears from lower margins, a few extending into text, in many cases with traces of old repairs. Two leaves with lower outer corners torn away, one repaired some time ago. Pages age-toned, some waterstained. Scattered contemporary inked marginalia; some light underlining and a few instances of early inked doodling. Despite its faults, this is rare and imposing.

Provenance: 17th-century spine label with initials “S.F.” and a tree design between them. Ownership signature of Gordon Duff; Yale University (bookplate) — deaccessioned.

•  Edition: Moreau, II, 930; Shaaber, British Authors Printed Abroad, P57; not in Darlow & Moule. Binding: Fogelmark, Flemish and Related Panel-Stamped Bindings, plate XXXII R.46 & pp. 48–49.  Volume rebacked and much of old spine reapplied; lacks title-leaf and last leaf torn across corner with loss replaced of old, colophon partly supplied in manuscript.  Highlights to initials as above; occasional early underlining or another mark and a later pencilled note on last leaf. Missing leaf and torn second one notwithstanding (though they do lower the price), this isa very nice copy in a notable early binding.

This edition is printed in two unruled columns with shouldernotes, sidenotes (including dates), and italic headers. Acts 6:3 wrongly reads “ye may” for “we may.” Tables of kindred and affinity, weights and measures, money, and time are found on the last two pages. The New Testament sectional title has a woodcut vignette showing the arms of the University.

Binding: 19th-century black calf, elaborately tooled in blind in imaginative evocation of an “over the top” 17th-century binding, being horizontally, vertically, and diagonally ruled, foliate and floral devices within. Spine compartments tooled within, with gilt title in second one and gilt “Barker 1637” gilt at base. Red marbled endpapers. All edges gilt.

Provenance: 20th-century bookplate of C. ( or J.?) F. Weidmann, D.D. on front pastedown.

•  Herbert 757; Darlow & Moule 595; Wing (rev.) 2315; Loftie, A Century of Bibles, 354; ESTC R213033. (The title-page is from ESTC S90540 or S90541.) Binding as above, a little rubbed, and refurbished. Occasional light browning, soiling, and shallow bumping or chipping (not touching text). Lacking engraved title (replaced with title and preliminary leaf from another edition). A bibliophile’s delight, and warning.

Provenance: Front pastedown with red leather bookplate gilt-stamped “Sarah Jeaffreson.” Also with tipped-in bookplate of the Zion Research Library’s A. Marguerite Smith Collection and with laid-in bookplate of the Endowment for Biblical Research, Boston.

Binding: Red goat, covers framed in floral gilt rolls and spine compartments with gilt-stamped geometric and floral decorations; very delicate and pretty. Board edges gilt, gilt inner dentelles, all edges gilt.

•  ESTC T91635; Darlow & Moule 1238. Binding moderately rubbed and abraded with spine slightly darkened; corners bumped and lower one of front cover discolored at leather-edge; gilt on edges faded almost away. Inside some age-toning, with a handful of small, light spots; one leaf torn along inner margin. Back fly-leaf with pencilled notation; scattered stray pencil marks to other leaves. A pleasing little Oxford Bible.

On 4 July 1776 only two signatures were affixed to the unanimously adopted Declaration of Independence — those of John Hancock, president of the Congress, and Charles Thomson, secretary, in order to authenticate the document that had been voted on and approved. Yet by a curious twist of fate (read rather, surely, of a political enemy's knife), when the calligraphic copy that is so well known to every school child was ready shortly after 19 July, authenticator Thomson was not invited to sign it!

When he had retired from public life in 1789, Thomson was to turn his interest in the Bible and Greek to the 20-year task of producing this monumentally important work.

Its printer was the daughter of Robert Aitken, who had printed the first Bible in English in America. A major edition of the English Bible, this is essential for any Bible collection, not just for collections of American Bibles — though as an American Bible and simple Americanum it has a revered place.

Binding: Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt rolls, spine gilt extra, front cover gilt-stamped “John Bradley.” All edges marbled.

•  Shoemaker 31685. Binding as above, sides darkened, corners and spine rubbed, joints cracked with sewing holding but quite fragile. Fly-leaves with early pencilled ownership inscriptions and annotations. Light to moderate foxing. Separate title-page for second section (only) lacking.

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 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)