The First [& Seconde] Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus upon the Newe Testamente, 1548-1549. A Married Set of the of the Rare First English Printing of Erasmus’s Paraphrases to the New Testament. Heavily Annotated in English, and Numerous Manicules by a Contemporary or Near Contemporary Owner to the First Volume, and Early to Near Contemporary Provenance Inscriptions

A married set, but a surprisingly rare and largely complete first edition of the English printing of Erasmus’s Paraphrases to the New Testament, a literary rendering of an English translation of the New Testament, interweaved with an English translation of Erasmus’s Paraphrase of the New Testament. Although both volumes have annotations and inscriptions, the first volume is a veritable trove of notation. There are countless annotations in what is most likely either a contemporary or very near contemporary hand, written in Old English, and the dizzying script seen in 16th century manuscripts. There must be hundreds of hand-drawn manicules as well, more than I have ever seen in a single volume in my entire life. The second volume also has a few scattered annotations and notes, though nothing like what is seen in the first volume. The title page to the first volume is lacking, supplied in modern facsimile, as are the two blanks at end of Luke (kk6) and John (U8). The second volume also lacks six leaves, being the title page, C1-4 (Argument Romans) at the end of the preliminaries, and the penultimate leaf at end (Revelation of St John, folio xxxix), all being supplied in modern facsimile, and also lacking three blanks from St Paul to the Galathians and Ephesians). It should also be noted that there are various foliation errors. Asides from the penultimate leaf lacking, the main text itself is complete. Volume 1: 658 of 661 leaves. [18], cxxi [i.e. cx], [8], xciiii, [14], cx[c]vii, [8], cxxi, [2], lxxxvi of lxxxviii leaves. Volume 2: 347 of 353 leaves. [7 of 12], xliiii, lxiv, xxi, [5], xv, x, x, [xii], xxxiv, [xxviiii], [2], liv, [2], xxxix of xl leaves. These volumes are in very good shape, with some rubbing and wear to the first volume. The lower half of leaf b8 from the preliminaries has been excised and repaired with text loss affecting the final two lines and the three words ‘without end. / Amen’. There are also marginal repairs to leaf a2 of the preliminaries, and a long diagonal closed tear repair to Matthew O2. There is some damp staining and soiling to the initial leaves, and some spotting and occasional marginal burn holes. Some of the annotations to the first volume have been shaved due to trimming. The second volume also has some dampstaining and soiling throughout, heaviest to the initial handful of leaves. A complete writeup is available at my direct website with more provenance notes.…