'SO PRECIOUS A FOUNDATION': THE LIBRARY OF LEANDER VAN ESS AT THE BURKE LIBRARY OF UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

4to. stiff paper wrappers. 386, (4) pages. A fine copy. The Library of Leander van Ess arrived in New York in 1838 and has since then reposed within the library of Union Theological Seminary. The collection was one of the most comprehensive theological libraries in the new world. An important step in nineteenth-century cultural and education history, it created the largest collection of incunabula west of the Atlantic Ocean at the time. Because of this, an exhibition was necessary, and one was held from September 17 to November 23, 1996. Research for the exhibition revealed there were many books in the collection that reflected on the history of books and libraries in Germany. It also demonstrated that the collector, Leander van Ess, was an important figure for biblical translation as was as for collecting and scholarship. This catalogue explores van Ess's collection of Bibles in a number of languages, works on church history, ecclesiastical law, and medieval manuscripts. The book is illustrated in black and white with four color illustrations and one colored fold-out plate. It contains contributions by Johannes Altenberend, Milton McC. Gatch and Paul Needham, and includes a brief biography of van Ess with introductory notes to the collection. It is written in both English and German.…