Bindings Bible (15 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Three volumes. (5.7 x 3.4 inches. - 4.9 x 3.1 inches. - 4.4 x 2.6 inches). Larger book: Holy Bible, Translated from the original tongues, Oxford, Clarendon press by Samuel Collingwood and co. 1823. -- Middle size book: New Testament, Translated from the original Greek, Oxford, Clarendon press by Samuel Collingwood and co. 1824. -- Smaller book: Psalms of David imitated in the language of the new testament by I. Watts DD, London C. Corrall 1818. Attractive contemporary full red straight grained morocco bindings. Each volume with a gilt stamped view of St. Paul's Cathedral to both thr front and rear boards, all within decorative gilt and blind tooled borders. Spines fully gilt. All edges gilt. A one inch split to the bottom lower hinge of the Bible and some minor rubbing to the edges but overall they are in very good condition. The bindings are not signed. A very attractive little set.

Full Period Morocco. Condition: Very Good Plus. Complete in 6 volumes. Books measure 11 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches. Circa 5,500 pages, illustrated. Bound in full period black crushed moracco, raised bands, gilt tooling, blind rulled lines, full gilt edges, marble endpapers. Calf very slightly faded, very minor marking. All bindings in excellent condition. Internally, previous owners bookplate, spotting to titles and frontispieces, very occasional minor spotting or browning. Pages and plates in very good clean condition. A near fine set, in very attractive period bindings. Size: Quarto.

128 x 87 mm. (5 x 3 1/2"). Two volumes. LOVELY CONTEMPORARY RED MOROCCO, GILT, covers with large central azured arabesque surrounded by curling vines with azured leaves, smooth spines with similar vines, head and foot of spines with egg-and-dart roll similar to one used by Claude de Picques, second volume with faint blind lettering to spine, all edges gilt (perhaps with some minor early restorations, but, if so, then done with such care as to preclude certainty). Housed in modern suede-lined calf-backed clamshell boxes with magnetic closures. Printer's device on titles and final page, decorative initials and headpieces. Front pastedown of volume I with ex-libris of Georgios Arvanitidis. Renouard 171:1; Schreiber 239; Darlow & Moule 4633; Adams, B-1670. See: Verron, "Les Reliures de l'Entrée de Charles IX à Paris (1572) . . . réalisées par Claude Picques" in Bulletin du Bibliophile, 2014 no. 2, pp. 282-98. Just a touch of rubbing to extremities, front hinge of second volume open (but everything quite tight), text with occasional mild browning, small spots, trivial smudges, or tiny worm trails, but A BEAUTIFUL COPY, clean and fresh internally, and the bindings tight and lustrous, with very bright gilt, With exceptional visual appeal, these two precious volumes, shining with gilt and containing the Greek New Testament from the renowned Estienne family of printers, are of special interest because of their typography, their bindings, and their provenance. With the expressed goal of printing Greek texts from manuscripts in the royal library at Fontainebleau, François I established the post of royal printer in Greek in 1539, appointed Robert Estienne I (1503-59) to the position in 1542, and commissioned the renowned Claude Garamond to cut a new Greek font for this project. To design the type, the King called on his own celebrated calligrapher, Angelo Vergecio, who produced, in collaboration with Garamond, three different sizes of what came to be called the Royal Types or "grecs du roi." According to Schreiber, "These cursive Greek types are universally acknowledged as the finest ever cut." In 1548 and 1549 Robert Estienne issued the press' first Greek Testament (known as the "O mirificam" edition for the opening of the dedication to the king) in 16mo, or "pocket," format, using the smaller font of Garamond's "grecs du roi." In 1550, Robert, a Protestant, moved to Geneva, while his son Robert II (1533-70), a Catholic, remained in Paris and took over as the royal printer in Greek. Our 1568 Testament--the only one issued by the son--is a reprinting of the "O mirificam" edition, but expanded with the critical apparatus from the 1550 folio edition issued by the father. Schreiber notes that our edition is interesting from a typographical point of view, as it contains an even more minute version of the already small grecs du roi type for the Table of Chapters. The exceptionally pretty volumes are done in the style of royal binder Claude Picques (fl. 1539-78), and employ a decorative roll very similar to one that appears on the spine of the vellum bindings Picques did for "L'Entrée de Charles IX à Paris" (1572). Our volumes once graced the library of Constantinople collector Georgios Arvanitidis (1876-1953), whose library included a number of Estienne Greek editions. They were later in the distinguished library of Frederick B. Adams (1910-2001), director of the Pierpont Morgan Library from 1948-69 and then president of the prestigious Association Internationale de Bibliophilie from 1974-83. And they were featured in the celebrated 1929 Gumuchian catalogue of 398 historically exceptional bindings as item #71.

Fourth Edition. 430 x 315 mm. (16 3/4 x 12 1/4"). Two volumes. Translated into German by Dr. Joseph Franz Allioli. PUBLISHER'S SPLENDID RED CLOTH VERY ELABORATELY STAMPED IN GILT AND BLIND, covers with bevelled edges, thick and thin gilt-rule border enclosing ornate blind-stamped frame, large central oval containing a lobed gilt frame with gilt lettering inside, spine divided into blind-stamped panels by decorative and plain gilt rules, two large panels with gilt lettering and volume number, original cloth hinges, white moiré paper endpapers, all edges gilt. IN THE ORIGINAL PRINTED GRAY DUST JACKETS (jacket of second volume with small, very expert repairs at bottom) and the original black cardboard clamshell boxes (solidly reinforced with black tape). WITH 230 DRAMATIC PLATES BY GUSTAVE DORÉ. Volume I with four leaves for recording family members, marriages, births, and deaths, each with a decorative frame, all unused. Malan, "Doré," p. 85. Isolated spots of minor foxing (due to paper content), one cover of the (very rarely seen) dust jackets with red offsetting from the frame on the cover, but AN UNSURPASSABLE COPY--clean, fresh, and bright internally, the bindings and jackets IN SPARKLING CONDITION. This is a time-capsule copy of perhaps the most popular illustrated Bible ever issued, and one of the very few Bibles which has always been known by the name of its illustrator. According to his biographer, the artist was excited by the "almost endless series of intensely dramatic events" he would get to portray; the results, originally created for the 1866 Grand Bible of Tours, are so evocative that the critic Bouchot called them "the terror of frail readers." Doré (1832-83) makes remarkable use of light, shadow, and composition to convey the full range of splendor, horror, pathos, and ecstasy contained in the Scriptures. Because he was so prolific (it is estimated that he made more than 100,000 designs in his lifetime), Doré inevitably had his detractors, but Ray says simply that he was "one of the greatest of all illustrators." Taine says that "every imagination appeared languid in comparison with his. For energy, force, superabundance, originality, sparkle, and gloomy grandeur, I know of only one equal to his--that of Tintoretto." The Doré Bible was translated into at least 24 languages; ours is the German version by Catholic theologian Joseph Franz Allioli (1793-1873). According to Malan, "The Roman Catholic Church has never diminished its praise of these illustrations." And these illustrations endured in many Catholic and Protestant Bibles, especially during the last third of the 19th century, but actually until the present. The Bible was such a cultural phenomenon that Mark Twain even mentioned it in "Tom Sawyer" as a motivating prize for students to learn Scripture. The Bible's success prompted Doré to reinterpret his illustrations in huge paintings that were displayed at Doré Gallery in London. Malan says that the exhibition "was considered the greatest collection of religious paintings in the world." The boxes that were issued with our set have clearly weathered some blows over the years, but they did their job perfectly, as the volumes they protected hardly seem to have been opened in their lifetime, and their dust jackets (even considering the minor repair) are also in a breathtaking state of preservation.

162 x 88 mm. (6 3/8 x 3 1/2"). 272 pp.; 192 pp.; [8] leaves; 64 pp. BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVED STEEL FILIGREE OVER BLACK VELVET, each cover with swirling foliage studded with 37 pointed bosses and four oblique lozenge bosses at corners, smooth spine in a similar design with nine studs (binding with a total of 83 sharp studs), two fore-edge clasps (one broken off). Housed in a brown buckram chamois-lined chemise and matching slipcase. New Testament with extra engraved title page with image of St. John, his eagle, and a lamb, printer's device on printed title, tailpiece at end of text; Psalms with extra engraved title page depicting David with his harp, printed title with small vignette of the same scene; Festivals with engraved title page showing the Last Supper. Nap of velvet mostly gone (except down the middle of the spine), endpapers and the edges of first and last few leaves with numerous small rust(?) spots (apparently caused by the covers' metal frame and studs), otherwise fine inside and out. An excellent example of a very unusual binding. With distinguished provenance, this is a dramatic binding that makes a memorable display, with engraved and pierced steel strapwork forming a lace-like pattern studded with faceted bosses that at first glance appear to be gems. Our volume has a general resemblance to the best of the small silver bindings produced during the Baroque period; its wonderfully executed foliate scrolls are reminiscent of a German binding described and pictured as item #15 in Hayward's "Silver Bindings from the J. R. Abbey Collection." However, we have been unable to locate another example that strongly resembles ours. While not silver, it is nevertheless a luxury binding--the engraving, with its exquisite detail, was done by a skilled hand, and the materials themselves would have come at a price, since, before the Bessemer process of the 1850s, steel was difficult to produce and consequently expensive. We do not know for whom this remarkable binding was originally made, but we do know that it has more recently resided in two important American collections. Prior to 1955, it was in the library of Saul Cohn, whose collection was sold at Parke-Bernet on April 26 of that year (this was lot #67). Following that, it was part of the illustrious collection of Cincinnati businessman, arborist, and philanthropist Cornelius J. Hauck (1893-1967), whose fortune was made in the family brewery; the auction of his library at Christie's in 2006 totaled more than $12.4 million (this was lot #362, selling for $3,120).

175 x 105 mm. (7 x 4 1/4"). 368 pp., [1] leaf (ads). Contemporary brown "school cloth" (rough linen), raised bands. Front flyleaf with owner inscription of John Cutler, dated Sept 21, [17]89, four lines of Latin doggerel threatening anyone who steals the book with hanging, and two large copperplate trials of Cutler's signature. ESTC N63834. Not in Darlow & Moule. A little fraying at top and bottom of joints, light foxing and toning throughout (due to paper quality), a couple of small ink stains, but a surprisingly appealing copy, the text extremely clean, and the unsophisticated makeshift binding--remarkably--with no significant wear. This is an almost startling survival: an 18th century New Testament in Greek, in its original utilitarian binding, preserved in condition far better than what could be anticipated, given the audience of generally uncareful pupils for which it was intended. Considering the usual depredations of school children, the rough school cloth should have been worn to shreds long ago, but, against the odds, it has fortuitously escaped hard use and now gives us a glimpse of an important element of the English schoolroom very close to its original condition. One particularly delightful aspect of our copy is the flamboyant declaration of ownership by a pupil called John Cutter, who inked his name no fewer than four times in different styles and with calligraphic flourishes across the flyleaf. Cutter's neatly penned book curse, threating any would-be thieves with hanging, may have helped to preserve the book as it now exists. In fact, there are few signs of use by any owner, rightful or unlawful. The leaves are free from any markings, and the insubstantial binding appears to have rarely left the shelf.

No. 48 OF CLXXV COPIES. 258 x 195 mm. (10 1/4 x 7 3/4"). 15, [3] pp. Understated black crushed morocco by J. Franklin Mowery (stamp-signed "JFM 94" on rear turn-in), wraparound design of blind-stamped L-shaped panels of intersecting lines, smooth spine with vertical gilt lettering, leather hinges, edges untrimmed. Original illustrated upper cover of dust jacket (repaired at one corner) bound in at rear. In a matching morocco-lipped slipcase. Title page with large woodcut of the risen Christ, four large vignettes in the text, four pictorial half borders, and four full-page woodcuts, all by David Jones, printer's device in colophon. Front pastedown with bookplate of Jan van der Marck. Chanticleer 40. A pristine copy. This is a wonderfully--if understatedly--bound copy of one of the most strictly limited Golden Cockerel Press productions. The binding is the work of J. Franklin Mowery, retired Head of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library and past president of the Guild of Book Workers. Mowery studied bookbinding under Professor Kurt Londenberg at the Staatliche Hochschule für bildende Künste (Academy of Art) in Hamburg, and trained as a paper conservator under Otto Wächter in Vienna, before returning to the U.S. to work at the Huntington Library. According to his article "A Binder's Training" (Guild of Book Workers' Journal XX, 1981-82), the blind-stamping technique seen here was "particularly favored by Professor Londenberg" and often employed by Mowery for the range of design possibilities it offers. The method uses dies to stamp the patterns: "a photographic process can transfer any black and white image onto zinc plates that are deeply etched and mounted onto type-high metal blocks for heated impressions or onto wood for cold embossing." Mowery stated that lines of the design here represent the driving rain of the storm that struck Jonah's ship. Founded in 1920 with the intention to print fine editions of important well-known books as well as new literary works of merit from young authors, the Golden Cockerel Press was purchased in 1924 by the illustrator and wood-engraver Robert Gibbings. "Under his direction," says Cave, the Press was "transformed into the principal vehicle for the renaissance of wood-engraved book illustration that took place in the years between the wars." In addition to doing wood engravings himself, Gibbings employed a stable of eminent artists including, among others, Eric Gill, Blair Hughes-Stanton, John Nash, John Farleigh, Eric Ravilious, and David Jones. The memorable woodcuts are the work of Jones (1895-1974), who had a brief but impressive career as an illustrator before eye strain forced him to abandon engraving in 1930. In his published study of Jones' work, Douglas Cleverdon says that in the short time Jones was engraving "he produced a remarkable amount of work, of great variety; some witty, some mystical; some boldly cut, some delicately shaded; some simple to print, some virtually impossible. Although he never attained . . . the greatest technical mastery in the conventional sense, his prints are nearly always distinguished by their excellence of design, personal commitment, and absolute individuality." Our binding was commissioned by collector and self-described "radical" museum administrator Jan van der Marck (1929-2010), who championed artists that pushed boundaries--often to the consternation of the museum boards who employed him.

422 x 275 mm. (16 5/8 x 11"). 30 p.l., [1] leaf (section title), 234, [2] (section title), 235-604, [2] (section title), 605-908, [2] (section title), 909-1387, [1] pp.; 4 p.l., 300, [4], 301-666 pp. STATELY CONTEMPORARY CALF, INTRICATELY GILT IN THE FANFARE STYLE, over bevelled wooden boards, covers with strapwork frame containing lilies and floral garlands, central panel with strapwork rows of floral crosses, the spaces between with floral sprays emerging from urns, very expertly rebacked preserving original backstrip, raised bands, spine compartments with flowers-and-pomegranate centerpieces, floral cornerpieces, gilt lettering, two decorative brass clasps, catch plates, and original straps, turn-ins with lattices and floral ornaments, marbled endpapers, edges gilt and delicately gauffered. Five section titles with engraved vignettes. With ink presentation inscription celebrating the baptism of Claës Georg Listromer on 20th November 1604, and expressing the hope the Book will bring him wisdom as he grows, signed by Claës Lindman, dated 17th September 1605. A 20th century Swedish inscription below tracing the book's descent through generations of the Listromer family into the 1920s. Darlow and Moule 8821, 8826. Slight variations in color of the leather, Ffff8 with lower corner torn away (not affecting engraving), occasional faint offsetting, but AN EXTREMELY CLEAN, FRESH COPY in a binding bright with gilt. This impressively bound Swedish Bible was a baptism gift that clearly would have outweighed its recipient, as Swedish law at the time required an infant be baptized within the first eight days of life. Although hardly practical for personal devotion and study, the majestic tome was a treasured heirloom passed down in the same family for 200 years. The beautiful fanfare style seen here emerged in France in the 16th century, but remained very popular in Northern Europe into the 18th century, particularly for large "lectern" Bibles like the present item. The text here is an extensively annotated edition of the 1618 Gustave II Adolf Bible, prepared by a father and son, both named Johannes Gezelius, who served successively as Bishop of Åbo. The New Testament was first printed in that city in 1711-13, the Old Testament in Stockholm in 1724-28. In our copy, the New Testament is a 1752 reprinting.

460 x 295 mm. (18 1/4 x 11 1/2"). 17 p.l., 11, [48], 2, [2], 3-8, [3], 9-190, [2], 191-740 pp.; 512 pp.; 2, [2], 3-190, [2], 191-480, [18] pp. Three parts bound in one volume. STRIKING CONTEMPORARY SMOOTH CALF, LAVISHLY GILT in the entrelac style, covers with frame and compartments formed by gilt-ruled strapwork and filled with floral designs and lace-like ornaments of massed volutes and small tools, raised bands, spine compartments with central bouquet of pomegranate and flowers, with massed floral tools on either side, gilt lettering, brass clasps featuring images of King David and St. Paul, gilt-tooled turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt and gauffered with pomegranates and flowers (older repair to front joint alongside top compartment). Extra engraved title page, woodcut headpieces and historiated initials, 47 engraved plates, comprised of: copperplate portraits of Luther and 11 Electors; 11 section titles, each with 11 vignettes; nine full-page engraved depictions of Moses, the Prophets, and the Evangelists; seven full-page plates engraved with 12 vignettes, six double-page maps, and two double-page engravings. Front pastedown with ornate heart-shaped bookplate of Adam Melchior Dæumer dated 1784. âTwo-inch crack to head of rear joint, a bit of rubbing to joints and extremities, a handful of quite minor dark spots to boards, isolated trivial smudges or stains internally, other insignificant imperfections, but still a fine specimen--THE CONTENTS EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAN, BRIGHT, AND FRESH, and the remarkable binding entirely solid and bright with gilt. This is an especially pleasing copy of the last and most extensive edition of the very popular and sumptuously illustrated Weimar Electors' Bible, offered here in an impressive contemporary binding. Known as the "Kurfürstenbibel" because of its portraits of the Electoral Princes (called "Kurfürsten" in German), it was originally prepared for Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg, as a celebration of Martin Luther's Bible translation. Editions were issued by the Endters, one of the prominent German printing families, beginning in 1641. In addition to portraits of Luther and the Protestant princes of Germany, the present edition contains the maps, views, and illustrated half-titles by Jacob van Sandrart and others, first used in the edition of 1686. Our copy contains four maps and views not found in other copies of this edition (showing the eastern Mediterranean and Palestine) as well as both a map and a view of Jerusalem. The size of our volume puts a great strain on the binding, which has nevertheless stood the test of time remarkably well. The overall decoration is exuberant, the delicate gauffering lovely, and the original straps remarkably well preserved.

433 x 278mm. (17 x 11"). 68 p.l. (first blank), 1-664, [1]-904 pp., [8] leaves. ONCE SPECTACULAR AND STILL REMARKABLY IMPRESSIVE CONTEMPORARY GERMAN CALF, ELABORATELY GILT WITH A PAINTED BROWN STRAPWORK DESIGN OVER REVERSE BEVELLED WOODEN BOARDS, two cartouches on each cover with four- or five-line quotations from the Bible, initials "J A B" and "D B" and the date "1726" on upper cover, the strapwork forming geometric compartments filled with gilt foliate and floral sprays accented with small putti, raised bands, spine gilt in compartments with central strapwork lozenge containing gilt flower surrounded by foliage, two brass and (probably later) leather clasps, dramatic endpapers of green and gilt decorated paper, edges gilt and gauffered in ornate lily pattern, some expert restoration at spine ends and at top and bottom of joints. With woodcut initials and tailpieces, additional engraved title page, 11 engraved portraits of the Dukes of Saxony, engraved portrait of Luther by Kilian after Sandrart (missing an additional portrait of Luther), and 28 engraved plates and plans, seven of them double-page. âPaint and gilt somewhat rubbed, other signs of use to the binding but the once-magnificent binding quite sound and still very, very striking. Occasional minor foxing, stains, and thumbing, N5 with five-inch curving tear into text (no loss), two plates with old six- to seven-inch tears into image (one mended on verso with discolored cellotape), a handful of other minor tears, but still a pleasing copy internally, generally quite clean and fresh. At 5 1/4" thick and with a lavish overall decorative design, this is a memorable specimen of a German post-fanfare binding, very likely produced as a wedding gift for the couple whose initials appear on the cover. Support for this supposition resides in the binding's quotations from German Scripture traditionally used at Lutheran weddings: Genesis 2:18 ("And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him") and Colossians 3:14 ("But above all these things clothe yourselves in love, which is the bond of perfection"). A perfect family Bible for a young couple of high degree, this handsomely illustrated edition is known as the "Kurfürstenbibel" because of its portraits of the Electoral Princes (called "Kurfürsten" in German). Such a Bible was originally prepared for Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg, as a celebration of Martin Luther's Bible translation. The Endters, one of the prominent German printing families, issued several printings of it, beginning in 1641 and continuing to the end of the 18th century. In addition to portraits of Luther and the Protestant princes of Germany, it contains the maps, views, and illustrated half-titles by Jacob van Sandrart and others, first used in the edition of 1686. Although it bears some small signs of use, the binding remains an object of imposing beauty.

203 x 133 mm. (8 x 5 3/8"). 998 pp. MOST ATTRACTIVE HAZEL BROWN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY STOAKLEY, LATE HAWES (stamp-signed on verso of front free endpaper), covers framed by gilt rules and guilloche tooling, central panel with delicately tooled cornerpieces featuring grapevines on a stippled background, raised bands, spine compartments densely gilt with grapevine motif, turn-ins with richly gilt frame, leather hinges, all edges gilt (gutter at front flyleaf expertly reinforced with tissue). With presentation inscription on front flyleaf: "Herbert Gardner Travers / from his Godmother / A. S. Burn / August 1891"; below this, the ink-inscribed record of the recipient's marriage and the births of his children. Spine gently and uniformly sunned a shade lighter, two (hardly noticeable) small abrasions to rear cover, offsetting from turn-ins to free endpapers (as almost always), but still a fine copy in a remarkably handsome binding, with few signs of use. The appealing binding on this treasured family Bible was created in Cambridge by Vere Stoakley, who took over the workshop of J. Hawes on that craftsman's death in the late 1880s; he signed his work "Stoakley, Late Hawes" to acknowledge this connection. The firm specialized in academic bindings to supply scholars from the university, and continued in business until the 1920s. The present binding clearly is much more elaborate and beautiful than a simple scholar's binding, and this is because it was a special gift presented to a beloved godson, probably for his christening. Recipient Herbert Gardner Travers (1891-1958) grew up to be a decorated World War I flying ace, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his five aerial victories. After the Great War, he worked in the airplane industry as a test pilot and flying instructor, then became a commercial pilot in 1935. He returned to the Royal Air Force at the outset of World War II, and was an acting squadron leader. As recorded on the flyleaf of his Bible, he married Hermia Edith Margaretta Fraser in August 1919, and over the next 12 years they welcomed children Daphne (1920), Eva (1921), Elizabeth (1924), Christina (1926), and Edward (1931).

137 x 79 mm. (5 1/2 x 3 1/4"). [528] leaves. VERY PRETTY NAVY BLUE CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, covers with gilt-rule border, intricate cornerpieces of small floral and botanical tools, raised bands, spine compartments very densely gilt with floral tools and stippling, gilt titling, turn-ins with gilt floral cornerpieces, millefleurs silk fabric endleaves, all edges gilt. Front flyleaf with ink ownership inscription of Anne Robinson, dated 1839; front flyleaves with ink annotations and Bible verses in three different 19th century hands, laid-in note giving the chain of ownership in Anne Robinson's family for the next century. âHalf a dozen leaves with small, light brown spot, margins trimmed a bit close (but no loss), but A VERY FINE COPY, clean and fresh internally, IN A SPARKLING BINDING. This charmingly bound little volume was the perfect book of Scripture for a Victorian lady, and was cherished by generations of her family. The very feminine floral binding suggests that it was bound as a gift for Anne Robinson, who used it (very gently) for her personal devotions--and no doubt as an attractive accessory to her Sunday church ensemble. The annotation of favorite passages offers insight into the owner's spiritual life, and the inlaid handwritten "chain of title" is testament to our volume's status as family heirloom. Robinson and her successors clearly treasured it, as it is little changed from the day it left the bindery. The condition is notably splendid here.

494 x 320 mm. (19 3/8 x 12 5/8"). 40 pp., [2] leaves.Designed by Gotthard de Beauclair. FINE RED CRUSHED MOROCCO BY ROLAND MEUTER (signed "R. Meuter Ascona" on rear turn-in), upper cover with gilt lettering underlined with four gilt rules, smooth spine with gilt titling, leather hinges. In the original linen clamshell box backed with matching morocco. With 30 lithographs in the text by Gerhart Kraaz, and one additional lithograph in a portfolio. âSlight discoloration from a bookmark in the lower gutter of colophon opening, otherwise in perfect condition. Handsomely bound and beautifully designed and printed, this very large folio first publication from the Ars Libri Press (later called Ars Librorum) exemplifies the kind of high quality work for which leading German publisher and book designer Gotthard de Beauclair was known. Beauclair (1907-92) began his career at Insel Verlag, where he rose to art director and, according to the Oxford Companion to the Book, "turned inexpensive Insel books into collectors' items with excellent typography." He also founded three different publishing houses, where he produced special, limited editions that made full use of his excellent design and typographical skills. The present item is one such work, recognized by the Association of German Book Artists as one of the most beautiful books of 1962. Gerhart Kraaz (1909-71) studied painting and worked as a graphic designer before becoming a serious book illustrator. The present title is considered his first major work in the realm of bibliophilic editions. His illustrations in charcoal are sensuous and shadowy, capturing the romance and allure of the most beguiling Old Testament book. This edition in English appeared the same year as the German language edition, but is much rarer--apparently the publisher cancelled a number of copies and very few ever made it to market. The binding, characterized by an elegant simplicity, is appropriate for the subject matter and for the stately, large-format volume. Our binder, Roland Meuter, maintains an atelier in Ascona, Switzerland, where he continues to produce imaginatively designed bindings that attract considerable attention. No. 93 of 250 COPIES IN ENGLISH, SIGNED by the illustrator and designer.

169 x 94 mm. (6 1/2 x 3 3/4"). 272, 64, 214 (of 215) pp. CONTEMPORARY PAINTED AND BLIND-TOOLED VELLUM, DECORATED IN AN ELABORATE AND QUAINT STYLE, covers with black and red starburst at center in a lobed red and green frame stamped with stars and tulips, yellow cornerpieces stamped with a floral design, smooth spine painted red and tooled in blind with flowers, Dutch gilded endpapers, all edges gilt. âCovers faintly soiled, extremities lightly rubbed, one leaf with two-inch portion torn away at fore margin (costing small parts of five closely spaced staves of music) occasional foxing of no great consequence; with some serious condition issues internally, but an extremely pleasing example of a binding representing German folk art of the period. Although lacking the final leaf of text, this volume is of considerable interest as an expertly made and decorated so-called "Peasant Binding," a colorful binding style that began in Hungary and spread through Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia in the 18th century. The use of the word "peasant" in this context is a reference to the obvious influence of folk art on this decoration, rather than to the clientele for which it was intended. Bibles, prayer books, and hymnals in the brightly painted and exuberantly decorated vellum bindings were popular wedding gifts among the bourgeoisie, who were both literate and sufficiently affluent to afford such luxuries.

162 x 90 mm. (6 3/8 x 3 1/2"). 270 pp.; 192, [16] pp.; 64 pp. LOVELY PIERCED VERMEIL SILVER BINDING over dark brown sharkskin, the metalwork with intricately twining strapwork accented with acanthus leaves, a basket of flowers, and two eagles, elongated vermeil head and tail caps over spine, two fore-edge clasps, gilt patterned paper pastedowns, all edges gilt. Housed in a fine modern brown morocco felt-lined clamshell box. First two works with extra engraved illustrated title page. Ink gift inscription on front flyleaf: "Helen McDowell/ from her/ affectionate/ [illegible]/ with sincere/ good wishes/ for her future/ happiness/ August 1864." For the binding: Hayward, "Silver Bindings from the J. R. Abbey Collection," 14. Sharkskin with just a hint of chafing, occasional mild browning or foxing to leaves, but QUITE A FINE COPY, clean and fresh internally, and the binding shining and unworn. Beautifully executed and wonderfully preserved, this New Testament is an excellent example of the vermeil bindings--that is, silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver--produced in Switzerland and southern Germany during the Baroque period. As is typical, this binding is without a hallmark, but it closely resembles another New Testament bound in shagreen and vermeil, described and pictured as item #14 in Hayward's "Silver Bindings from the J. R. Abbey Collection," which Hayward indicates was produced in Zurich in the early 18th century. These intricate silver bindings were popular for religious works, presenting what Hayward calls a "combination of ostentatious wealth and piety," and this one was executed with great skill, featuring graceful lines and delicately rendered details. There are two main types of silver bindings from the period: engraved and pierced bindings like the present example, which were especially popular in the 17th century; and embossed or repouss? bindings, which came into fashion in the late 17th and early 18th century. Of the two, the engraved and pierced bindings are generally valued more highly because they required more time and skilled labor.