A major element in any Mormon collection and a requisite for any major collection of American Bibles.

•  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. (10785)

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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.

•  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, all edges marbled green; leather scratched and abraded but volumes sound and attractive. 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 and nice. (5476)

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.

Provenance:  Front pastedown with small label of prominent collector Michael Zinman. The family record leaves have been used for Willard family weddings, births, and deaths from 1809 through 1861.

Binding:  Contemporary sheep embossed with geometric and stylized foliate designs in typical Phinney style, spine with gilt-stamped red leather title-label and gilt-decorated compartments. All edges rather subtly marbled.

•  Hills, English Bible in America, 972; O'Callaghan 250.   Binding as above, front cover and spine almost entirely sueded and/or sunned to a golden color (and back one showing original state); extremities rubbed. Free endpapers lacking; frontispiece crumpled (but present), with margins (only) chipped; one plate with tear from upper margin, extending into image, neatly repaired from the rear; mild to moderate foxing only. Front pastedown with collector's label as above; family record leaves inscribed as above; small, tied lock of hair laid in. A solid, interesting example of a very popular American Bible.  (27214)

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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, covers framed in blind with embossed arabesque corner decorations; spine with embossed geometrical designs and gilt-stamped title, board edges and turn-ins gilt stamped. All edges gilt.

Provenance:  Front pastedown with bookplate of author and prominent Bible and bindings collector Frederick E. Maser. Front fly-leaves with private owner's small rubber-stamp (Richard - WP - Morris) and inked ownership inscription (John Lempriere Delagarde) dated 1852; front free endpaper with later inscription (Gordon D. Savage).

•  Darlow & Moule 1164; Herbert 387–88; Rumball-Petre, Rare Bibles, 53.   Binding as above, now strong, with front cover reattached and moderate rubbing only. Bookplate and ownership notes as above. A few pages with faint spotting, most pages clean. A lovely and notably usable copy of a perennially interesting English Bible.  (27130)

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)

The title's use of the word “illuminated” refers not (as usual) to decoration in gold, but both to the huge number of illustrations and to the fact that the half-titles, the title-leaves, and the presentation and birth, death, and marriage leaves are printed using colored inks. Concerning the illustrations, Frank Weitenkampf wrote in The Boston Public Library Quarterly (July, 1958, pp. 154–57): “The engravings after Chapman carefully reproduced the prim line-work method of the Englishman Bewick, introduced here by Alexander Anderson. . . . [T]his Harper publication was a remarkable production for its time and place, and retains its importance in the annals of American book-making. W.J. Linton, noted wood-engraver and author, knew ‘no other book like this, so good, so perfect in all it undertakes.'”

•  O'Callaghan 288–89; Hills 1161.   Binding as above, joints and extremities rubbed, covers with scrapes and discolorations but gilt still bright; repair to foot of front cover joint (hinged in place with appropriate papers; exterior secured with toned tissue), abraded leather consolidated. As might well be expected of such a massive volume, hinges and joints are tender. Occasional very faint spotting, pages generally clean, with family register leaves unused. Last (index) leaf with tear from inner margin extending into text, repaired with long-fiber tissue and wheat starch paste. In its signed binding, this is an interesting example of a very impressive production.  (28808)

Binding:  Publisher's boards of papier maché and plaster, formed using a metal mold and colored black, creating a gothic “carved wood binding.” Title blind-embossed on black roan spine. All edges gilt.

McLean states of the English edition of this work that “It was . . . the first of the so-called 'papier maché' bindings, contrived to look like carved ebony.” This first American edition bears the first “papier maché” binding accomplished in the U.S.

•  Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England, 231; McLean, Victorian Book Design (second edition), pp. 99, 210; Maggs Bros., Bookbinding in the British Isles, part 2, 245; Abbey, Life, 222.   Very nicely preserved copy with just a few small cracks in the binding, leaves expertly reattached/recased; spine intact with surface of front cover a little rubbed in one small portion. Unlike the broken, chipped, and damaged copies we have seen, this is a treasurable exemplar. Housed in a quarter red cloth clamshell case with tan cloth sides and black leather gilt spine label.  (30100)

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:  Unsigned elaborately blind-embossed publisher's red cloth; spine with gilt-stamped arabesque decorations. Upper cover with gilt-stamped title at the center, the word “Bible” stamped across the front cover of a gilt Book, the same in blind on the lower cover.

•  Not in Hills.   Binding as above, small stain in the upper right corner of rear board and spine lightly faded. Very light age-toning inside; clean, sound, nice. A copy in very satisfactory condition.  (30039)

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:  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)

Smith endeavored to provide an extremely literal, word-for-word rendition to enhance her and her sisters' understanding of the text. Regarding the rather tangled results, she notes in her preface that “readers of this book may think it strange that I have made such use of the tenses . . . It seems to me that the original Hebrew had no regard to time, and that the Bible speaks for all ages.”

•  Herbert 2002; Hills 1918; Rumball-Petre 201; Wright, Early Bibles of America, 234–35. On Smith, see: McHenry, Famous American Women, 383 (under entry for Smith, Abby Hadassah).   Publisher's pebbled brown cloth, title and translator's name simply gilt-stamped within blind-stamped panel; recently rebacked and original spine reapplied (spine slightly rumpled), one corner restored, other corners mildly rubbed. Hinges (inside) reinforced. Front pastedown with affixed newspaper clipping on the Smith sisters. One page with short tear from lower edge, not extending into text; pages clean. A nice copy of a very desirable Bible.  (27574)

•  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.