In this printing, a fine engraved title-page shows an angel delivering Luther's translation of the Old Testament to a Church still in bondage to the requirements of the old Law. A similar sectional title-page, depicting God the Father, Jesus Christ, and allegorical figures of the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, comes before the New Testament. Six special pairs of leaves, bound in at various places, each offer a first page containing an engraving of biblical figures and three following pages containing their biographies. A woodcut vignette of the unusual triple arms of the city of Nürnberg appears on the title-page; a number of chapters are adorned, at head, with one-third page woodcut illustrations set in neat borders; and the books typically open with typographically appealing two-column "headers." The text is in a handsome and relatively legible fraktur. The size, decoration, and overall composition of the volume, along with its faults (especially the manner in which which pages are worn), suggest a history as a lectern Bible in a Lutheran Church.

Binding: This copy is bound in ornately blind-tooled and -stamped alum-tawed sheep over wooden boards, the front cover with three of its original etched corner bosses and with its two etched clasp-catches. (Bosses of back cover no longer present, remnants of clasps.) A martial portrait is centered on each cover; unfortunately these are now so worn that they are no longer identifiable. Perhaps they belong to the electors of Saxony who safeguarded the Lutheran faith in its infancy.

•  Binding as above. Covers abraded and worn, some scraping to back upper board, leather peeling back from fore-edge of front cover and opening at ends of joints, most notably at bottom of front one. Front free endpaper with inked inscription, in German, dated Philadelphia, 1852. Frontispiece with a fore-edge chip (not into image) and tears in from bottom margin and at gutter, with small loss to plate area at bottom inner corner. A number of pages with tears extending into text, a few places with chips to bottom outer corners with loss of words but not of sense. Scattered foxing, with occasional darker small stains. Last leaf (of Confession, NOT Bible) lacking. Despite faults, a grand volume both usable and inspiring.

Arndt lists three states for this edition, of which this appears to be C, based on the absence of a two-leaf addendum giving a short history of Bible translation—that a buyer could choose to have bound in or not.

•  Rumball-Petre, Rare Bibles, 159; Darlow & Moule 4240; O’Callaghan 22; Wright, Early Bibles of America, 24–44; Evans 5127–28; Sabin 5191; Arndt, The First Century of German Language Printing in the United States of America, 47C; Hildeburn, The Issues of the Press in Pennsylvania, 1685-1784, 804. Contemporary calf over bevelled boards. Binding scratched and abraded with tears to spine leather. Hinges (inside only) open. A printed poem has been affixed to the front pastedown, over a strip of cloth. Ownership inscriptions in German (in gothic cursive) and English on endpapers. Pp. 1–2 with loss of part of margins, some text, and part of headpiece, repaired with paper. Lightly age-toned with darker brown-spotting, some waterstaining, occasional dog ears, and some holing or chipping in the margins—some of the latter repaired with paper. First two leaves, i.e., main title-page and preface supplied in facsimile; the New Testament title-page is present.

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Rare edition.  ESTC locates only the copy at the National Library of Scotland.

•  ESTC T200528; not in Darlow & Moule. Period-style modern calf, framed and panelled in blind, with blind-tooled corner fleurons, spine with gilt-stamped title and gilt-stamped decorations within compartments. Title-page with lower corner repaired, with loss of letters from imprint. Pages browned and with occasional staining; some corners dog-eared. Lower corner of one leaf (Psalm 118) torn away, with loss of a few letters.

The book first appeared in the late 17th century, and while it may well have been reprinted more than once, neither NUC nor RLIN shows any edition other than one of 1695. Moreover, apparently the 1695 copy that appears in both those bibliographical sources is the same incomplete one. This magnificent collection of engravings is clearly rare.

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 19531; O’Callaghan 102; Rumball-Petre, Rare Bibles, 185. Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; binding scuffed and rubbed, spine extremities chipped. Front free endpaper excised; half-title with old ink stain partially obscuring two letters of “Nouveau.” Foxed throughout; some corners bumped. One leaf with two tears through text, without loss; one leaf with upper outer corner torn away, with loss of words in five lines (each side); three leaves torn along inner margins (not touching text) and another torn from outer margin, extending into text without loss.

Arndt and Eck cite Bender, who says “This first American Mennonite Hymnbook isnot to be confused with one of similar title printed by Saur at Germantown in 1753, called erroneously by Seidensticker and Flory a Mennonite hymnbook.” Each portion of this item has a separate title-page, with the second section's title-page reading Sammlung altre und neuer Geistreichen Gesänge....

•  Arndt & Eck 1812; Shaw & Shoemaker 23165.   Contemporary mottled calf with original, functional clasps, spine with later but not recent gilt-stamped leather title and publication labels; leather cracked along joints and spine, edges and extremities rubbed. Pages browned as usual and waterstained as often. Two leaves with outer margins torn, resulting in loss of a few letters; one leaf torn from outer margin,tear touching text without loss. Some corners dog-eared. (20648)

•  Not in O'Callaghan; not in Darlow & Moule; Shaw & Shoemaker 22372. Treed sheep; flat spine with gilt rules and a black leather title label, gilt-lettered. Lightly rubbed, dry with some cracking. Inside, scattered spots of light browning and some chipping in the margins, the latter not affecting text.

•  Darlow & Moule 2201. Contemporary diced morocco, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and blind-tooled decorations in compartments; abraded, leather pulled at spine and headband mostly detached, front hinge (inside) cracked. All edges marbled. Light foxing throughout. A few lower corners crumpled; page edges very occasionally ragged, in one case touching a few letters.

Provenance: Front pastedown with small booklabel of prominent collector Michael Zinman.

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 34103; O’Callaghan, 126–27; Rumball-Petrie 193; not in Darlow & Moule. Contemporary sheep, framed and panelled in blind; leather abraded, with spine greatly rubbed and pitted (no label). Front pastedown with inscription scraped away. Pages age-toned, with some foxed and the last few waterstained. One leaf with tear from outer margin, touching a few letters. Two leaves bound in upside-down.