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.

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

The volume opens with a woodcut portrait of Martin Luther which according to Hamilton (cited in Reilly [see below]) “might have been made by Justu Fox who was working in Philadelphia at this time.”

•  Evans 11714; Hildeburn, Pennsylvania, 2561; ESTC W21005; Warrington, History and Practice of Psalmody in the United States, p. 39; Reilly, Dictionary of American Printers' Ornaments & Illustrations, 1577.   Contemporary sheep, rebacked some time ago, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-, place, “Chris. Saur,” and date labels; rubbed in the ordinary degree and with remnants of clasps. Back free endpaper lacking; pastedowns and blanks with old inked and pencilled signatures and writing practice(?) — which we do not make out much of, beyond “Johann(es).” Three leaves each with closed tear from outer margin extending into text; three index leaves with tattered outer edges, one with loss of lower outer portion; small section of pages with odd little dent to outer edge; last leaf present (and that leaf only) with a couple of pin-type wormholes; final leaf lacking. Pages age-toned, with moderate spotting and staining. Priced according to its described “issues,” not according to its considerable charm on shelf and in hand.  (25105)

Provenance:  Front fly-leaf with attractively inked inscription: “Dieses gesangbuch gehörer mit Elizabeth Bernhardin. 1780" (fraktur-like, but without color) and an additional early inked inscription beneath.

•  Evans 15242; Hildeburn 3624; Arndt & Eck 492; ESTC W20982.   Contemporary mottled calf with remnants of two original clasps, covers framed in double blind fillets, spine quite plain with raised bands and no labels; mildly rubbed overall, leather with small cracks at joints and spine, front joint expertly strengthened. Ex-library, front pastedown with bookplate and rubber-stamp; two other leaves but not the title-page with stamps; back pastedown with old pocket. Pages moderately browned and spotted, not excessively so for this type of production; a few corners dog-eared. Solid and, with its old “personalizations,” pleasing.  (27902)

OCLC locates only one U.S. institutional holding of this edition, which has since been deaccessioned.

•  Darlow & Moule 4318.   Recent speckled paper–covered boards, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label, all edges stained blue. Front fly-leaf with early inked inscriptions, one dated 1851. Title-page with early institutional rubber-stamp, last page with pressure-stamp, second page of contents with inked annotation along inner margin and rubber-stamped numeral in lower margin. Pp. 959–1098 skipped in pagination; text complete. Foxed, but not badly; clean.  (25856)

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. The woodcut frontispiece depicts David playing his harp.

•  Arndt & Eck 2419; Shoemaker 2239.   Contemporary calf rebacked some time ago, spine with gilt-stamped leather title and publication labels; rubbed, original clasps now lacking. Front fly-leaves with early inked and pencilled inscriptions. Final leaf (pp. 21/22 of the 22-page appendix of brief hymn texts, not of the main portion of the work) lacking. Edge nicks, chips, and tears, some extending into text; three leaves torn in half from outer margin, without loss of text; two leaves (one index) with lower outer corner torn away, with loss of a few words; last two leaves with outer edges ragged. Some upper corners bumped. Pages browned, with waterstaining to lower inner portions of about a third of the volume.  (25569)

•  Binding as above, with light rubbing overall and significant rubbing to spine and corners; spine pulled at top and bottom and joints (outside) rubbed, with rear lower joint starting and with remnant of old inked shelf location to one band. Occasional faint smudges; pages mostly remarkably clean.A handsome and studyable thing.  (27372)