[BIBLIA SACRA]

Munich: Idion Verlag, 1977-79. No. 631 of 895 COPIES for sale, (of a total of 955 copies printed). 457 x 330 mm. (18 x 13"). Two facsimile volumes, with a volume of commentary in German..
VERY ORNATE BLIND-STAMPED CALF OVER THICK WOODEN BOARDS by Ernst Ammering, covers panelled with central diapered field, multiple blind rules forming several compartments on covers and spines containing nearly 500 individual stamps (mostly ornamental, but a charming stamp of a lute player on either side of the central panel on each cover), large brass corner and center bosses, double raised bands, spine panels with decoration in blind similar to the covers, leather thongs with brass clasps, brass catches. Initials, chapter numbers, and headlines printed in red and blue, APPROXIMATELY 100 ILLUMINATED INITIALS, some with marginal extension, the openings of each of the books of the Bible with large illuminated initials (MANY OF THESE CONTAINING MINIATURES) IN SEVERAL COLORS AND GOLD AND WITH ELABORATE FANCIFUL MARGINAL BORDERS incorporating flowers, foliage, animals, etc., the whole reproduced in collotype in as many as 10 colors and gold. Front flyleaf of volume I of the facsimile and the commentary volume with name and hometown of the original subscriber, Father Alwin Bokern, written in ink with considerable flourish; flyleaf at rear with handwritten information on the original date of purchase (23 February 1978) and price paid for books (DM 8,600, or approximately $4,300 at the time) and the special binding (DM 4,600. or about $2,300); about 16 pp. in the commentary volume annotated in his elegant hand. ◆Trivial spots of rubbing to covers, but in nearly mint condition.

Printed on a one-time batch of luxurious Van Gelder rag paper, this magnificent facsimile edition was reproduced from the copy of Gutenberg's 42-line Bible in the possession of the Prussian State Library in Berlin, one of the most richly illuminated copies in existence. Our deluxe binding is a copy of the one on the Gutenberg Bible at the Hessian State Library in Fulda. (This facsimile edition was also offered in a simpler calf binding and in a binding of calf-backed wooden boards.) In addition to the Bible itself, this set contains a facsimile of the "Tabula Rubricarum" (of which only two copies are known), consisting of hand-written additions in which Gutenberg gave precise directions for the embellishment of the text. In the deluxe binding offered here (in which form, it cost more than $6,000 at the time of publication), this is an arresting production and is certainly the most beautiful replica ever done of the first substantial European book to be printed with movable type..