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Vintage Bibles seemed like the perfect subject for this week's blog post, with Easter Sunday just a few days away. With many of the vintage Bibles in this selection ranking among the heaviest books on the Country House Library bookshelves it was a team effort to get them down for reinspection! But we definitely think it was worth the work.
First published in Edinburgh in 1778, the Rev. John Brown's Self-Interpreting Bible is a treasure trove for those interested in delving into the Bible more deeply. Crammed with Brown's printed annotations and marginalia, analyses and more, the work was well regarded and reprinted throughout the 19th century. This large format folio edition was published in Newcastle-upon-Tyne around 1870, and is handsomely bound in the publisher's full leather with extensive blind-tooling and inset medallions depicting the Prophets; the book has gilt-metal edges and one (of two) original metal clasps. A vintage Bible that would add some golden glory to any bookshelf (that could support its weight at least).
An excellent Victorian Bible, published by Ferrier's Bible Depository. Whilst the book is indubitably worthy for its provision of both the Old & New Testaments, with psalms, paraphrases and copious references, what truly marks it out is the remarkable, patented 'self-unfolding index, by means of which any book of sacred scripture can be turned up almost instantaneously'. This excited a contemporary reviewer for The Scottish Christian Journal to enthuse "...we could hardly credit the testimony of our own eyes. When the book was shut, we observed nothing on the gilt edges; but the moment it was spread out, we were astonished to see a number of illuminated letters sparkling in groups, from end to end." The gilt-metal edging and decorative cornerpieces are just the icing on the cake.
The Devotional Family Bible is a further splendid example of the way the Bible was being 'repackaged' in the Victorian era, as the market for family Bibles became increasingly competitive. This version, edited by minister of the United Presbyterian church Rev. Alexander Fletcher, was first published in 1834. Fletcher had built a good reputation as someone who could get the message of the Good Book across to children, and this is evidenced in his Devotional Family Bible, which was as the title suggests designed to encourage family engagement with the Bible.
Considered by contemporary reviewers to be one the most beautiful illustrated Bibles of all time, this vintage Bible is packed full of excellent woodcut illustrations of Biblical scenes, after the paintings of Fra Angelico, Pietro Perugino, Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Di Credi, Fra Bartolommeo, Titian, Raphael, Gaudenzio Ferrari, Daniel Di Volterra and others. The elaborately tooled and bevelled covers are no less remarkable, and the minor damage to the head of spine is forgivable perhaps, as it was probably the result of enthusiastic & repeated removing from a bookshelf...
An attractive vintage Bible, replete with the original slip-case as published. Printer/publisher Eyre & Spottiswoode was established in 1739, acquiring the patent to be the King's Printer in 1767 from the family of the entrepreneurial printer John Baskett. A beautifully simple edition, with luxurious gilt-edging to the text-block.
Admittedly not a Bible, but too darn cute not to include here. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (aka SPCK) was established in 1698, to try and tackle the perceived unGodliness of the times and to spread the Word overseas, particularly to the British colonies in the Americas. They were the biggest publishers of English language books on Christianity in the 18th and 19th century, and remain active to this day, representing authors such as Terry Waite, Melvyn Bragg and Janina Ramirez.
Printed in Oxford, this lovely miniature edition of the New Testament would make an amazing gift for the quality of its production alone. The vintage Bible is bound in the style of a 'Mauchline Ware' binding, a type of fancy binding invented by Smiths Works of Mauchline in Ayrshire. Mauchline bindings were primarily to sell books, for example by Robert Burns or Sir Walter Scott, to tourists and visitors to Scotland, but their popularity quickly increased and they were used on various works, becoming quite collectable in their own right. Bible editions like this were bound in olive wood supposedly from the Holy Land, and in this case bears a Jerusalem Cross motif to the upper cover.
An early printing of this charming edition of Bible stories. Author Walter de la Mare was more renowned for his poetry and ghost stories, but his flair for engaging with younger readers made this collection sufficiently popular to demand multiple republications after the first edition of 1929. The example here is an early impression of the edition illustrated by the fantastic artist Edward Ardizzone, creator of Tim All Alone, which was awarded the first Kate Greenaway award in 1956. Ardizzone also illustrated an edition of De la Mare's famous poetry collection for children, Peacock Pie.
Vintage Bibles have long held appeal to book collectors. The 18th century witnessed a trend for large format, scholarly editions that could bring extra depth (and some sheer heft) to Christian readers. The 19th century, and in particular the Victorian Period, was the time of the Family Bible, often bound in dark morocco with gilt lettering and blind tooling; whilst these Bibles could be quite imposing they were designed to encourage Victorian middle class families to come together, and to this end were often illustrated with woodcut illustrations and steel-engraved plates & maps, to make them more engaging.
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