Latin

1629 · réf. 1052 — Antwerp: “Officina Plantiniana” = Balthasar I Moretus grandson of Christophe Plantin 1629. Uniform gold-tooled goatskin morocco ca. 1700 sewn on 4 supports richly gold-tooled spines gold-tooled turn-ins and board edges the boards in a panel design each board with a double frame of triple fillets the inner 2 fillets in each frame closer together than the outer with an ornament stamped on the intersections of the fillets at the corners of both frames and a flower in each corner between the frames with its head toward the corner; the spine with the title - “BIBLIASACRA” or “NOVVMTESTA” - and volume - “TOM. I.” etc. - in the 2nd of 5 compartments “INDEX” in the 3rd compartment of volume VII and the other compartments filled with curls and dots: a style sometimes called “grotesque” gold-tooled turn-ins marbled pastedowns blue red white and yellow extensively swirled headbands in green and white gilt edges. Seven volumes with the ca. 1711 engraved armorial bookplate of Jean Le Normand 1662-1733 Bishop of Evreau and probably bound for him his bookplate probably removed from volumes II and III as bound. 24mo in 8s 11.5 x 7 cm. With a richly engraved general title page 6 volume title pages each with the same Plantin-Moretus woodcut compasses device a smaller woodcut compasses device plus 3 of 4 repeats 2 appear on the back of the colophon; each of the others on an otherwise blank leaf woodcut tailpieces woodcut decorated initials. Set in roman and italic types. The present copy with 3 extra letterpress divisional title pages perhaps specially printed for this copy when it was bound. 7 volumes bound as 9 Old Testament I-VII & New Testament I-II. A small Latin Vulgate bible printed by the Plantin-Moretus office in Antwerp the smallest-format edition of the Sixtine-Clementine authorized Catholic text. The first volume of the Old Testament has only the engraved general title-page while each of the remaining Old Textament volumes as printed has a separate volume title-page naming the books it covers including the volume with the apocrypha miscellaneos texts and the indexes. After the general title-page follow a preface to the reader the decree of the Council of Trent "Paulus Papa V. Ad futuram rei memoriam" Pope Paul V died in 1621 and a privilege dated Brussels 1611. The Old Testament also has prefaces to the books. The New Testament has no preliminaries except its title-page. In 1546 the Council of Trent ordered a revision of the Vulgate Latin Bible to establish an authorized Catholic text. Pope Sixtus V ordered the preparation of the new edition printed by the Vatican Press and published in 1590. The book has been variously described as 12mo 16mo and 24mo but it is in fact a 24mo in 8s. The three divisional titles possibly printed specially for this copy have vertical chainlines and may be in 18mo format. The binding stamps are finely cut and skilfully applied especially the curls on the spine so it is likely to have been executed by one of the great French binders of ca. 1700.With an owner's inscription on a free endleaf in volume IV as bound "ce livre apartient a monseigneur L'Evesque D'Evreux" presumably Jean Le Normand 1662-1733 Bishop of Evreux from 1711 to his death whose bookplate appears in 7 of the 9 volumes: the handwriting is old-fashioned for 1711 so the book could have come to Le Normand from an earlier Bishop of Evreux but perhaps he simply wrote in an old-fashioned style. The pagination of volume ii accidentally omits numbers 577-578 but no leaf is missing there. Very slightly browned with an occasional minor spot and with the library stamps on the letterpress title-pages abraded but still generally in very good condition. With small cracks in the hinges of 4 volumes minor wear on the board edges and corners and volume III as bound vol. ii as printed darkened but the binding is also otherwise in very good condition with the tooling clear and sharp. A lovely little Catholic bible beautifully bound ca. 1700 in French gold-tooled red morocco an unusually small format for a Catholic bible.l Darlow & Moule 6211 New Testament only; STCV 6650952; USTC 1003882; not in www.bibliasacra.nl. “Officina Plantiniana” [= Balthasar I Moretus, grandson of Christophe Plantin], hardcover