Bible, New Testament. Erasmus (Desiderius of Rotterdam), [Th...

Estimate

£400 - £500

Bible, New Testament. Erasmus (Desiderius of Rotterdam), [The seconde tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus upon the newe testament (sic)], volume two only (of two), first edition thus, [London: Edward Whitchurch, 16th August, 1549], Gothic Black Letter, infrequent Italic, foliated and historiated Mannerist initials, typically incomplete and the gatherings erroneous in places, the extant [390]ff text collating: π¹ (defective) ‡2-4 π¹ ‡1 π¹ ⸿⁴ π¹ (defective) A⁶ E-F⁶ B-D⁶ G⁶ π² ²A⁶ π¹⁰ (defective, unsigned) ²G3 π¹ (defective unsigned) ²E⁶ ²L⁴ ²H-I⁶ ²K⁶ ²a⁶ ²b1 π¹ ²b2-5 ²c⁶ ²d⁴ (²d4 blank); ⁴a⁶ ⁴b⁴ ²A-B⁶ ²C⁴ (²C4 blank); ³A⁶ ³B⁴ ⁴A-B⁶ (⁴B6 blank); ⁴A-E⁶ ⁴F⁴ ⸿⁶ (⸿6 blank); ⁵A-C⁶ (⁵A3 & ⁵A4 transposed) ⁵E1 ⁵D⁶ ⁵E2-3; ⸿-⸿F⁶ ⸿G1-2 [⸿G5-6] ⸿H⁶ ⸿I⁵ ⸿G3-4 π³; ²⸿A-B⁶ (²⸿B3 & ²⸿B4 transposed); π¹ (defective, unsigned) ²⸿C⁵ ²⸿D⁵ (²⸿D3 & ²⸿D4 transposed) ²⸿E-F⁶ (²⸿F5 bound after ²⸿F2) ²⸿G⁴ (²⸿G4 verso colophon printer's device), of which the four watermarked blanks (hand holding a five-pointed star) - ²d4, ²C4, ⁴B6 & ⸿6 - each have contemporary/contemporaneous manuscript annotation verso, one with an apparent if indistinct Early English reader's name, one or two occasional later glosses elsewhere, typically worn, some toning and some margins with signs of handling, some leaves tatty - particularly at the start and end, any defective leaves stated in collation, occasional marginal chips, etc., disbound, yet retaining portions of its contemporary Oxford binding, of poplar boards (worn, splits and worm trail), clad in blind-rolled and tooled calf (similar to Gibson, Early Oxford Bindings, Plate 39, No. 20), some of the clasps, perished spine but retaining bands, pastedown of recto board with three studs and vellum strips, folio (29.3 x 20.5cm), [Herbert 72]

In 1547 Edward VI decreed that a copy of Paraphrases should be acquired by every parish church, as companion to the Great Bible of 1539. Herbert reports that the scarcity of this work can be attributed to the efforts of Mary I of England in attempting to restore the Vulgate Bible, leading to many copies of the first and contemporary editions being destroyed.