[scanned catalogue entry, not proofread]

         36
         
         BIBLE, IN GERMAN. Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 17 February 1483.
         
         2 volumes. Royal 2° (403 x 277mm). Collation: [14 2-48 56 6-378 396J (1/1r letter ofjerome
         to Paulinus, 1/4r prologue to the Pentateuch, 2/1r Genesis-Psalms, 39/6 blank); [4O-738
         74-766 (40/1 blank, 40/2r letter of Jerome on Proverbs, Proverbs-Maccabees, New
         Testament, 76/6 blank). 586 leaves (bifolia 11/3.6 and 4.5 reversed in binding). 50 lines
         and headline, double column. Ty e: 10:120G (text), 11:162G (headings and headlines).
         109 woodcuts from 108 blocks, al hand-coloured in blue, green, orange,  ellow, brown
         or maroon, the first (creation of Eve) also with gold leaf, 5- to 8-line initials s on 1/1r, 2/ir
         and 40/2r in gold and colours with extensions, other 3- to 7-line initials and paragraph
         marks in red, early quiring (red in vol. II, as in Schäfer (no.52) and Breslauer co ies)
         visible in many lower corners, the illumination and decoration most probably Nurem g
         work from the Koberger shop. (Some worming, mainly in first and final few quires of
         both volumes, affecting some letters, scattered light marginal dampstains, narrow section
         cut from u per margin of 1/1, small marginal hole in 2/1 and tin section cut from 40/1
         slightly afectin g decoration, 1/1.4 rehinged.) Contemporary cal over bevelled wooden
         boards, blindstamped, spines rebacked in 17th-century blindstamped pigskin, two brass
         fore-edge clasps, title written on spines, modern pastedowns, leather tabs (some calf
         missing, repaired, back board of vol.1 cracked and probably an Augsburg binding, Kyriss shop 81 (stamps 4, 6 and Schwenke-S pieces),
                                                      enke-Sammlung
         Ranke 94). Provenance: Augsburg, 17th-century inscription erased from both volumes,
         Bibliotliecae S. Georgii Augustae, some marginal annotations in a 1617th century hand).
         
         Ninth edition of the Bible in German. The succeeding five editions of the German Bible
         depend textually on this Koberger edition and the woodcuts much influenced later Bible
         illustrations, including those by Dürer for Koberger's A ocalypse printed in 1498. This
         book demonstrates the wide scope of Koberger's  usiness, including  lanning,
         production, marketing and distribution. As a text it fits neatly into a trio oGerman
         editions, complementing the Bibles in two Low German dialects printed at Cologne in
         1478/9, with which Koberger had been involved. His involvement with them extended to
         his gaining possession of the woodcuts used there, 108 of which he used for this 1483
         Bible; the woodcuts were the work of the "Master of the Colo ne Bibles", and were
         possibly based on drawings in a Netherlandish manuscript (Ber in, Ms. germ.fol.516).
         Koberger had cut two new German types for his Bible and is said to have run 24 presses to
         print it. The edition of between 1000 and 1500 copies was available in three forms:
         completely uncoloured, rubricated and coloured simply in  reen, ochre and purple, or
         rubricated and coloured in a wide variety of colours and gold eaf. The present copy, with
         its gold and colourin , belongs to the last de-luxe category. (See H. Wendland, "Eine
         fünffiundertjährige In una bel-Anton Kobergers deutsche Bibel", Pliilobiblon, 28, 1984,
         pp.30-37.) FINE CONDITION.
         
         Davies Murray German (63) and M. Breslauer, cat. -104, II, nr. 128 describe copies with 6
         leaves in the first quire, bifolium 1.6 being blank. H *3137; GW 4303; BMC II, 424
         (C. 11 .d.4,5); Goff B-632; Pellechet 2375; Schreiber 3461; Schramm XVII p.8; 1DL 871;
         IGI 1713; BSB B-490
                                                      £30, 000-40,000