Bible. Old Testament. Greek

folio (350 x 243mm.), text in Greek, engraved armorial device on title-page, woodcut initials, with final additional errata leaf (indicating this is Darlow & Moule's fourth variant), contemporary Roman painted red morocco over wooden boards, arms of Cardinal della Rovere painted on covers with della Rovere devices in covers of covers with Greek mottos, outer borders tooled in gilt and blind (including a small acorn stamp), spine tooled in gilt and blind (raised bands with gilt tooling, and with further gilt bands within compartments to give the illusion of more raised bands), edges gilt and gauffered, two clasps, in modern brown buckram folding box, some neat early annotations in Greek, Latin and Hebrew (by Hepburn?), mostly correcting the text with reference to the Hebrew (with a small paper slip inserted between DDd1-2), occasional light spotting or foxing, a few small scrapes to covers, joints slightly cracked, lacking both straps

Cardinal Girolamo della Rovere (1530-1592), arms on binding; James Bonaventure Hepburn (1573-1620), inscription on title-page; early inscription beneath device (erased); some pencil notes by Mendham on inside front cover regarding provenance; Law Society, armorial bookplate

Girolamo della Rovere became archbishop of Turin in 1564 and was made a cardinal by Sixtus V in 1586, the year of publication. He died in Rome during the conclave that elected Pope Clement VIII. His substantial library of Greek and Latin texts became the property of his relative Francesco Maria della Rovere, the duke of Urbino, and the ducal library in its turn came to rest in Rome, shared between the Vatican and Alessandrina libraries. This book presumably left his library before it reached Urbino.

Hepburn, a late convert to Catholicism who had studied at St Andrews University, joined the Order of Minims, wrote a treatise on Hebrew (Lexicon sanctae linguae succinctum, c. 1620; Allison & Rogers 667) and was Keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts at the Vatican Library.

Censimento 16 CNCE 5813; Darlow & Moule 4647 (fourth variant)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

First edition of the Sistine Septuagint, based on the Codex Vaticanus and edited by Cardinal Antonio Carafa and others, "which by modern standards is perhaps the only satisfactory achievement in the editing of a biblical text obtained in the sixteenth century, and its editors could rightly claim that by diligent correction it had been restored to its former splendour" (Cambridge History of the Bible 3, p.58).

For the Sistine Vulgate, see lot 26, and for Pietro Galesini's tract on this edition, see lot 92.

The binding is similar to those produced for Sixtus V in Rome at this time, though with painted rather than stamped armorial decoration.