- 58
Bible. English, King James version
Description
- Bible. English, King James version
- The Holy Bible. Cambridge: John Field, 1660
- Paper
Provenance
Thomas Dampier (bap. 1749, d. 1812), was born and educated at Eton and was Dean and Bishop of Rochester before becoming Bishop of Ely in 1808 (the year he apparently acquired this Restoration Bible). A celebrated bibliophile he amassed a fine collection of early printed books by the time of his death. Dampier's own manuscript account of some of the rarer items was used extensively by Dibdin in compiling his Aedes Althorpianae (1822). After his death most of Dampier's library was sold en bloc to William Cavendish, sixth duke of Devonshire, for about £10,000, though some "duplicates from the collection had already been sold by auction in 1804, and in 1844 a further sale of the ‘remaining library’ of Dampier was held, comprising mostly eighteenth- and nineteenth-century material" (see Oxford DNB).
Literature
Condition
"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."
Catalogue Note
The design of the binding here bears some resemblance to those performed in the workshop of The Royal Heads Binder (see, for instance, The Book of Common Prayer, 1661, item 40 in Maggs catalogue 1212, Bookbinding in the British Isles, Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century, Summer 1996) and to Samuel Mearne, bookbinder to Charles II; the triangular tool found on the corners of the roll-tooled border can be found on several of his bindings (Henry Davis Gift 107 and 108).