Bible. Polyglot.

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 GBP

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Description

Biblia sacra Hebraice, Chaldaice, Graece, & Latine. Antwerp: Christopher Plantin, (1568-1573), 5 volumes, woodcut initials, vol.1: half-title, engraved title-page, full-page engravings on *3v-4r, title on A1 within architectural woodcut border; vol.2: half-title, full-page engraving on [*]2r, title on A1 within architectural woodcut border; vol.3: half-title, blank leaf after [*]1 (not recorded by Voet), title on A1 within architectural woodcut border; vol.4: half-title, full-page engraving on [*]2r, title on A1 within architectural woodcut border; vol.5: half-title, full-page engraving on [*]2r, occasional light staining, vol.1: front flyleaf torn out, a few marginal paper repairs and tears to upper margin, k6 stained; vol.4: small rusthole in s5

Lexicon Graecum, et institutiones linguae Graecae. Antwerp: Christopher Plantin, 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page, small inkstain on M6, small rusthole in X5; Masius, Andreas. Syrorum peculium. Hoc est, vocabula apud Syros scriptores passim usurpata... Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Ibid. Grammatica linguae Syricae... Ibid., 1573, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Boderianus, Guido Fabricius. Dictionarium Syro-Chaldaicum. Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; [Raphelengius, Franciscus] Thesauri Hebraicae linguae, olim a Sante Pagnino Lucensi conscripti, epitome. Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; 5 works in one volume

Bible. NT. Greek. Novum testamentum Graece cum vulgata interpretatione Latina Graece contextus lineis inserta... Ben. Ariae Montani... opera... Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Arias Montanus, Benedictus. Communes et familiares Hebraicae linguae idiotismi... Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Bible. OT. Hebrew. Hebraicorum Bibliorum Veteris Testamenti Latina interpretatio, opera olim Xantis Pagnini... Ibid., [1571], woodcut printer's device on title-page, parallel text in Hebrew and Latin; 3 works in one volume

Arias Montanus, Benedictus. Liber Ioseph, sive, de arcano sermone, ad sacri apparatus instructionem... Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page, small marginal rusthole in I6; Ibid. Liber Ieremiae, sive, de actione... Ibid., 1573, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Ibid. Thubal-Cain, sive de mensuribus sacris liber, tribus voluminibus distinctis. De cubito. De satho. De siclo. Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Ibid. Phaleg, sive, de gentium sedibus primis, orbisquae terrae situ, liber. Ibid., 1572, double-page engraved map of the world; Ibid. In librum Chanaan... [Ibid., 1572], double-page engraved map of Canaan; Ibid. In librum Chaleb... [Ibid., 1572], double-page engraved map of Canaan; Ibid. Exemplar, sive, de sacris fabricis liber. Ibid., 1572, 10 engraved plates (one double-page) depicting the Tabernacle and the Temple, small stain on first plate; Ibid. Aaron, sive, sanctorum vestimentorum ornamentorumque summa descriptio... (Nehemias...). [Ibid., 1572], 2 engraved illustrations (one of Aaron, the other a map of Jerusalem); Ibid. Daniel, sive, de saeculis codex integer. Ibid., 1572, woodcut printer's device on title-page; Harlemius, Johannes. Index Biblicus. (Ibid., 1572); Hebraea, Chaldaea, Graeca et Latina nomina virorum, mulierum, populorum, idolorum, urbium... [Ibid., 1571]; Raphelengius, F. Variae lectiones et annotatiunculae... [Ibid., 1572]; Arias Montanus, Benedictus. De varia in Hebraicis libris lectione, ac de Mazzoreth ratione atque usu. [Ibid., 1572]; Canterus, Gulielmus. Variarum in Graecis bibliis lectionum libellus. [Ibid., 1572]; Sirleto, Guglielmo. Annotationes variarum lectionum in Psalmos... [Ibid., 1571]; Variae lectiones in Latinis bibliis editionis vulgatae, ex vetustissimis manuscriptis exemplaribus collectae... [Ibid., 1572]; Boderianus, Guido Fabricius. Candido lectori... in tabuiam titulorum totius Novi Testamenti Syriaci. [Ibid., 1572?]; 18 parts in one volume

together 8 volumes, folio (420 x 278mm.), one of 960 copies printed on papier grand royal de Troyes, uniform contemporary blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards, lettered with the volume number and the date on upper cover, later lettering in black "Creils Capitel", corner bosses, two clasps, lacking some lettering-pieces, a few spines chipped and soiled, vol.3: binding slightly stained, vol.8: lacking all bosses

Provenance

pencil inscription on inside front covers by Herr (?) Tausch dated 1865 at Halle; Bequeathed to the Bishopric of Cornwall by the Rev. Franke Parker, M.A., Rector of Luffincott, Devon, 1883, bookplate

Literature

Voet 644, with versions of the tracts in vols 6-8 as follows: VI.2.B, VI.3.B, VI.4.A (Voet gives date as 1573 for both versions), VI.5.A, VII.3.B, VIII.1.B, VIII.2.B, VIII.3.B, VIII.4.B, VIII.6.B, VIII.7.B, VIII.8 and 9B, VIII.10.B, VIII.14.B(?), VIII.15.B; Darlow & Moule 1422

Catalogue Note

a complete set of the plantin polyglot bible in a contemporary binding.

"Plantin's Polyglot Bible in five languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew, 'Chaldaic' [=Aramaic], and Syriac) and eight volumes may [be] considered to be the largest typographical enterprise of the 16th century" (Voet, p.312). In scale it matches the Complutensian Polyglot of 1517-1522 (see lot 22) and makes use of the Complutensian text, corrected by later sources such as the Aldine Greek bible (lot 32) and Daniel Bomberg's Hebrew bibles (see lot 30).

Plantin printed 1,200 copies of this Bible, although the political situation in the Netherlands meant that some of the supplementary treatises were unable to be printed in sufficient quantity until the situation settled, hence the existence of two versions of some of them (for details of this copy, see below). The retail price of this copy on publication is recorded as being 70fl., or 60fl. to booksellers.