Bible, English, New Testament.

4to (221 x 148mm.),  the "Mole" edition of Tyndale's translation (woodcut on t1 recto with foot of St. Paul resting on figure of a mole, possibly a reference to the sign of the publisher G. van der Haghen), black letter, titles within woodcut border, approximately 120 woodcut illustrations in the text including some after Durer's "Apocalypse", cut of the Royal Arms (with greyhound and dragon as supporters) on final page, contemporary manuscript notes on x8 recto, y8 recto and also to some leaves of the table at the end, contemporary rough calf over wooden boards, red edges, preserved in cloth slipcase, lacking 4 preliminary leaves and first leaf of text A1, and also C4 from The Epistle to Philemon (all supplied in expert facsimile), some minor staining to last leaves, spine and hinges repaired, still an unusually tall, clean copy

"Mary Bowes her Booke", early contemporary ownership signature on a2 recto; ? her descendant  Henry Bowes [Howard], 4th Earl of Berkshire, armorial bookplate dated 1720; Earl Amherst, armorial bookplate; Sir R. Leicester Harmsworth, sale of his library, eighth portion, Sotheby's, 8 July 1946, lot 2397; Robin Howard, C.B.E., sale of books formerly in his library, Sotheby's, 1 March 1976, lot 140

DMH 19; STC 2832 (10 copies, including this one)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when 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."

The Howard-Harmsworth copy of the rare "Mole" edition: only two other copies of this edition (one a made-up copy, the other highly defective) have been sold at auction since 1976.

Three distinct quarto editions of Tyndale's New Testament were printed in the year he was martyred (1536). They are chiefly distinguished by the variations in the woodcut of St. Paul on t1 recto: the Apostle's foot rests on a stone, which in one edition is blank, in another bears the engraver's mark A.K.B., and in another (as here) rests on a mole (or possibly hedgehog). Although there appears to be no absolutely conclusive evidence to show the order of publication various small differences suggest that the "Mole " edition was the first, and the "Blank Stone" the last, of the three. Forty-eight distinct blocks were used for the 122 illustrations present in a complete copy.

Tyndale's New Testament in English, philologically sound and careful and largely derived from the Greek Testament of Erasmus, was of course bitterly opposed by the ecclesiastical authorities and many copies were burned. Since its publication, however, it has dominated all successive translations right up to modern times, with nine-tenths of the Authorised Version itself derived from his work.

"...Our own age can only by an effort of imagination grasp the full impact of the vernacular Bible upon a generation more ardent and narrow in its Christianity than our own...It is hard indeed to recapture that blissful sense of release and new awakening'' 
(Dickens, The English Reformation).