Bible in Czech

Super-Chancery folio (308 × 201 mm). Collation: a-g¹⁰ h⁸ i-z A¹⁰ B⁸ C-Z AA-BB¹⁰ CC⁸ (Old Testament); aa-ll¹⁰ mm⁸ (New Testament, colophon mm8v); [nn]8 (index of Gospel and Epistle readings, nn8v blank): 585 of 610 leaves, lacking the first quire; b6, 9; c5, 6; d3, 4; e8-10; f1; r10; and mm8; c4 only partially preserved; about ten other leaves with cut-out or restored margins. Two columns, 47 lines plus headline. Initial spaces with guide letters (rubricated red). Some headlines shaved, many leaves browned and with stains. Nineteenth-century sheep, gilt spine laid down, paste paper endleaves, edges red-stained, a large number of blank paper leaves bound in. Some headlines shaved, many leaves browned and with stains.

Dr. Joseph Liboslaw Ziegler, 1782-1846, decanus in Chrudim (stamp)

Goff B-620; GW 4323; BMC III 808 (IB.51405); BSB-Ink B-501; Bod-inc B-340; E. Urbánková, Soupis prvotisků českého původu (1986) no. 13

Super-Chancery folio (308 × 201 mm). Collation: a-g10 h8 i-z A10 B8 C-Z AA-BB10 CC8 (Old Testament); aa-ll10 mm8 (New Testament, colophon mm8v); [nn]8 (index of Gospel and Epistle readings, nn8v blank): 585 of 610 leaves, lacking the first quire; b6, 9; c5, 6; d3, 4; e8-10; f1; r10; and mm8; c4 only partially preserved; about ten other leaves with cut-out or restored margins. Two columns, 47 lines plus headline. Initial spaces with guide letters (rubricated red). Some headlines shaved, many leaves browned and with stains. Nineteenth-century sheep, gilt spine laid down, paste paper endleaves, edges red-stained, a large number of blank paper leaves bound in. Some headlines shaved, many leaves browned and with stains.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition of the Czech Bible, and the first Bible printed in a Slavonic language. A year earlier in Prague, an anonymous press using a different font had printed a Czech Psalter (GW M36725); in Pilsen, ca. 1475-1476, an anonymous press had produced two editions of the New Testament in Czech, one folio (GW M45676, two copies) and one quarto (GW 45679: one copy, one fragment of 20 leaves). The incunable literature has misleadingly translated the last two publisher names into German, but in the colophon their names are in Czech; thus “Johann von Störchen” is “Jan od čapuow”, the equivalent of modern Jan Čapek.