Lot 123
  • 123

Bible in German.

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description

  • Das Allte testament deutzsch. Wittenberg: Melchior Lotther, 1524
  • ink,leather,paper
8vo (6 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.; 175 x 125mm). [214] leaves (including final blank), Gothic letter, pictorial woodcut title, 13 woodcuts (2 original for this edition), 5 decorative woorcut initials; title-page with marginal soiling, for-edges of first few leaves with some fraying, some marginal notations in a contemporary hand. Contemporary blind-tooled pigskin, hand-lettered vellum label on spine; worn, upper joint cracked with front cover partially detached, lacking lower clasp. Buckram clamshell case with morocco lettering-piece. 

Provenance

Johann Gottfried Leschner(?) (contemporary inscription on front pastedown and notes in margins of text) — "U. P." (bookplate with inventory number 1289)

Literature

Formatting the Word of God 6.2; Darlow & Moule 1489, note; VD16 B2910

Condition

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
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.

Catalogue Note

First octavo edition of Luther's Pentateuch. Melchior Lothter originally Luther's Pentateuch in a folio edition in 1523.  It was the first printing of any part of Luther's translation of the Hebrew Bible.  Of the thirteen woodcut plates in the octavo edition, eleven are reduced-size copies after cuts in the folio edition.  The two other woodcuts, "The Creator" and "Creation and Fall of Man," are apparently original compositions for this edition. The woodcuts are believed to have been produced by the workshop of Lukas Cranach the Elder, with some plates designed by Lukas's son Hans. 

Luther wrote of this translation, "While I cannot claim to have got everything right, nevertheless, I venture to say that this German Bible is couched in plainer and more correct language at many points than the Latin.  So if the printers do not, as is their wont, spoil it with their carelessness, the German language has here a better bible than the Latin. I ask my readers to decide."