New Acquisitions: Hand-coloured 1589 Luther Bible

speccoll
Tuesday 9 December 2014
The late-16th century binding found on  St Andrews' newest Bible acquisition (Bib BS239.B89)
The late-16th century binding found on St Andrews’ newest Bible acquisition (Bib BS239.B89)

Earlier this year the rare books team acquired a significant, and rather pretty, addition to its developing Bible Collection.

 

Hand-coloured title page to a 1589 edition of Luther's Bible (St Andrews copy Bib BS239.B89)
Hand-coloured title page to a 1589 edition of Luther’s Bible (St Andrews copy Bib BS239.B89)

This Bible, a 1589 folio production of Luther’s edition, was acquired with generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York from the Howell Bible Collection which was being deaccessioned by the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. The Carnegie Corporation awarded the University Library Special Collections Division a generous grant in 2013 for new acquisitions and for the preservation and conservation of our collections, and this new Bible is one of our first major purchases.

Genesis, as seen from the bunny rabbits' perspective (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)
Genesis, as seen from the bunny rabbits’ perspective (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)

 

The first edition of Luther’s German translation of the Bible appeared in the early 16th century, and its influence and popularity was present throughout the 16th century. Our new 1589 folio edition is lavishly illustrated with woodcuts by Jost Amman and his workshop, and after drawings by Tobias Stimmer and Johann Bocksberger. The workshop artists’ initials include “HS,” “SHF,” and “CM.”

A particularly firey page from the Revelation of St John (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)
A particularly firey page from the Revelation of St John (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)
Detail of a battle scene from the Old Testament (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)
Detail of a battle scene from the Old Testament (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)
The opening of St Luke from St Andrews Bib BS239.B89
The opening of St Luke from St Andrews Bib BS239.B89

 

What really caught our eye with the Bible, however, was that the entire work has been professionally hand-coloured by an artist of considerable talent. Hand-colouring of woodcuts in 15th and 16th century printed books is not an uncommon find, yet the quality and extent of the colouring found in this Bible is very impressive. The title page to the volume already invokes a bit of the horror vacui, and the added colouring just pushes that to the extreme.

Clasp and gauffered edge, detail of clasp and detail of brass boss from St Andrews' newest Bible acquisition (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89 )
Clasp and gauffered edge, detail of clasp and detail of brass boss from St Andrews’ newest Bible acquisition (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)

 

This new Bible is also retained in a near-contemporary binding, stamped and dated 1594. It has been bound in brown panel calf on bevelled wooden boards, tooled all over in gold and it retains all of its original brass bosses and its two clasps. It also has the initials “GWA” stamped on its upper board. This binding has protected this Bible for several hundred years, and is one of the reasons it still survives in such a good state.

Detail from a depiction of the harlot riding the seven-headed beast from the Revelation of St John (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)
Detail from a depiction of the harlot riding the seven-headed beast from the Revelation of St John (St Andrews Bib BS239.B89)

 

This new addition to the Bible Collection has already been in use for undergraduate and post-graduate classes to demonstrate the different ways illustrations were used in publishing and to discuss the importance of binding and provenance research. A work of this size and beauty is an immediate attention-getter in the classroom and in hands-on sessions, and will continue to support the teaching needs of the University in the future.

 

DG  

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3 thoughts on "New Acquisitions: Hand-coloured 1589 Luther Bible"

  • Christine Gascoigne
    Christine Gascoigne
    Tuesday 9 December 2014, 5.34pm

    What a fantastic purchase! Well done guys. I'd be interested in anything you've discovered about its provenance

    Reply
    • St Andrews Special Collections
      St Andrews Special Collections
      Tuesday 9 December 2014, 5.54pm

      Thanks Christine! We'll let you know, but it's not leaving us many clues. The bookplate is a 19th century one, and the initials could be just about anything!

      Reply
  • CDV of Bible | Graphic Arts
    Tuesday 13 January 2015, 8.54pm

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