15 Beautiful Rare Bibles

“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

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	15 Beautiful Rare Bibles

By Jessica Doyle,
www.abebooks.com

It is the bestselling book of all time. Editions range from dollar paperbacks in nightstand drawers to rare and collectible treasures kept in fine museums. While the Bible is valued first and foremost for its content and its influence on art, literature and history, many editions are prized for their ornate beauty. Illustrations, etchings, paintings, and even embroidery and photography have adorned the Bible for centuries.

The Holy Bible with photographs by Francis Firth
published by William Mackenzie, 1862

The most collectible beautiful Bibles have been enhanced by history's greatest artists, including modernist Marc Chagall and illustrator Gustave Doré. Gustave Doré was one of the most acclaimed and popular illustrators of the nineteenth century, and his illustrated Bible is a landmark in the field. He made more than 200 engravings, illustrating the events of the Bible with detail and emotion. The first edition appeared in France in 1866, but his work was reprinted throughout Europe in the ensuing decades.

Explore our selection of beautiful rare Bibles, including exquisite facsimile editions, rare antique Bibles and a Bible cover hand embroidered by a 12-year-old girl in 1753. After the gallery, read the stories behind the most famous Bibles.

Beautiful Bibles on AbeBooks

Holy Bible This Bible was published by the Illustrated Bible Society of London in 1900. Designed by Walter Crane, the Bible is illustrated throughout with 100 full-page prints by members of the Royal Academy.	The Alba Bible An illuminated facsimile edition of the first translation of the Hebrew Bible into Castilian by Rabbi Moses Arragel at the behest of Don Luis de Guzman, Knight of the Order of Calatrava executed in Maqueda, Spain from 1422 to 1430.	American Canvaswork Bible Cover A Bible cover embroidered in 1753 by 12-year-old Sarah Saunders of Philadelphia. The embroidery was designed to cover the Saunders family Bible, the King James translation printed in London in 1738 by John Baskett.
La Sainte Bible This edition of the Old Testament contains 360 splendid mounted illustrations and 40 plates by James Tissot. Published in Paris in 1904 by M. de Brunoff & Cie and signed by Pagnant, the prestigious Parisian binder who was active between 1876 and 1916.	Holy Bible Published by London Company of Stationers in 1650, this edition of the Holy Bible includes 142 rare contemporary hand-coloured engraved leaves. This book was typically printed without illustrations, and the few copies with illustrative plates exist only in black and white.	Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures Published by The Bloch Publishing and Printing Company in 1880, this work is an early translation of the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew to English. This particular edition contains nine steel engravings from celebrated paintings and 13 photomechanical reproductions of illustrations by Gustave Doré.
Kennicott Bible The Kennicott Bible is the most lavishly illuminated Hebrew Bible to survive from medieval Spain and combines Islamic, Christian, and popular motifs. This facsimile edition was published in 1985 and is No. 288 of 500.	Vorau Picture Bible The original Vorau Picture Bible was written in Bavarian dialect in 1467. This limited facsimile edition was published in 1993 and contains both the Old and the New Testament with 559 colored pen and ink drawings.	Drawings for the Bible A rare first American edition of Marc Chagall's second series of illustrations for the Bible, with 96 black and white photolithorgraphs and 24 colour lithographs by Chagall. Published by Harcourt Brace & Co. New York in 1960.
Gutenberg Bible This facsimile of Poland's Pelplin Gutenberg Bible, orginally printed in 1452-1455, is cased in a replica of the of the briefcase-like packaging made in the spring of 1939 that helped to save the Bible during the World War II.	La Passion du Christ with etchings by Bernard Buffet Published in Paris in 1954 by Creuzevault Editeur, this limited first edition includes several dry point etchings by Bernard Buffet with French excerpts from the New Testament.	Pamplona Bible The Pamplona Bible is the picture Bible of King Sancho el Fuerte (1153-1234) and was created around 1200 in Navarra. This limited facsimile edition of the Spanish Christian Bible was published by Müller & Schindler Simbach am Inn & Coron bei Kindler Berlin in 2005.
Oxford Bible Pictures Published in 2004, this is a limited facsimile edition of the Oxford Bible Pictures, originally published in Latin between 1230 and 1260.	Holy Bible, photographs by Francis Firth This magnificent deluxe work was published by William Mackenzie for the Great London Exhibition of 1862, and features Francis Frith's groundbreaking photographic studies of the Middle East and Egypt. This issue is one of 170 copies and contains 57 albumen prints.	Holy Bible Published by Mark Baskett in 1767, this particular copy of the Holy Bible belonged to the Delancy family, prominent New York loyalists. It is inscribed by various members of the Delancy family and was presumably commissioned by Stephen Delancy.

Famous Bibles & Their Stories

Johannes Gutenberg first thought of the principles behind movable type in 1439. But it was not until 1452 that he finally brought his magnificent idea to fruition and published a complete book, the Gutenberg Bible, in the typographic style. Written in Latin, the Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Vulgate. Only 180 copies were printed, making the Gutenberg Bible one of the most valuable books in the world. Single leaves from the book are valued at tens of thousands of dollars, and facsimile editions are priced in the thousands.

The Geneva Bible (1560) is one of the earliest English translations of the Bible. It was published in Geneva where Puritans lived without fear of religious persecution. It is said to be the Bible that William Shakespeare owned, and it traveled to the New World on the Mayflower.

The Kings James Bible is an English translation of the Bible published in 1604 for the Church of England. It follows the Great Bible (1535) and the Bishop's Bible (1568) and today remains the most popular English translation of the Bible.

John Baskett was printer to King George II and the University of Oxford from 1711 until his death in 1742. He printed several fine books, but is best known for his imprint of the Holy Bible published in 1717. The imprint contained beautiful neo-classical engravings by James Thornhill and Michael van der Gucht.

Source: https://www.abebooks.com/books/rarebooks/rare-bibles.shtml

The above article was published in May 2021.

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