Bible, Latin, Venice, 1495, 4 volumes, vellum

Bible. Latin

Biblia latina (cum glossa ordinaria Walafridi Strabonis aliorumque et interlineari Anselmi Laudunensis et cum postillis Nicolai de Lyra expositionibusque Guillelmi Britonis in omnes prologos S. Hieronymi; Nicolaus de Lyra: Contra perfidiam Judaeorum [edited by Bernardinus Gadolus, Eusebius Hispanus, and Secundus Contarenus]. Venice: Paganinus de Paganinis, 18 April 1495

4 volumes, Median folio (363 x 244mm.), 1512 leaves, double column, 83 lines of gloss, gothic type, woodcut illustration on title-page, title-page printed in red and black, printed in red and black, a few woodcut illustrations, eighteenth-century vellum, misbound (see footnote), first leaf of vol.1 detached, first and last leaves of vol.3 detached, last leaf of vol.4 detached, some worming throughout with some loss of text, occasional light staining (heavy in quire f of vol.1), a few marginal tears, ink stain on sss2v, small hole in SS3, quire YYY with ink staining and slight damage in gutter, a few leaves in vol.4 slightly browned, bindings slightly soiled, spines defective

A comprehensive edition of the bible, containing not just the glossa ordinaria but also the Postillae of Nicolaus of Lyra, using the layout established for legal texts. Earlier bible editions had contained either one or the other, and this was the first to contain both, though it was quickly followed by other joint editions. It was a successful editon, judging by the number of copies still recorded in institutional libraries; ISTC lists over 200 extant copies, though not all are complete.

This copy contains a manuscript note on the blank leaf at the end of Deuteronomy, explaining that from the book of Joshua onwards (quires gg-kkk8, up to the end of Esther), the leaves have been misbound after leaf 666 in volume 2. The text in volume 1 then continues with the book of Job up to the end of the Psalms on I1, then volume 2 begins with Proverbs on I2 up to Ecclesiasticus, before reverting to Joshua.

PROVENANCE

Benedictine monastery of St Hieronymus, La Cervara (near Portofino), early inscriptions on first and last leaves with inventory numbers 464-467

LITERATURE

ISTC ib00608000