Rare Bibles in the Luhr Library Rare Book Collection

Illustrated and historical bibles
Bibles in diverse languages

The following is an adaptation of a handout from an exhibit of rare and unusual bibles which was held at the Luhr Library on October 9, 1995.

n Illustrated and historical bibles

Erasmus' New Testament (1516)

Published in Basel by Johann Froben. The first published edition of the New Testament in Greek.

Zurich Bible (1531)

Published in Zurich by Christopher Froschouer. A later edition of the Zurich Bible, which was originally published in 1529. Preface ascribed to Huldreich Zwingli, and woodcuts attributed to Hans Holbein. Zurich Bibles were a type of "combined" Bible which were issued because of the delay in publication of the complete edition of Martin Luther's translation of the Bible. Some of the translation is by Luther, but in some sections the Zurich translators differ from his text. The Zurich Bible is also known as the "Cannon Bible" because of the cannon in the woodcut of Christ being led away from judgment on the title page of the second part.

Zurich Bible (1536)

Published in Zurich by Christopher Froschouer. Another edition of the Zurich Bible.

French (1541)

Printed in Antwerp by Antoine des Gois for Antoine de la Haye. The third edition of Jacque Le Fevre's translation of the complete Bible originally published in 1530. In 1546 it was placed on the Roman Catholic Church's Index of banned books because of the perceived Protestant slant of the marginal notes.

New Testament in German (ca. 1545)

Probably published in Zurich by Christopher Froschouer. An interesting feature is the illustration on the title page of frogs climbing a tree, which is the printer's device of Christopher Froschouer. In the early days of printing the publisher's name was often omitted and the identity of the publisher could only be determined through the device.

Old Testament in Hebrew and Latin (1546)

Published in Basel; translated by Sebastian Münster.

English -- Breeches Bible (1599)

Published in London by Christopher Barker. Also called the Geneva Bible. The nickname "breeches" stems from the use of the word "breeches" at the end of Genesis 3:7 to describe the clothes Adam and Eve made out of fig leaves.

Piscator's German Bible (1604-1606)

Published in Herborn by Christoff Raben in 7 volumes. Especially notable is the intricate gold tooling which covers the leather binding and spine.

German Bible, Luther Translation (1665)

Published in Basel by Jacob Bertsche. Especially notable are the detailed maps, including a map of the world and a map of Jerusalem.

German Bible, Luther Translation (1686)

Published in Nuremberg by Johann Andrea Endter.

German Bible, Luther Translation (1692)

Published in Nuremberg by Johann Andrea Endter.

Tubingen Bible (1729)

Published in Tubingen by Johann Georg and Christian Gottfried Cotta. It has numerous illustrations in the text and a medallion on the back cover depicting Moses holding the Ten Commandments. It is also the library's largest Bible, with dimensions of 17" x 12" x 8", and a weight of 28 pounds.

Kupfer-Bibel (1733)

Published in Augsburg and Ulm by Christian Ulrich Wagner. "Kupfer" is the German word for copper; it refers to the copper plates. Contains numerous illustrations of objects mentioned within the text including diagrams of the eye, the human ear and skeleton, and illustrations of different types of shellfish.

German Bible, Luther Translation (1765)

Published in Nuremberg by Johann Andrea Endter.

German Bible, Luther Translation (1798)

Published in Basel by Emanuel Thurneysen. It contains labelled illustrations of biblical personages such as high priests and objects including Noah's Ark.

German Bible, Luther Translation (1830)

Published in Philadelphia by Kimber and Scharpless.

English Bible (1904)

Published in Boston by Hinkley in 14 volumes. King James Version. It is number 178 of 488 copies of a handmade paper edition. Especially notable is the wood and leather binding.

n Bibles in diverse languages

Arabic (ca. 1900)

Bohemian (1874)

Braille (1940)

Croatian (1910)

Dutch (1704)

Published in Dordrecht by Hendrick-Jacob and Pieter Keur and in Amsterdam by Pieter Rotterdam & Company.

Greek (1917)

Printed in Great Britain.

Greek & Latin New Testament (1572)

Published in Antwerp by Christopher Plantinus. Bound with a Hebrew and Latin Old Testament also published in Antwerp by Christopher Plantinus in 1572.

Hindi New Testament (1874)

Published in Allahabad by the Mission Press for the North India Bible Society.

Hungarian (1704)

Published in Casselben by Ingebrand Janos.

Hungarian (1890)

Published in Budapest by Kulfoldi Biblia-Tarsulat.

Italian (1905)

Published in New York by the American Bible Society.

Japanese & English (1956)

Published in Japan.

Low German New Testament (1935)

Published in Berlin by Britische und Auslandische Bibelgesellschaft.

Polish (1889)

Published in Lipsk by Poschela i Treptego.

Portuguese (1916)

Published in New York by the American Bible Society.

Romansch (1718)

Published in Chur, Switzerland by Andrea Pfeffer. Romansch is a dialect spoken in central Switzerland.

Sanskrit New Testament (1851)

Published in Calcutta by the Baptist Mission Press.

Spanish (1915)

Published for the British & Foreign Bible Society by the American Bible Society.

Swedish (1889)

Published in Philadelphia by the National Publishing Company. Illustrated by Gustav Dore.

Winnebago Indian language New Testament (1907)

Published in New York by the American Bible Society.

Yiddish New Testament (1959)

Published in Baltimore by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation.