The times., 1899-07-09
AMERICAS RARE BIBLES
Worlds Finest Collection Found in
New York.
1t Embraces Eighteen Hundred Vol
umes and Is of Almost Priceless
of the Good Book-Nearly All of
the Early Printers Represented.


| assuming to be a centre of literature and
| learning. 1t has frequently been said that
the cities of Europe possess the greatest
seats of learning and the finest libraries.
Years ago that statement was no doubt
true, but within the past decade America
has made wonderful progress in building
and perfecting institutions of learning and
/ filling her libraries with treasured books.
Probably the Oldest and most valuable col
lection of books in the world is deposited
| in an American library.
| In the library of the General Theological
! Seminary, in Chelsea Square, New York,
! is a collection of old Latin Bibles number
I ing in all nearly 1900 volumes. Among the
collection are books eagerly sought by the
bibliomaniacs and librarians of Europe.
The New York Sum says OF this won-
derful collection:
Packed together on the dusty shelves
| cen hundred volumes, over six hundred
| editions, collected from the public and
private libraries of Europe-in themselves
history of the birth and growth of the
art of printing. Nearly all the early
printers are represented there-Johann
Gutenberg the inventor of printing and
the printer of the first Bible and Johann
Fust and Peter Schoeffer of Mentz; Jo-
ham Mentelin and Heinrich Eggesteyn, OF
Strasburg; Uric Zell, the father of the
Cologne press Berthold Rodt and Bern
hard, of Balse the first printers in Swift
zerland; Coberger the great Nuremburg
printer; Uric Gering, Martinus Crsntz
and Michael Friburger, the first printers
in Paris; Francis de Hailbrun, n. de
| Frankfordia and Jenson, of Venice; Mora
vus, of Naples, and their contemporaries.
1.-THE Chelsea Square collection was made
what 1t is by the acquisition, five years
| ago, through the aid of Cornelius Wander
| bilt, of the library of Latin Bibles, l,450
volumes, collected by DR.. Walter A. Copin-
ger. professor of law in the Victoria Uni
versity, Manchester, England. The Copn-
| ger collection contained many editions eX-
tremely rare and some absolutely unique
Since the puchase OF the Copnger library
Dean Hoffman of the seminary has spent
| thousands of dollars in the purchase Of
| other editions, and he has paid only re-
Gently s15, 600 for a copy of the first Bible,
printed in Gutenberg's shop in Mentz in
1450-'5 SO. The dean hopes to secure copies
of all the known editions of the incuna
| bula. The value of such collection can
not be measured.
THE most treasured book in the collec-
tion is the Gutenberg Bible, the earliest
book printed with movable metal type 1t
| is in two heavy folio volumes, like nearly
all of the early Bible, and is one of the
| most splendid specimens of Typography ex-
| tant. Considering that this was the first
printed book, it is marvellous production.
For more than a century it has been known
as the Mazarin Bible, from the fact that
| the first recognized copy was found by
William Francis De Bure the younger in
| the library of Cardinal Mazarin belonging
to the College des Quatre Nations. This
is undoubtedly the Bible which, according
TO the testimony of Uric Zell in the Co
logne Chronicle of 1889, began printing in
the jubilee year of 1885,
"The Chelsea Square copy Of this ia
nous Bible is especially interesting to the
book lover, because in 1884 it brought the
highest price ever paid for an old book
&3,9OO.
The Chelsea Square Mazarin is very
perfect copy of this beautiful work of the
printers art. In all these 400-odd years
since Gutenberg first set up his press at
Mentz, the printer with all the resources
Of modern inventive genius, has been able
to improve but little on the work Of Jo-
ham Gutenberg The two folio volumes.
now bound in modern green morocco with
red silk Innings, are each fifteen inches
high and ten and a half inches wide. In
the first volume are 1924 pages, in the sec
ond 317. The paper is very firm in texture
and of remarkable whiteness. The water
marks, found in the spaces between the
parallel columns, are a bulls head with a
star, and bunch OF grapes. The Bible is
printed in missal characters, as black and
clear today as they were when still wet
in the fifteenth century printing shop. The
columns are eleven and a quarter inches
oh hes
wide; the space between is seven -eights
of an inch wide.
Dean Hoffman, 1t is believed gave the
S15, 900 for the purchase of the Gutenberg
Bible. The Brayton Ives copy, but little
better than the Chelsea Square copy, eX-
cept that part of it's ancient binding still
remains, cost Mr.. Ives SIS, 1000, and at the
sale of his library in 1891 brought $4,000.
Johann Gutenberg exhausted his own
resources and borrowed from his relatives
to produce this great folio Bible. Johann
Fust lent him 800 guilders, taking mort
gage on all his printing materials. After
the printing of the book Fust sued Guten-
berg and came into possession of all of
Gutenberg's materials. DR.. Humery as
sisted the printer in putting up another
press, but success did not follow the great
inventor, and in 1S45 he became PEN
sloner at the Court OF Archbishop Adolf
many others of the first printed books,
the Gutenberg Bible bears neither the
printers name nor the date of publication,
but the date is fixed in this instance by
the red ink subscriptions of the binder and
illuminator, found in the paper copies at
Paris.
Two years ago the Chelsea Square col
lection was enriched by the acquisition OF
the Bible of 1862 the first Latin Bible
sl,t. 81 Af hn Nrin nfar
The seminary paid $3.50 for it. This is
the fourth Latin Bible. The collection
lacks the second edition, printed at Bam-
berg in 1460. by Albrecht Pflster, probably
one OF Gutenbergs workmen; and the third
printed at Strasburg in 1460-'61 by Johann
Mentelin. Only four perfect copies of the
Strasburg Bible are known, and one of
them is in the Lenox Library. According
to Fabricius, Fust and Schoeffer printed
the Bible of 1852 at Mentz and sold the
copies in Paris as manuscripts for sixty
crowns DIsraeli tells this story OF this
Bible:
"A considerable number of copies of the
Bible were printed to initiate manuscript,
and the sale of them was entrusted to Fust
as manuscripts. Consequently, upon his
selling them at 60 crowns per copy, while
the other scribes demanded 800. universal
astonishment was created, and still more
when he produced copies as fast as they
were wanted, and even lowered the price.
The uniformity of the copies increased the
wonder. Informations We're given in to the
magistrates against him as magician. and
on searching his lodgings a great number
OF copies were found. The red ink (and
Fust's red ink is peculiarly brillianO which
embellished his copies was said to be his
blood and it was solemnly adjudged that
he was in league with the Intervals. Fust
at length was obliged Ito save himself
from a bonire) to reveal his art to the
Parliament of Paris, who discharged him