Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-13
MISS BERTHA E. PERRIE has
lYx ran1ed To anend the coYnfnn 4

he devoted the utmost care and labor. Is
one of the finest examples Of his achieve
ment, and the choice copies OF It, printed
upon vellum from the bold Gothic type.
with illuminated initials. are still among
the famous specimens Of typography.
=
The sale Of the Gutenberg Bible, which
is in two ponderous pigskin volumes, was
attended by sharp competition, which
finally resolved itself into q duel OF thou
sands between Mr.. Joseph e. Widener of
Philadelphia and Mr.. Huntington.
The book which Immediately preceded
the Gutenberg Bible. a dainty little
French book, THE Poetical Works of
Charles Bey." brought only $2S. and by
some miscalculation the Gutenberg Bible
was brought on in the place Of this I'M
considered volume. The auctioneer. not
noticing the mistake, inquired. Am ! Of
fered S. for this volume?" The smiles
of the audience caused him to turn just
as the ponderous volumes were being re-
moved. When the Bible next appeared
the first bid was 500. which was in
stantly lost in the offer Of $4,000
1t was q battle royal from the first
The contenders were Dodd & Livingston
OF New York, Bernard Quaritcn Of Lon
don, who sold the Bible to Mr.. Hoe:
George d. Smith. representing Mi. Hunt
ington, and Mr.. Joseph E. Widener. Fiji
teen thousand dollars came from the
front row, where the dealers were
Twenty thousand.' called Mr.. Smith.
BY thousands the figures rose.
Dodd & Livingston dropped out at
$s1 600. and at $4,000 the veteran Qua
ritch folded up his catalogue and said no
more. Messrs. Smith and Widener con-
tinued with alternating thousands until
they reached $4,000. when they began to
$44.715 bid. Mr.. Smith came back with
$4,000. and thousand by thousand the
offers rose to $4,000. At last Mr.. Smith
offered $4,000. Mr.. Widener was silent
and the hammer fell.
"who got it," came calls from all parts
of the house. Announcement was then
made that Mr.. Huntington was the pur-
chaser.
The history OF the Hoe copy Of the
Gutenberg Bible which has Just been
acquired by Mr.. Huntington IL, in BRIEF
as follows:
It bears neither the names Of It's print
ers nor the date Of its publication. but
the date and the printers have. after q
century Of discussion On the subject
been assigned to John Gutenberg and
John Fust. CT Faust. who are known to
have set up printing establishment In
Mentz. in 145O. The Bible. which IL
wholly in Latin. II printed in double
columns. forty-two lines to . column. on
each page, is also known to have been
The first book from this press.
The undertaking for the time was g.
ganuc. 30 that the book is believed to
have come from tho press between the
|ieved to have required several years In
ihe total edition In said to
have been $50 copies on paper and thirty
copies on vellum.
The Hoe copy has what few others
have. the commencement Of the Book Of
Genesis and Of the epistle Of St. jerome
printed in red ink The splendid copy in
the British Museum has these parts OF
the pages blank. The initials are orna-
'nented In gold and colors, after the man.
ner of manuscripts.
1t has. until recent years, been custom
airy to call this most remarkable book
lne Mazarine Bible. from the fact that 1t
actually was dug out Of oblivion by the
Cardinal Mazarine. Since the Masarine
copy was unearthed there have come to
light no fewer than twenty-seven copies |
On paper and seven on vellum.
NONE OF THESE Is perfect, aunOukH inc
Hoe copy is believed to lead in this re-
spect. 1t is said to have two leaves in |
fac-simile, but those who have searched |
for them have been bafiied. The Hoe |
copy came from the University Of Ments,
and was sold about forty years ago to |
Lord Ashburnham for E3,<O0 At tho !
sale In 1907 II was bought |
by Quaritch for $4,000, and he trans
eerred It to the late Robert Hoe for |
e26.O00. When originally published the |
volumes were sold for 100 dorins each.