Looking for a unique Christmas gift this year? What about a leaf from the first edition, first printing of the first book every printed – the 1455 Gutenberg Bible. A complete Gutenberg Bible may cost you a whopping $100 million, but for the more frugal gift-giver, a single leaf will only run from $95,000 -- $195,000, depending on which section of the Bible it is from. That cost includes a lovely leather presentation portfolio!
How do I know this, you may ask? Web research, of course.
You see, years ago I purchased a magnificent, though water damaged, Bible in a little antique store in Lavalette. The owner routinely set aside many of the religious articles that came in so I could have first dibs. The Bible had been part of an estate, but with large brass clasps and weighing in at more than 14 pounds, this amazing book seemed more appropriate to a church than a family. Even with the damage, just the Bible’s 600 illustrations, including what I believe to be full page Gustave Doré engravings displaying scenes from the Bible, made the book an inspired purchase.
This year I decided to sell the Bible, which truly deserves a home with someone who can afford to restore it, if possible, to its original beauty. While researching its history so I could set a price, I discovered that if I had found a Gutenberg in that antique store, I would have been set for life, and could have made lots of donations to my favorite charities!
In comparison, my Bible is a bargain.
This huge leather bound Holy Bible titled Browns Self-Interpreting Holy Bible was published by American Publishing Company, New York in 1873, and edited by Rev. Henry Cooke, D.D., LL.D. Its two brass clasps are intact and working. Weighing over 14 pounds, it features a deeply embossed and ornately gilded leather exterior.
Its front cover and several of the first pages have come off and the book will need to have its binding repaired or replaced. For the most part the leaves are clean inside, though some pages do display water stains at the bottom of the pages. This enormous volume consists of more than 1400 pages plus additional appendices. Between the Old and the New Testaments, there are blank family record pages: a Marriage Certificate, a Family Birth Record and a Family Death Record, and in the back, pockets for Family Photographs.
The Bible contains 600 engravings, (including what research indicates are full page Gustave Doré engravings), and numerous steel plates displaying scenes from the Bible, protected by tissue guards. This magnificent edition of John Brown’s Bible deserves a home with a Bible collector who could invest in its restoration.
The price for this beautiful Bible is $225. Please contact me at mary.wellspring@yahoo.com if you are interested.