Mardersteig's New Testament
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1Lukas1990
THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST (published by London, New York, Collins, 1958).
This book was designed by Hans (Giovanni) Mardersteig and printed at his Stamperia Valdonega. Most books from this edition were bound in light-blue cloth in the Netherlands by Van Rijmenam N.V., but a limited edition of 375 volumes went to Torriani & C. in Milan, where they were specially bound in red leather. These volumes also feature red initials at the beginning of chapters, not a feature of the main edition, which features black initials. My book is No. 115 of the special edition. It was very hard for me to find a copy of the limited edition, there are not many keywords to use and Collins seems to have published a lot of different bibles. Finally, found one copy in the UK.
This New Testament includes the text of the King James Version (there's more than 500 pages). For this edition an unnamed Oxford theologian was recruited to specially paragraph the text (from the colophon).
What made me search for this book is that in addition to the text, there are twenty-one plates reproduced from the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry, one of the most famous medieval book of hours and possibly the best surviving example of manuscript illumination in the late phase of the International Gothic style. It is a book of hours: a collection of prayers to be said at the canonical hours. It was created between c. 1412 and 1416 for the extravagant royal bibliophile and patron John, Duke of Berry, by the Limbourg brothers. Here's a link to Wikipedia for more info on the manuscript: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry
The illustrations in this edition were printed in France by Draeger Frères and are tipped-in. A note on the Très Riches Heures by Jean Lorgnon, curator of the Musée Condé in Chantilly, is included in the back of the volume.
I expected better paper quality but it was probably too expensive to use etc. Magnani paper. The paper used for the illustrations is much better though. A lovely volume which is worth having and could qualify as an affordable (but not easy to find) gem. Photos of my copy below. Sadly it is very cloudy here in Vilnius, Lithuania, and not all of the plates look bright but, trust me, they are of really good quality.
This book was designed by Hans (Giovanni) Mardersteig and printed at his Stamperia Valdonega. Most books from this edition were bound in light-blue cloth in the Netherlands by Van Rijmenam N.V., but a limited edition of 375 volumes went to Torriani & C. in Milan, where they were specially bound in red leather. These volumes also feature red initials at the beginning of chapters, not a feature of the main edition, which features black initials. My book is No. 115 of the special edition. It was very hard for me to find a copy of the limited edition, there are not many keywords to use and Collins seems to have published a lot of different bibles. Finally, found one copy in the UK.
This New Testament includes the text of the King James Version (there's more than 500 pages). For this edition an unnamed Oxford theologian was recruited to specially paragraph the text (from the colophon).
What made me search for this book is that in addition to the text, there are twenty-one plates reproduced from the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry, one of the most famous medieval book of hours and possibly the best surviving example of manuscript illumination in the late phase of the International Gothic style. It is a book of hours: a collection of prayers to be said at the canonical hours. It was created between c. 1412 and 1416 for the extravagant royal bibliophile and patron John, Duke of Berry, by the Limbourg brothers. Here's a link to Wikipedia for more info on the manuscript: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry
The illustrations in this edition were printed in France by Draeger Frères and are tipped-in. A note on the Très Riches Heures by Jean Lorgnon, curator of the Musée Condé in Chantilly, is included in the back of the volume.
I expected better paper quality but it was probably too expensive to use etc. Magnani paper. The paper used for the illustrations is much better though. A lovely volume which is worth having and could qualify as an affordable (but not easy to find) gem. Photos of my copy below. Sadly it is very cloudy here in Vilnius, Lithuania, and not all of the plates look bright but, trust me, they are of really good quality.
2PBB
Wow this is an impressive book. What keyword searches provided the best results for you, and what do you think is a reasonable price range for this one? I did some searching and like you said, seems quite rare and I could not find a legitimate looking listing with the red leather.
3curiousbooks
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Enjoy it!
4Lukas1990
>2 PBB: 'new testament collins 1958 leather limited' - try these. I just searched for 'collins new testament' and scrolled through a lot of different books until I found this one. The price range could be around 100-200$. Mine was about 110£ with a little discount. The only other copy I've ever seen was sold for 60$ but the hinges were repaired.
5PBB
>4 Lukas1990: $100-$200 wow. Sounds like a bargain. Thanks for sharing!
6abysswalker
I believe the non-leather version uses the same text block, is much easier to find, cheaper, and bound in full cloth (I have a copy with the non-leather binding and recommend it).
7Lukas1990
>5 PBB: Let me know, if you find a copy in decent condition! Looks very nice on the shelves :D
8brixton1977
It's not a fine press book because of the paper and cheap leather, but the typography is top-notch.
It's my regular reading copy for the New Testament.
It's my regular reading copy for the New Testament.
