Auction 23 · Lot 55

Biblia Sacra. Genesis-Ruth. * And: Hutter’s or The Nuremberg Polyglot New Testament.

Estimate: $20,000–$25,000
Hammer price: Not recorded

Historical auction record. Hammer prices exclude buyer’s premium and taxes.

author

(BIBLE, POLYGLOT).

printer

for Elias Hutter

Place

Nuremburg

Publication

1599

Description

Six volumes. Title within woodcut border; vignettes of Biblical scenes including the Tree of Knowledge, Noah’s Ark, and the Binding of Isaac. Separate titles for each Book of Bible. Texts arranged in six columns across two pages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, German, Italian. The four volumes of the New Testament have twelve languages: Syriac, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, Bohemian, Italian, Spanish, French, English, Danish, Polish. This is the first time an English translation appears in a Polyglot Bible.

references

Darlowe and Moule 1426, 1430; David S. Berkowitz, In Remembrance of Creation, pp. 179-80.

summary

HUTTER’S HEXAGLOT OLD TESTAMENT AND 12-LANGUAGE NEW TESTAMENT. UNCOMMON TO APPEAR AT AUCTION. The Hebrew text employs Hutter’s unique method of combining solid and holow types to help the student identify roots of words. Root letters that are not evident (chaserim) are displayed as superscript above the word. Simultaneous with his polyglot Old Testament, Hutter launched an even more ambitious New Testament in twelve languages. The physical format of three columns per page is used again, but this time each column carries two languages. In the words of David S. Berkowitz, “The parade of linguistic learning is short of stupefying” (In Remembrance of Creation, p. 104).

Vol. I (Genesis-Leviticus): pp. (16), 287, 239, 409. Vol. II (Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth): pp. 412-851, 319. (The publication of the Old Testament reached only as far as the Book of Ruth.) * WITH: Four volumes of New Testament. Elegantly tooled calf with cartouche in center. Eight bands on spine. Thick folio.

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