(HEBREW BIBLE) (Biblia hebraica - Old Testament). (Paris, Robert Estienne 1544 - 1546). 17 parts in 17 vols.
16mo. I (Quinque libri legis): 146 lvs. (a - r8,, s10); II (Exodus): 124 lvs. (t-z8, aa-kk8, ll4 [last blank]; III: (Leviticus): 88 lvs. (mm - yy8); IV (Numeri): 122 lvs. (zz8, A-N8, O10); V (Deuteronomium): 108 lvs. (P-Z8, AA-DD8, EE4 [last blank]); VI (Iosue & Iudices): 152 lvs. (A-T8 [T7 and T8 blank]) ; VII (Samuel) : 176 lvs. (a-y8) ; VIII (Reges) : 184 lvs. (A-Z8) ; IX (Prophetia Isaiae) : 132 lvs. (A-Q8, R4 [last blank]) ; X : (Prophetia Ieremiae) : 168 lvs. (a-x8) ; XI (Prophetia Ezechielis): 144 lvs. (aa - ss8); XII (Duodecim Prophetae): 120 lvs. (A-P8 [P6- P8 blank]); XIII (Psalterium): 160 lvs. (A-V8 [last blank]); XIV (Proverbia Salomonis & Iob.): 114 lvs. (AA-NN8, OO10); XV (Canticum canticorum, Ruth, Lamentationes Ieremiae, Ecclesiastes, & Ester): 80 lvs. (A-K8); XVI (Daniel & Esdras): 120 lvs. (a-p8); XVII (Liber Paralipomenon): 184 lvs. (A-Z8 [last blank]). Complete with all blank leaves. Estienne's olive tree device (Renouard 298) on the title-page of each part. Full titles are in Hebrew characters, followed by brief Latin titles in roman letter. The Hebrew titles of the individual books are set in type within cartouche headpieces at the beginning of the text. Printed throughout in Hebrew type. 16 vols.: Bound in early 18th century polished marbled calf (or sheep?) over boards (some vols. with restorations at head and foot of spine, particularly vol. 8; very slightly rubbed) with blind filet borders, spine on 4 raised bands, gilt edges. Vol. X: recently bound with old material in the style of the other ones (that volume from an other set, differently cut) with new end-papers. Thus first edition. Second Hebrew Old Testament by Estienne ("pocket edition"). This edition is very rare and seldom found complete with the original Psalter (in most sets lacking or replaced by a later edition); it is very difficult as well to find this set bound in 17 volumes (usually it has been bound in 8 or 9 vols.). Ruth Mortimer: "In his Hebrew Old Testament in quarto, printed from 1539 to 1544 (Andover-Harvard), Estienne employed a large square type for the text and a font of the more cursive Rashi type for the notes. Interspersed in the notes, for text quotations, is a small square type. The large text type is known to have been cut by Jean Arnoul, called le Picard, and the other two fonts might be attributed to the same hand (see Armstrong,Estienne, p. 51-52, but note that she refers to two fonts only, one cited as text type for the 16° edition). The Rashi type was used on the title-pages of the 16° edition. The square text type in this edition is a new font, only slightly larger than the small type of the quarto. Part of this new font appears in the text of Estienne's 1544 Alphabetu(m) hebraicum (HCL), although the full alphabet is printed in the quarto text font. Concerning the 16° edition, Renouard (Estienne, p. 65, no.1) writes : " Cette petite édition que l'on dit fort exacte, est vraiment un bijou typographique, et peut-être ce qui a jamais été imprimé de plus beau en langue hébraique." Old ownership inscriptions (Jesuits at Louvain); library stamps of Douai Jesuits on title and last leaf, Douai bookplate in vol. 15. Minor soiling, single wormholes and or minor wormtrack in blank margins of some parts. Two words ("Robertus Stephanus") in the subtitle of vol. 1, 6, 9, 11 - 16 erased (with a small paper defect) or partly deleted. Steinschneider 115; Renouard 65, 1; Mortimer 73 (2 incompl. sets); Adams B 1224; BMSTC (French Books) 56 (3 sets: only 1 complete); Brunet ("Jolie édition") I, 856. Girard/Boutailler (Paris) 50 (5 sets, all evidently incompl. and with th e psalter in 2nd issue). Not in Fairfax - Murray.
Euro28000
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