The Text of the New Testament of Jesus Christ. Translated out of the vulgar latine by the Holy Seminarie at Rhemes With arguments of bookes, chapters and Annotations to discover the corruptions of divers translations and to cleare the controversies of these dayes. Rheims: John Fogny, 1582, 8vo.
THE FIRST EDITION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC (DOUAY-RHEIMS) VERSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN ENGLISH
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The first edition of the Douay-Rheims New Testament — the first Roman Catholic English translation of the New Testament. Printed at Reims by John Fogny in 1582 under the direction of the English College, this was translated from St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate by members of the exiled English Catholic seminary. It was produced as a deliberate counter to the Protestant English Bibles then circulating, notably the Geneva and Bishops’ versions, and is accompanied by extensive marginal annotations defending Catholic doctrine and refuting Reformation interpretations.
The Rheims New Testament is one of the most important/significant printings in English biblical and theological history: its language profoundly influenced later English Bible translation, most notably the King James Version of 1611, which borrowed extensively from its phrasing - Pforzheimer notes that the DRV was "frequently consulted" by the KJV translators but was not included on their list of authorities, for obvious reasons. This first edition was most likely limited to a small press run intended for the English Catholic diaspora on the Continent - we couldn't find a confirmation of the number of copies printed, but it is scarce implying a small original print run.
A beautiful example in a modern binding realised $22,500 (USD) at Bonhams 11 February 2018 lot 36. The text of our copy is clearly not as fine as that example, with the title leaf in facsimile, staining, etc (see condition description, below), but it is in an antique binding - something notably scarce among extant copies.
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Size: 151 x 204 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[(2), [facsimile title], A²–⁴, B–Z⁴, 2A–2Z⁴, 3A–3Z⁴, 4A–4Z⁴, 5A⁴, 5B¹, d², a¹, c⁴, (1)].
Eighteenth century full panelled calf, rubbed with light scuffing and minor loss to the leather; joints cracked but both boards remain attached, though somewhat fragile. No bookplates present. The text of the New Testament itself collates as complete, though some of the supplementary matter is lacking (a2–b4 and 5B2–5E2), as well as the main title leaf (A1), which is here supplied in a good-quality manuscript facsimile. The extant supplementary matter is bound at the rear rather than in its usual position before the text.
The majority of the text is generally bright and clean, but with dampstaining to the ends of the text block: dampstaining to the first few gatherings, heavier at the beginning and gradually diminishing by approximately K1, thereafter confined to the lower corner until around Z4, becoming progressively fainter and disappearing entirely by 2F4, thereafter generally clean until circa 4U1, a few small scattered stains etc. Some early loss to corners and fore-edges up to about D2, not affecting the main text though occasionally touching the marginal commentary. Further dampstaining appears in the upper corner of the final gatherings, beginning lightly around 4U1 and becoming heavier after 4X1. Leaf 5B1 (commencing the Table) is torn with loss, though the greater part of the text remains. Beyond 4X1 there is some loss to upper corners not affecting the main text; the final four leaves, however, exhibit losses encroaching upon the printed text.
[Herbert 177; D&M 177; STC 2884; Pforzheimer 68].
