The Universal Family Bible: Or, Christian's Divine Library. Containing the Sacred Text of the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocrypha at Large. Illustrated with Notes Theological, Historical, Practical, Critical, and Explanatory; Wherein the Mis-translations are Corrected, the Seeming Contradictions Reconciled, the Difficult Passages Explained, and the Sacred Writings Displayed in Their Genuine Purity and Lustre. The Whole Forming a Complete Commentary, with Practical Improvements and General Reflections on Each Chapter, Adapted to the Meanest Capacities, and Calculated to Promote the Happiness of Christian Families. By the Reverend Henry Southwell, L.L.D. London: Printed for J. Cooke, MDCCLXXVII (1777).
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VERY RARE! Not in Herbert's bibliography of printed English Bibles, printed in the same year as the earliest edition of the English New Testament printed in America, and thus a lovely early beautifully illustrated two volume set of the King James Bible in large folio format.
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Size: 260 x 398 mm (approx., each)
Condition:
Contemporary full reverse calf with blind stamped Cambridge style panelling to all boards, perhaps bound in Cambridge. Bindings rubbed with some loss to the backstrips retaining all four tooled morocco labels, one with some loss at the left side. Joints rubbed, some cracked, but with all boards attached, the front of volume two being a bit more fragile but remains reasonably secure. The bindings are secure and do stand independently and together without shelf lean, but due to their large size would be better laid horizontally anyway. Shelf and edge wear with loss at corners and edges. Without any attached bookplates or ownership inscriptions, but with some light pencil marks to endpapers. Internally very clean with excellent type, mildly toned throughout as typical, a few small wormhole tracks but these are so small that this does not affect the reading experience, and there is no loss of sense to any of the text throughout both volumes. Verso pages of plates occasionally offset. There is a very large number of plates throughout this set, the most amount of plates in a bible of this manner we have encountered to this date. These plates are generally in excellent condition with lovely picture frame surrounds and captions. An excellent set.
[OCLC 505281156].
