The Holy Bible Ornamented with Engravings by James Fittler from Celebrated Pictures by Old Masters (in 2 vols.)
- London: R. Bowyer, 1795
London: R. Bowyer, 1795. First thus. Near Fine. Two large quarto volumes (12 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches; 318 x 248 mm.). Unpaginated. Text in double columns. With two copper-engraved title-pages (with a separate title-page for the New Testament) and sixty-two plates (including two frontispieces) from the works of Dürer, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens, and others. Lower corner of 3H3 (possible paper-fault) torn away with no loss of text. Some foxing to a few of the plates, otherwise remarkably bright and fresh. Contemporary English full dark blue straight-grained morocco. Covers with two gilt borders surrounding blind-stamped Greek key design. Spines with five double raised bands ruled in gilt, blind-stamped Greek key design and lettered in gilt in compartments. Board-edges decorated in blind, elaborate gilt decorated turn-ins, gray liners and endleaves, all edges gilt. Gift signature to front flyleaf in volume one (dated 1841) and a tipped-in square of paper with another nineteenth century gift inscription. Some light scuffing to the boards, otherwise near fine.
A spectacular example of the large paper edition, this Bible sometimes called the "Killer Bible" for its typographical error in Mark 7, verse 27: "Let the children be killed" rather than "filled." It was richly illustrated by James Fittler (1758-1835), an esteemed British engraver of portraits and landscapes, who served as marine engraver to King George III. He produced illustrations for the Boydell Shakespeare and Dibdin's Aedes Althorpinae. In this edition Fittler based his engravings on Old Master paintings befitting the gravity of the text. The printer, Thomas Bentley, produced large editions for Thomas Macklin, Rudolph Ackermann, and Paul Colnaghi, all publishers of plate books; he also printed several of the earliest books for the Roxburghe Club.
ESTC lists three editions of the Bowyer and Fittler Bible: this one, which ESTC describes as the large paper edition; the regular two-volume quarto edition (also 1795); and a: two-volume twelvemo edition (1796), which was issued in parts. ESTC T95050. Near Fine.
A spectacular example of the large paper edition, this Bible sometimes called the "Killer Bible" for its typographical error in Mark 7, verse 27: "Let the children be killed" rather than "filled." It was richly illustrated by James Fittler (1758-1835), an esteemed British engraver of portraits and landscapes, who served as marine engraver to King George III. He produced illustrations for the Boydell Shakespeare and Dibdin's Aedes Althorpinae. In this edition Fittler based his engravings on Old Master paintings befitting the gravity of the text. The printer, Thomas Bentley, produced large editions for Thomas Macklin, Rudolph Ackermann, and Paul Colnaghi, all publishers of plate books; he also printed several of the earliest books for the Roxburghe Club.
ESTC lists three editions of the Bowyer and Fittler Bible: this one, which ESTC describes as the large paper edition; the regular two-volume quarto edition (also 1795); and a: two-volume twelvemo edition (1796), which was issued in parts. ESTC T95050. Near Fine.