1553 Quarto Illustrated Tyndale New Testament

The Newe Testament of oure Saviour Jesu Christe. Faythfully translated oute of the Greke. Wyth the notes and expositions of the dark places therein. … The pearle which Christ comaunded to be bought is here to be founde, not elles to be sought.

Summary

A substantially complete and profusely illustrated Tyndale New Testament in quarto. This is the second edition of Jugge’s revision with over one hundred woodcuts, professionally rebound and restored. Copies of Tyndale New Testaments are scarce on the market.

Description

General title page in expert facsimile. Text in single column black letter type in paragraph format. This handsomely printed revision by Jugge is lavishly illustrated with nearly sixty new cuts in the Gospels and a large title-page portrait of the young king Edward, who awarded Jugge a license to print the book. First chapter woodcut initials cover thirteen lines of text. Over one hundred woodcuts throughout including one map, with the narrative cuts in the Gospels apparently the first made specifically for the text of an English Bible. Divisional title to the Epistles of St. Paul and Revelation within woodcut border. Faded red ruling with 37 lines to the full column. In this 1553 edition the chapter summaries and the notes are presented in black letter instead of italic type. Jugge’s revision served as an effort to bring the English translation closer to the original Greek.

Ideal Collation

[par]^8, [dagger]^10, A-Y^8, z^6, Aa-Qq^8, Rr^4. 332 ff.
Lacks 12 preliminary leaves: [par]1-8, [dagger]1,2,9,10 with general title ([par]1) in facsimile.
Lacks 34 leaves of New Testament text: A6-8 (Matt 5-6), B2-C1 (Matt 7-11), N8 (Lk 11), all after Oo6 (Rev 3 onward), 22 leaves (Oo7-Rr4) restored in facsimile.
Altogether 286 leaves plus 23 in facsimile (total 309) of 332 leaves.

Binding

Expertly restored and rebound in period-appropriate dark-brown calf. Covers paneled in blind with a diaper design using fifty small-stamp tools to each board. Leaves cleaned and washed. Spine with four raised bands. Plain endpapers.  

Condition

Faded red-ruling remains present on most leaves; A1 remargined reducing headline and costing a few lines of text; A2-5, Oo3-6 remargined costing a few words of text; B1, C2, C3, N2, Oo1-2 frayed to edges, mostly without loss; G6 one-inch piece removed costing a few words recto and a portion of a woodcut verso; Aa1 (title page to the Epistles) piece removed impacting title frame and text verso; Mm2 small piece torn off costing a few letters; Mm3 closed tear into text without loss. A few additional leaves with loss to side notes, catch words, and signatures. Considering the age and rarity of the Tyndale New Testaments, this is a fairly nice copy.

Note

William Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament was the first to be printed in the English language. The father of the modern English language, and the father of the English Reformation, Tyndale was spurred on by the desire to “cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scripture” than the clergy of the day. He would be killed for this cause in 1536. The translation was bitterly opposed by Bloody Mary and many copies of Tyndale’s Bibles were burned. Research has shown that at least eighty percent of the King James Version is Tyndale’s.

References

Herbert 104; STC 2869; ESTC S102488; Luborsky & Ingram 2869; PMM 58 (1526 edition).