AN EXHIBITION OF BIBLES OF ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES IN VARIOUS A SMALL LIBRARY ABOUT A GREAT CITY ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL PERIODICALS IN THE NEW YORK PUBLIC 3 19 23 LIBRARY PART I 27 THE BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS VOLUME 27 JANUARY 1923 NUMBER I AN EXHIBITION OF BIBLES OF ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES SELECTED, ARRANGED, AND DESCRIBED BY VICTOR HUGO PALTSITS In Charge of General Exhibitions HIS exhibition affords the public an opportunity to see, in systematic THIS order, a remarkable collection of Bibles. They are in the Main Exhibition Room of The New York Public Library from December 11th through the winter. The Bibles are arranged in thirty-eight showcases and are accompanied by descriptive labels. Here are the great Greek Codexes, Polyglots, beautifully illuminated manuscript Latin Bibles, Hebrew rolls, an early Samaritan Pentateuch, and other Bible manuscripts of the ancient versions, as well as the first printed Bibles and Testaments in translation of the leading languages of the world. Many of them are the only copies in America and exist only in a few of the libraries of Europe. The group of fifteenth-century printed Latin Bibles fills seven showcases and starts with the famous Gutenberg Bible (1453–1455), the first real book ever printed with movable type. The oldest original manuscript displayed is an Evangelistary of the end of the ninth century, written in gold on a purple ground. It is a very beautiful Carlovingian manuscript. The ten showcases devoted to the various English versions contain an unbroken series of the first of each of these translations, as well as others that have made their mark in the time in which they were issued, sometimes secretly and at other times with the permission of the Government. They begin with what is perhaps the finest of the eight known manuscripts of John Wycliffe's New Testament, about the year 1380, and several of John Purvey's revision, 1420 to 1430, which are followed in succession by the translations of John Tindale, Myles Coverdale, Taverner, Matthew whose real name was John Rogers, the Great Bible of 1539 fathered by Thomas Cromwell, the six Great Bibles known as Archbishop Cranmer's Bible, the Genevan New Testament of John Calvin's brother-in-law, the Genevan or Breeches Bible, the Bishops or Treacle Bible, the Roman Catholic Rhemes and Douay Bible, the Authorized or King James Bible, the English Revised Version, the "Standard" Bible of the American Revision Committee, and curious Bibles, like the Wicked Bibles, the Unrighteous Bible, the Ear Bible, the Bogey Bible, the He and She Bibles, the Vinegar Bible, Murderers Bible, Cromwell's Soldiers Pocket Bible, the Thumb Bible and other tiny Bibles. But another interesting group consists of the English Bibles and New Testaments that were printed in the United States before 1850, beginning with the New Testament printed by Aitken at Philadelphia in 1777, and his first American-printed English Bible, 1782. The first Bible in any language that was printed in America is John Eliot's Indian Bible in the Natick, Mass., dialect. The Library owns the largest collection of this Bible in its two editions and varieties, printed at Cambridge in 1663 and 1685, respectively; besides exhibiting these, it shows the first, second, and third. Bibles printed in a European language in America, namely the three editions of the German Bible printed at Germantown by Christoph Saur and his son, the first dated 1743 and the last 1776. Several showcases exhibit most of the eighteen German Bibles that were printed before Martin Luther's translation began to appear in print, and the first Luther New Testament, 1522, and his first complete Bible, 1534, are also in this group. A case is devoted to the first French Bibles, noteworthy here are a three-volume sumptuously-illuminated manuscript on vellum of the fourteenth century formerly owned by Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II, and the first printed French New Testament. Other exhibits are the first Bibles in Bohemian, Slavonian, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Irish, Welsh, Spanish, Arabic, Armenian, Persian, Syriac, Chinese, and other languages too numerous to mention, but worth seeing. The New York Public Library is the owner of the 373 famous paintings by Tissot, illustrating completely the Old Testament, a gift to the Library by the late Jacob H. Schiff. The full set is hung as a fit background to the Bible exhibition in the Main Exhibition Room. It is the first edition of a printed Arabic New Testament. Edited by T. Erpenius from a manu script in the University of Leyden, bequeathed to it by Joseph Scaliger. Bible. Arabic. Printed at Rome, 1671. First complete Arabic Bible, issued in three volumes, under the direction of the College de Propaganda Fide and with the permission of Pope Urban v. Bible. Armenian. Printed at Amsterdam, 1666. The version originated in the fifth century, A. D. The Bishop Uscan edition is exhibited. A greatly im proved edition of this version was brought out by Zohrab at Venice in, 1789. New Testament. Coptic. Printed at Oxford, 1716. It is the first Coptic New Testament. Coptic is the last stage of the Egyptian language and is applied to the language, writing and literature of the Christian Egyptians, who were first visited, according to tradition, by St. Mark. The Greek uncial alphabet with seven additional letters was adopted by the Copts and came into use about the third century, A. D. The older form is usually the Sahidic. Psalms. Coptic. Edited by E. A. Wallis Budge, of the British Museum. London, 1898. The original manuscript here edited was discovered in 1895 in a monastery in Upper Egypt. It is in the old Sahidic dialect and complete, was written in the sixth century A. D., and is the earliest known Coptic Psalter. The British Museum now owns the manu script. (of Moses, Hannah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Daniel, Isaiah, Miriam, Zechariah, etc.) collected from various parts of the Bible, the Song of Songs and Weddāsē Māryām, or Eulogy of the Virgin Mary for the seven days of the week. It is a manuscript on vellum, written in the 17th century and was at one time the property of the Abys sinian Convent in Jerusalem. A travelling bag of leather accompanies the manuscript, in which it was encased, evidently to be carried from place to place. It was presented to the Astor Library by F. H. Delano in 1881. Gospels. Gothic. Printed at Dordrecht by H. and J. Essa, 1665. It is the first typographical publication of the famous Codex Argenteus of the translation made by Bishop Ulphilas, with Anglo-Saxon in parallel. The Gothic version was made by the Bishop of the Goths in the fourth century, A. D. Gospels. Gothic. Printed at Milwaukee, Wis., 1891. This is an edited text with an introduction, a syntax, and a glossary by Dr. G. H. Balg. It is exhibited to show a facsimile page of the original Codex Argenteus. Pentateuch. Persian. Printed at Con stantinople, 1546-1547. It is the first printing of the Persian version, and with the Hebrew Pentateuch in the center forms a diglot. Gospels (Evangelistarium). A Lectionary of the four Gospels arranged in lessons for the liturgy of the Jacobite (Monophysite) Syriac Church. The text is largely the revision of the Philoxenian version, as made by Thomas of Harclea, Bishop of Mabug (Mesopotamia) in 616 A. D. This manuscript was written about the 13th century in the Estrangelo Syriac characters and was given by a Syriac priest at Mosul to Dr. Asahel Grant, Missionary to the Nestorians, in May, 1842, and by him presented to the American Bible Society in 1843. It has 252 folios; three leaves are wanting at the beginning and four leaves are damaged. Deposited with The New York Public Library in 1897 by The American Bible Society. New Testament. Peshitta (Ancient Syriac). Printed at Vienna, 1556-1562. The version is of the fourth century A. D. The volume exhibited is the second printed edition, the first having appeared at Vienna in 1555, which was pub lished at the expense of King Ferdinand, who became emperor in 1558. The first edition is also the first book printed in that language. This version was in common use among the sects of Syria. |