The Holy Bible

scarce pocket edition of the Bible in an elaborate French 'fan' binding

A charming, mid-seventeenth century 'fan' binding of dark brown calfskin tooled in gilt with a concentric arabesque design, the edges gauffered with flower-and-stem motifs and heightened in red, enclosing a scarce pocket edition of the King James Bible printed in London during the Interregnum.

This style of binding was popular across Europe during the seventeenth century, but particularly in Italy and France, where it was known as 'à l'éventail'. Given the French inscriptions in our example, it seems to point to the latter origin. The style later influenced the Scottish 'wheel' bindings which became dominant in the eighteenth century.

The Bible itself is scarce, with ESTC recording just 5 copies in institutional collections worldwide, 3 in the British Isles (BL, Canterbury Cathedral, and Glasgow University Library) and 2 in North America (University of Chicago, and Yale University, Beinecke Library).

The appears to be the only edition of the Bible printed by James Flesher, who appears just once more in Darlow & Moule's Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture..., in connection with Henry Hammond's Paraphrase, and Annotations Upon all the Books of the New Testament, printed by him in London in 1653.

2 works in 1 vol; 12mo (14 x 7.5 cm); engraved general title signed 'W: Hainsworth sculp:', a little toned, Psalms lacking title-page, ownership inscription in pen to front fly-leaf verso, old inscription in pen in French to rear pasteboard, bookplate to front; contemporary French gilt-tooled dark brown calf, the covers each with large central fan design and quartered sections at corners, flat-back spine in 6 gilt banded compartments of fleurs-de-lys and flowerheads, all edges gilt and gauffered with flower design heightened in red, joints expertly restored, a little rubbed with occasional slight loss to gilt work, very good, housed in a custom made folding brown cloth box with red morocco lettering-piece to spine.

ESTC R170536; Herbert 658.