Limited Edition Book

London: Folio Society, 2007. 1158 (of 1750); two volumes in cloth-covered. Clamshell box with gilt-ruled goatskin spine label ornamentally stamped in gilt and red. The facsimile volume handsomely bound. By Smith Settle in half Nigerian goatskin leather with cotton sides printed and blocked with designs by David Eccles. Upper board elaborately blocked and lettered in gilt and colours, companion volume bound in quarter cloth. Size: pictorial volume 11.5″ x 8.5″, commentary volume 10″ x 7″, clamshell box 12.5″ x 9.25″. A handsome Folio Society limited edition facsimile of the early 14th century “Holkham Bible Picture Book” or British Library, Additional MS 47682. The Holkham Bible tells highlights of the Bible story, from Creation, through the life of Jesus, to the Last Judgment. It is only loosely based on the Bible, and includes plenty of apocryphal episodes, especially about Jesus’s early life. It does this with brief text that is part prose, part poetry, and most importantly, with a unique sequence of illustrations that draw many of their details from everyday life. The book was probably made in London in the mid-14th century, round about the time of Geoffrey Chaucer’s birth. Acquired by the British Library in 1952, this world-famous manuscript was held previously at Holkham Hall, Norfolk (Holkham MS 666). It consists of 231 images mainly of episodes in the books of Genesis and Revelation, and is believed to have been produced in London between 1327-40. The superb facsimile is accompanied by a companion volume providing historical context, commentary and a bibliography, with Instructions for care laid in the facsimile volume. Please view my other rare books.