Bible, German | [Weimar Elector’s Bible], 1768, finely bound by Johann Georg Dachau - photo 1
Bible, German | [Weimar Elector’s Bible], 1768, finely bound by Johann Georg Dachau - photo 2

Bible, German | [Weimar Elector’s Bible], 1768, finely bound by Johann Georg Dachau

Lot 14
28.11.2023 14:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 905
AuctioneerSotheby´s
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1073292
Lot 14 | Bible, German | [Weimar Elector’s Bible], 1768, finely bound by Johann Georg Dachau
Estimate value
£ 2 000 – 3 000
Bible, German

[Weimar Elector’s Bible] Das ist: die ganze heilige Schrifft, Altes und Neues Testaments, verdeutscht Hernn Doctor Martin Luther. Nuremberg: Johann Andrea Endter, 1768

3 parts bound in one volume, folio (459 x 308mm.), additional engraved title, woodcut headpieces and historiated initials, 47 engraved plates comprising: copperplate portraits of Luther and 11 Electors; 11 section titles, each with 11 vignettes; nine full-page engraved depictions of Moses, Prophets, and the Evangelists; seven full-page, plates engraved with 12 vignettes, six double-page maps, and two double-page engravings, A FINE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY EXHIBITION BINDING BY JOHANN GEORG DACHAU of polished calf over heavy wooden bevelled boards, covers with outer border roll of urn-and-flower ornament in gilt alternating with palmettes, centre-piece of geometrical interlaced patterns in gilt and black, similar designs at inside corners, these accented with flower-and-leaf brackets, raised bands, spine compartments tooled in gilt and with volutes and circlets, two ornate cast brass clasps on tooled leather and catches, both incorporating full-length bas-relief of a king, wide inner dentelles with ornate gilt roll, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, two quires faintly browned, lower joint with thin crack along compartment, below bottom band, leather bubbling slightly on back cover, one catch-plate lacking a nail

The last and most extensive edition of the popular and sumptuously illustrated Weimar Electors’ Bible, in an impressive binding of bold and unusual design by Johann Georg Dachau. Known as the “Kurfürstenbibel” because of its portraits of the Electoral Princes (called “Kurfürsten” in German), it was originally prepared for Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg, as a celebration of Martin Luther’s Bible translation. Editions were issued by the Endters, one of the prominent German printing families, beginning in 1641. In addition to portraits of Luther and the Protestant princes of Germany, it contains the maps, views, and illustrated half-titles by Jacob van Sandrart and others, first used in the edition of 1686. The present copy contains four maps and views not found in other copies of this edition (showing the eastern Mediterranean and Palestine) as well as both a map and a view of Jerusalem.

A printed statement tipped onto the front flyleaf says that Dachau executed the binding in 1804 and that it was subsequently used as a model for the best work to be produced by that binder’s studio. The design here is notable for how modern it looks, with clean, straight lines and sharp angles, rather than the curves and foliage more usual for the period. The triangular cornerpieces in particular look like an element from an Art Deco design, though they predate that style by a century.
Auction house category:Prints, graphics, books
Address of auction Sotheby´s
34-35 New Bond Street
W1A 2AA London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2023
Phone +44 (0) 20 7293 5000
Phone +1 212 606 7000
Email
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