ID 1236354
Lot 123 | The Sauer Bible
Estimate value
$ 4 000 – 6 000
The first edition of Christoph Sauer's German Bible, the first Bible printed in a European language in colonial America; the second Bible overall, with the first being John Eliot's Algonquin language bible in 1663. A German immigrant, Christoph Sauer established himself as the first major publisher of German-language materials in colonial America. A landmark publication, his Bible catered to the large German-speaking population in the colonies. It was printed in an edition of approximately 1200 copies and fewer than 150 are thought to have survived, and many of those defective. The present copy is the second impression, with "Parllelen" misspelled on the title page. Evans 5128, Sabin 5191.
Thick quarto (243 x 180mm). Title in red and black; ornamental headpieces at the beginnings of Genesis and St. Matthew, tailpieces at the ends of the OT and NT and an ornamental tailpiece at the end of the Register; text in two columns in fraktur type (browning throughout, more concentrated at lower margin; marginal repairs to title page and several leaves; a couple pages with a few losses to text). Original calf, covers with metal bosses at each corner, spine with raised bands and metal studs (lacking the clasps, section at foot of spine detaching).
| Genre: | Religious genre |
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| Place of origin: | USA |
| Auction house category: | Printed books |
| Genre: | Religious genre |
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| Place of origin: | USA |
| Auction house category: | Printed books |
| Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
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| Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
| Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
| Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |



