Holy Bible in German 1830

6B German Bible. Philadelphia, 1830.

Notes

German Bibles have a long and influential history, beginning most famously with Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible in the 16th century, which helped standardize the German language and made scripture accessible to ordinary people. Luther’s Bible and its later revisions dominated German-speaking Protestant regions for centuries, while Catholic areas produced their own authorized German translations. German Bibles were widely printed in Europe and later carried to North America by German-speaking immigrants, where they remained central to religious and cultural life.

In Philadelphia around 1830, Bible printing reflected the city’s role as a major American publishing center. Printers produced English and German Bibles to serve a growing, diverse population, including large German and Pennsylvania Dutch communities. These editions were often printed in sturdy, practical formats, sometimes in German blackletter (Fraktur) type, and emphasized affordability and wide distribution rather than elaborate decoration. Philadelphia’s 1830 Bible editions illustrate the early 19th-century American focus on mass printing, missionary work, and making the Bible accessible to immigrants and ordinary households.

Description

Rich brown leather, brass studs on front and back, four raised bands on spine, enclosure straps missing. Marble endpapers. Foxing throughout and chipping to edges of paper making the pages difficult to separate. Illustrations throughout. Good condition.

Dimensions: 9 1/4 x 6 x 3 1/2 inches