Holy Bible 1803 with Fore Edge Paintings

6B Holy Bible. Edinburgh: Sir D. H. Blair and J. Bruce, 1803. Two Volume set with Fore-Edge Paintings

Notes

The printing of the Bible begins with Johannes Gutenberg’s mid-15th-century Latin Bible, which demonstrated the power of movable type to reproduce lengthy, complex texts accurately and at scale. In the decades that followed, Bibles became central to the spread of literacy, religious reform, and vernacular language, especially during the Protestant Reformation, when translations into German, English, and other languages multiplied. Printers refined layout conventions such as chapters, verse numbers, marginal notes, and cross-references to support study and preaching, while religious and political authorities often sought to control or license editions. As printing technology improved, the Bible became both a sacred text and a mass-produced book, shaping religious life and the history of publishing worldwide.

Edinburgh emerged as an important center of Bible printing from the late 16th century onward, closely tied to the Scottish Reformation and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Scottish printers produced English-language Bibles as well as editions tailored to Scottish usage, often emphasizing plain typography and durability in keeping with Reformed values. By the 17th and 18th centuries, Edinburgh printers held royal patents to print Bibles and religious texts, supplying churches, schools, and households throughout Scotland and beyond. The city’s Bible trade expanded further in the 18th and 19th centuries, contributing to Edinburgh’s reputation as a major hub of religious publishing, scholarship, and book production in the English-speaking world.

Fore-edge paintings are a distinctive form of book decoration in which an image is painted on the outer edges of a book’s pages, usually hidden when the book is closed and revealed only when the pages are fanned. Originating in the 17th century and becoming especially popular in England during the 18th and early 19th centuries, these paintings often depicted landscapes, biblical scenes, heraldry, or scenes related to the book’s contents. The technique required great skill, as the artwork was applied in watercolor to the fanned pages and then gilded or marbled over, concealing the image. Fore-edge paintings combined craftsmanship, artistry, and surprise, transforming books—frequently Bibles or devotional works—into both functional texts and collectible art objects.

Description

2 volumes in beautiful red leather with gold embossing on front, back and spine. FORE-EDGE Paintings exhibiting painted views of Gate House, Hightgate Village ; and St. Mary-Bow Church, York Gate and York Terrace.  Volume 1. Binding is separated, needs repair. Good condition