HANDSOMELY BOUND PICTORIAL BIBLE, WITH HUNDREDS OF WOODCUT AND STEEL-ENGRAVED ILLUSTRATIONS

BIBLE. The Pictorial Bible; Being the Old and New Testaments according to the Authorized Version: Illustrated with Steel Engravings and Many Hundred Woodcuts… London: W. and R. Chambers, 1855-56. Four volumes. Quarto, contemporary full red pebbled morocco gilt, raised bands, all edges gilt. $3200.

Generously illustrated Bible in four volumes, a notable Victorian attempt to interpret the Scriptures in their original, ancient Near Eastern contexts, featuring nine steel-engraved illustrations, five maps (three double-page or folding), and more than 800 in-text wood-engraved illustrations after numerous notable artists, most half-page or larger, bound in handsome contemporary morocco-gilt by J. Kelly.

This copiously annotated edition of the King James Bible complements the magisterial text with detailed wood-engraved illustrations of not only the Scripture's dramatic highlights but also the dress, manners and natural world of ancient Israel and its neighbors, making them a valuable aid in biblical study. Artists whose work is represented include Michelangelo, Raphael, Rubens, Poussin and Rossellini, as well as ancient art and artifacts. First published with these illustrations 1836-38. See Herbert 1828. Owner ink inscription dated 1883.

A very handsome illustrated Bible in about-fine condition.