1776 Saur Bible Gun-Wad Bible

1776 Saur Bible - (Gun-Wad) Bible

1776 - Gun-Wad Bible 

Title: Biblia (German Bible) 

Full Title: "Biblia, das ist: die ganze Gottliche Heilige Schrift alten und neuen Testaments, nach der Deutschen Lieberferzung D. Martin Luthers; mit iedes Capitels turzen Summarien, auch bengefugten vielen und richtigen Parallelen: Rebst einem Anhang des dritten und vierten Buchs Esra, und des dritten Buchs der Maccabaer.  Dritte Auflage." 

Publisher: Christopher Saur, Germantown PA

Year: 1776

Binding: Bound in full-leather with one remaining clasp (of the original two).  Raised spine, repaired joints.  Brass clasps and clasp ends.  Biblia label in very good condition black/gilt.  Some scuffs on covers and particularly on very edges and chip from bottom of spine.  Original boards and spine with new reinforcements on joints. 

Condition: Title and first several leaves ragged at edges due to insect damage.  Full text visible on title, however.  Binding well intact, text appears complete.  Most pages good to very good; lightly toned with some scattered foxing.  Pages browned but readable at beginning end of book.  Some leaves dampstained.  Inside joints repaired. 

Description: Martin Luther version.

History: This Bible is known as the Gun Wad Bible, due to the traditional story of how the British broke into Saur's print shop and used many of the Bibles for horse bedding and musket wadding.  Saur and his family managed to preserve some of the copies of the Bible, so there are some surviving copies today but they are rather rare for obvious reasons.

Additional Reference: Arndt & Eck #475 reads, "...[4], 992, 277, [3] p.; 25 cm (4to).  Signatures: pi2 A-A-6I4 A-2M4.  –Preface signed: Chr. Saur. –An edition of 3000 copies was printed.  For an account of the history of this edition, said to have been for the most part destroyed during the Revolution, see: Rumball-Petre, Edwin A.R. America's First Bibles, Portland, ME, 1940.  –Printed in two columns.  Errors in paging: p. 198 of Old Testament misnumbered 189; p. 162 of New Testament misnumbered 192.  –"Das neue Testament..."  --227, [3] p., has separate title-page.  –Variant A in title-page: printed in red and black.  Evans 14663.  –O'Callaghan, E.  A list of editions of the Holy Scriptures p. 29.  –Seidensticker p. 93...."

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