July Gallery Auction
Lot 29122:
Description
This lot comprises two vintage volumes. The first is a large-format 19th-century family Bible titled The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, published in Philadelphia by William W. Harding in 1867. The title page indicates the inclusion of the Apocrypha, Concordance, and Psalms, with the text conformable to the 1610 original edition and the American Bible Society’s 1816 standard edition. The Bible is bound in blind-stamped leather with remnants of gilded decorative borders and a central gilt vignette of a figure holding a shepherd’s crook. The binding includes decorative metal clasps. The interior contains multiple color-tinted and black-and-white engraved plates, including Coast of the Red Sea, Near Rephidim and Dophkah and Defiles of Edom. The second item is a red cloth-bound edition of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The front board is decorated with the title, author’s name, and a black stamped illustration of a three-masted sailing vessel. The internal imprint reads Printed in Great Britain by Purnell and Sons, Paulton, Somerset, England.
The Bible measures approximately 12.5 x 10.5 x 4 inches.
The Moby Dick volume measures approximately 7.5 x 5 x 1.5 inches. Pickup is Friday, July 31, from Noon to 7 pm at our facility in Lancaster, OH. Alternate pickup day is available by appointment for a $5 fee per lot or we will provide in-house shipping for this item. If shipping – once packed up we will send you a separate invoice for shipping & handling. Shipping questions: [email protected]. Sales tax collected on this auction. Our warehouse is in Lancaster, OH. If not shipping – pickup in 10 days or we will dispose and you will not receive a refund. AB57
Condition report:
Both volumes are in poor condition and exhibit heavy signs of age, wear, and previous non-archival repair. The 1867 Bible features a severely compromised binding with the spine almost entirely overlaid with black and cream striped tape. The leather boards show significant abrasion, loss at corners, and fading to gilt. The interior exhibits significant foxing, water staining, and marginal edge wear throughout. The Moby Dick volume has a largely perished and detached spine, cracked hinges, and significant staining and bleaching to the red cloth.
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