Welcome to

NINETEENTH CENTURY BIBLES

copyright 1999-2007, Larry Walcutt, email me

Click on any picture for a larger image

THE ILLUMINATED BIBLE:
The use of the word illuminated refers not to decoration in gold, but both to the high number of illustrations and to the fact the half-titles, title leaves, and the presentation, birth, death, and marriage leaves are printed using colored inks. (click here for sample) The pages are 13" x 9".

his Bible was "entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by Harper & Brothers. In the Clerk's office of the Southern District of New York. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 82 Cliff Street. 1846". A bibliography by the librarian, Margaret Thorndike Hills, of the American Bible Society, New York, in 1962, identified the location of nine copies of the Bible. In 1999, not including the above, I could identify the location of nine more copies. The internet has shown there are others in the hands of families that reference the Bible in their genealogy. But, still there are probably less than 100 of these Bibles available today.

Most appraisers won't appraise an American Bible unless it is printed before 1800, however, The Illuminated Bible is an exception to this rule. They will appraise at $1500 to $2500 retail depending on condition and provenance. The wholesale appraisal will be between $300 and $500 depending on condition. Normally retail prices would be about double wholesale, however with this Bible it would be in inventory much longer so a five-times appraisal is the norm.

ecause of new technology, at the time, the cost for this Bible was enormous, so it was first sold in parts. One section of the Bible, 24 pages plus covers, was printed and it was sold on the street by what we now call newsboys. From the money earned on the first section, the publishers were able to print the second section and sell. They issued one part about every two weeks. Each section sold for $0.25. The print run was 50,000 each month and they were able to bank $10,000 per month from these sales.

arper & Brothers sold a total of fifty-four sections of 28 pages - including the colored front and back cover. At the end of the printing of 54 parts, in 1846, they produced bound copies with elaborate leather binding with gold gilding on the front, back and spine. Or you could buy the bound Bible in many different type of covers. Part 54 included twelve plates and instructions for binding.

This is the front and back covers of the first fascicle (section or part) produced in 1843. Each part of the subscription Bible was illustrated, or illuminated, in tan paper covers printed in blue (nos. 1-6), green (no.7) or black (nos. 8-54) and are orange-red as issued.

This prospectus says:

Complete in about 50 numbers at 25 cents. Harper's Illuminated and New Pictorial Bible. Embellished with Sixteen Hundred Historical Engravings, Exclusive of an initial letter to each chapter, By Joseph Adams [1803-1880], More than fourteen hundred of which are from original designs, by John Gadsby Chapman [1808-1889]. It will be printed from the standard copy of the American Bible Society, and contain Marginal References, the Apocrypha, a Concordance Table, List of Proper Names, General Index, Table of Weights, Measures, etc. The large Frontpiece, Titles to the Old and New Testaments, Family Record, Presentation plate, Historical Illustrations, and Initial Letters to the chapters, Ornamental Borders, etc., will be from original designs, made expressly to this edition by J. G. Chapman, Esq., of New York. In addition to which, there will be numerous large engravings, from designs by distinguished modern artists in France and England; to which a full index will be be given in the last number [not done]. The Great superiority of early proof impressions, from the Engravings, will ensure in those who take the work in Numbers the possession of it in The Highest State of Perfection

This list of artists never appeared in the last part and to my knowledge doesn't exist, even though an 1857 Harper's Weekly advertisement said it did.

t's interesting to note that this first fascicle is in signatures of 4 while the bound copies are in signatures of 8. The size of the fascicle is 13 1/2" X 9 1/2" which is larger than the pages in bound copies. It is on cheap paper and not trimmed. As mentioned above it wasn't meant to last. It was issued each month similar to the way we issue newspapers - read and throw away. Each part has a colored front and back which was unique to this Bible.

here is at least one collection (Arents) that contains the fifty-four sections unbound. See Arents BIP 85-69 at The New York Public Library, third floor. I have a bound copy which begins at Proverbs 2:6 and continues to the end so it appears that Harper's even gave a choice of binding in two volumes. This volume is in 8-page signatures so it doesn't contain the fascicles issued earlier in 4-page signatures. They also printed copies of just the New Testament. Another set I know of has the Bible in three volumes.

onathan Byrd's Rare Books and Bibles refers to this Bible as: "An absolute masterpiece of printing, and one of the ten most important ever printed in America". W. J. Linton, noted wood-engraver and author knew "no other book like this, so good, so perfect in all it undertakes. The illustrations are like picturings of history as are many of the old European Biblical paintings and illustrations".

The engraver, Joseph Alexander Adams was the first in America to use the electrotype process from woodcut engravings. He was hired by Harper & Brothers on a half-contract basis and he had an arrangement that he would see the whole project through to the end. Artists were engaged for more than six years in the preparation of the designs and engravings at a cost of $25,000. Adams earned $60,000 from his half-contract.

1,400 of the 1,600 engravings were designed by J. G. Chapman (click here to see several samples) and the prim line-work of the drawings was carefully reproduced by Harper and Brothers. Chapman was paid a little over $2,000 for his drawings.

here was very little tone-work made possible by the 'white line' method of the Englishman Bewick, introduced in this Bible by Alexander Anderson (1775-1870), who trained Adams in the art. At the age of 21 Anderson received a doctor of medicine degree and soon quit medicine and eventually became the "Father of American Wood-engraving". "His concept of viewing the illustration as white lines cut into a black background was new." Alexander Anderson by John F. Dingman, (c)1984

here are 185 (approximately 5"x7") illustrations in this Bible. It is mentioned that a total of 1,400 of the 1,600 illustrations (excluding the letters) were done by Chapman. His 1,400 are mentioned below. However, all of the larger illustrations remained unidentified as to who was the artist. Except, I have identified twenty-eight. All but forty-four are decorated with an elaborate border (click for samples) .

I believe these unnamed artists from England and France submitted their work and Chapman added borders (44 exceptions). It's interesting to note that the Chapman borders around these illustrations only contain nine unique borders. But, book publishers were well known for using English material regularly because of no international copyright in America and in effect they were free. The record indicates that Harper at least paid for forty of the illustrations.

The 1,400 illustrations referred to above were done by Chapman. These are set into the text throughout the Bible to depict the verse. 215 of these were placed at the beginning of the chapter in lieu of using a letter. (click for samples)

here are 1,361 chapters in the Bible. At the beginning of each chapter Harper inserted a floriated letter to begin the Chapter or an image by Chapman or in some cases (18) no image or letter. There are 1,078 floriated initials that begin 1,078 verses. (click for samples) . Each of these letters are different engravings. There are 353 different A's, 210 different T's and 107 different N's. There are no Q's or X's and only 1 V and Z and 3 R's and Y's.

Signature numbering. As mentioned before, the parts were in 4-page signatures. The bound Bibles from 1846 on have the following signature markings:

he Contents of the Bible are: 844, 128, 256, [60],[12],(OT, Apocrypha, NT). The 60 miscellaneous pages are: (3) alphabetical table of proper names, (1) Tables & Weights, (8) Chronological Index, (14) Index to subjects, (34) Concordance. There are twelve leaves of plates (12) including: Token page, Engraving 'Healing of Jacob and Joseph', Holy Bible leaf, Title leaf, Contents, Aprocrypha Title leaf, Marriage, Births, Deaths, Engraving 'Christ Healing Bartimeus', NT Colored leaf, NT Title page. And five (5) blamk leaves

OTHER BIBLES for your viewing:

1772 Ostervald Bible [AK]
1793 Ostervald Bible [AK]
1804-9 Thomas Scott's First American Edition (5-volumes) [AE]
1804-9 Scott's First American Edition (4 vols) mixed [AF]
1808 Carey Bible
1809-12 Thomas Scott's SECOND American Edition (5-Volumes)
Thomas Scott's New American 1810-12 (6-volumes) William,Whiting,Watson [AD]
1811-12 Scott's SECOND American Edition, Vols I,II,IV [AM]
1812 Carey Bible
1813 Calmet Bible
1814-16 Thomas Scott's Fourth American Edition (Dodge & Sayre) [AG]
1814-16 Scott's 36 Bible Parts [TT]
1814-16 Scott's 15 Extra Bible Parts of 36 Total
1816-18 Scott's FOURTH AMERICAN EDITION BY Woodward (3 volumes complete) [AL]
1834 Cottage Bible [AK]
1843 Harper's Illuminated 'Harris Wentworth Arnold' Bible [AH]
1846 Harper's Illuminated 'Dr Walter Cary' Bible [AH]
1846 Harper's Illuminated 'Edward Harris Miles' Bible [AH]
1846 Harper's Illuminated 'Alexander Van Valen' Bible [AN]
1846 Harper's Illuminated 'Edward Zimmerman' Bible [AN]
1846 Harper's Illuminated 'George C Snyder' Bible [AN]
1872 Holman Bible
1937 Coronation Bible (no longer own)