BIBLE IN MINIATURE OR A CONCISE HISTORY OF BOTH TESTAMENTS 1790 FINE BINDING

[MINIATURE ENGLISH BIBLE]. Bible in Miniature, or a Concise History of Both Testaments. London: Printed for J. Harris, late Newbery, & for Darton & Harvey n.d. [circa 1790].

Leather-bound, hardcover, miniature (45mm × 30mm × 15 mm), pp. 254, [2] (blank, colophon); English text. Bound in publisher's red morocco gilt, inlays of black morocco in centre of each cover with cross and initials JHS in gilt, within gilt-tooled sun tooling. Elaborate gilt-tooled borders with corner pieces of intertwined arabesques. Gilt-tooled smooth spine in three compartments, with star-shaped tools in each compartment. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. 15 engraved plates (facing pages 12, 18, 27, 42, 50, 71, 74, 86, 90, 106, 111, 116, 192, 199 and 221, with the relevant page number in the top right corner of each plate). Condition: VERY GOOD. A near fine example with minimal wear.

Notes: This is a rare variant Newbery Bible printed by 'Darton & Harvey, Gracechurch-Street, London', with 15 plates (as recorded by Speilmann). 'Very similar to the Newbery Bible, but with some alterations. The preface, for example, starts with the words: "It is not a very pleasant reflection", instead of "It is a melancholy reflection". The illustrations, based on the same design [as the Newbery Bible], have been re-engraved and are much better than the Newbery ones, both in quality and design'. [Bondy, 34; Speilmann 18].