1567 Scarce Latin Bible - Novum Iesu Christi Testamentum, New Testament
An exceptionally attractive pocket-sized 1567 Antwerp New Testament in Latin, printed by the celebrated Christophe Plantin and retaining his famous “Labore et Constantia” printer’s device on the title page.
Author: New Testament. Latin Vulgate.
Title: Novum Iesu Christi Testamentum.
Publisher: Antverpiae [Antwerp]: Ex officina Christophori Plantini, 1567. Colophon dated 4 November 1567.
Edition: 16th-century Plantin edition.
Language: Latin.
Pages: 244 pages, followed by indexes and supplementary biblical reference material.
Size: 4.5 x 2.5 inches.
Binding: Very good old full brown calf binding with raised bands to the spine and simple blind-ruled decoration. The leather remains supple and attractive, with age-related rubbing, surface marks and small areas of wear or old repair around the spine and joints, as shown. Binding firm and remarkably well preserved for a volume of this age. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Good condition overall. Printed on laid paper with expected age toning, scattered spotting and staining to a number of leaves, occasionally more pronounced, as clearly shown in the photographs. Some old ownership inscriptions and markings to the title page and preliminary leaves, with traces of an old label or paper removal at the foot of the title page. Occasional minor marginal wear. The text remains entirely legible and presents very well for a book printed more than four and a half centuries ago. The volume includes the New Testament through the Apocalypsis Ioannis Apostoli, followed by the Index Epistolarum et Evangeliorum and a section interpreting Hebrew, Chaldean and Greek biblical names. Final colophon present.
Illustrations: Woodcut printer’s device to the title page depicting Plantin’s celebrated compass emblem with the motto Labore et Constantia, together with ornamental and historiated initials throughout.
Estimate: USD $600–900.
The book: This diminutive 1567 Novum Iesu Christi Testamentum is a particularly appealing example of the portable devotional books produced by Christophe Plantin’s Antwerp press. Despite measuring only 4.5 inches high, it contains the complete Latin New Testament in a remarkably compact yet highly readable typographic setting, enriched with marginal biblical references, large decorative initials, liturgical indexes and ancillary reference material.
Its title page bears Plantin’s instantly recognizable compass device, symbolizing the printer’s motto Labore et Constantia, “By Labour and Constancy.” The combination of early date, celebrated printer, pocket format and well-preserved historic calf binding gives the volume considerable presence as an object of Renaissance printing and private devotion.
The printer: Christophe Plantin (c. 1520–1589) was one of the most important printers and publishers of the European Renaissance. Establishing his press in Antwerp in the mid-1550s, he developed the Officina Plantiniana into one of Europe’s greatest printing houses, producing scholarly, scientific, humanist and religious works distinguished by exceptional typography and craftsmanship.
Plantin is especially celebrated for the monumental Antwerp Polyglot Bible of 1568–1573, but his smaller biblical and devotional publications were equally important to the international reach of his press. Books such as this compact New Testament demonstrate the extraordinary range of the Plantin workshop, from monumental scholarly productions to finely printed volumes intended for personal reading and devotion.