First Edition of this Tyographical Masterpiece
Quincuplex psalterium. Gallicum. Rhomanum. Hebraicum. Vetus. Conciliatu[m]. [Edited by Jacques Lefèvre d'Etaples].
Paris: [Henri Estienne], 1509.
BIBLE. POLYGLOT BIBLE. Quincuplex psalterium. . Gallicum. Rhomanum. Hebraicum. Vetus. Conciliatu[m]. [Edited by Jacques Lefèvre d'Etaples]. Paris: [Henri Estienne], 1509.
Full Description:
[PSALTER]. Quincuplex psalterium. Gallicum. Rhomanum. Hebraicum. Vetus. Conciliatu[m]. [Edited by Jacques Lefèvre d'Etaples]. [Paris: Henri Estienne, 1509].
First edition of the Quincuplex psalterium or the Fivefold Psalter. Large octavo (11 x 8 1/4 inches; 280 mm). [2], [1]-290 leaves. Title within woodcut border. Historiated initials. Text printed in three columns in red and black.
Bound in contemporary painted boards, rebacked in calf. Spine lettered and stamped in gilt. Newer endpapers. Previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper. Boards with some scuffing and a few holes. A few instances of finger smudging and newer repairs, but otherwise internally very clean. A very good copy.
The first three Latin versions are all ascribed to Jerome; the Gallican was translated from the Greek Septuagint in the 380s, and the Hebraicum from the Hebrew in the 390s. The final two versions, the Vetus ("old") dates from the mid-fourth century and predates Jerome, and the Conciliatum ("united") was Lefèvre's own version of the text. Further editions appeared in 1513 and 1515.
This work is Henri Estienne's typographical masterpiece and is considered one of the outstanding monuments of early 16th-century French typography." (Schreiber).
'Henri Estienne, disinherited for taking up printing, published over 120 works in 17 years, supporting reformist theologian Lefèvre d’Étaples by printing biblical commentaries that critiqued Sorbonne theologians, including the typographical masterpiece Quincuplex Psalterium, regarded as the 'First book of French Protestantism'...he Quincuplex Psalterium; gallicum, romanum, hebraicum, vêtus, conciliatum, published in 1509 and amended in 1513, is a typographical masterpiece that sheds light on the complex presentation of the different versions of the Psalms that Lefèvre decided to compare and discuss, highlighting the versions that seemed most relevant to him. To transcribe the texts, Estienne employs a solid humanistic Roman typeface in various sizes, perhaps due to Simon de Colines; he also uses legible Hebrew and Greek. At the La France Protestante exhibition at the Bibliothèque nationale in 1936, the Quincuplex was designated “Premier livre du protestantisme français” (First book of French Protestantism). It laid the foundations for a scholarly analysis and criticism of canonical texts..." (Michael Wlassikoff, Productiontype dot com).
HBS 69312.
$7,500.
Price: $7,500.00
Item #69312