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An important single-owner collection of rare and early Bibles is to go under the hammer next week. Comprising some 83 lots are Bibles in Latin, Greek, English and French, together with some fine copies of The Book of Common Prayer and other significant liturgical texts. Ranging in estimated price from £100 to 6,000, these worthy books have come from the estate of a deceased collector from the Welsh Borders, and will be auctioned at Bonhams’ Sale of Photography, Printed Books and Manuscripts at 101 New Bond Street on 17 May.

The Bible continues to be one of the book trade’s biggest sellers, and the market for old and scarce copies has grown steadily over recent years, with certain editions – such as the 1611 Bible – bought for a few pounds 30 or 40 years ago now fetching four figures. “Some of the Bibles we are selling are extremely rare and sought-after by collectors in the UK and North America,” explained Simon Roberts of Bonhams’ book department. “It is unusual to come across such a comprehensive collection of fine and important examples, many of which are in beautiful leather bindings. We have here an excellent cross section of both Catholic and Protestant editions, the earliest being a Nuremberg version dating from 1482 estimated at £2,000 – 3,000.”

Of greatest value is a first edition of the ‘Bishop’s Version’ of the Bible in English, dating from 1568 and estimated to fetch between £4,000 – 6,000. This text was revised from Matthew Parker’s ‘Great Bible’ version and is sometimes known as the ‘Treacle Bible.’ The Bishop’s Version is prized especially for its sumptuous typography and illustration, and this edition is no exception. A copy of the ‘Great Bible’ Bible, also ‘in Englyshe’ and dating from 1540, is expected to fetch up to £4,000. An illustration of King Henry, Cranmer and Cromwell distributing Bibles offers a timely reminder of the religious turmoil England suffered at the time of its printing. The Church’s continental conflict is also reflected in the sale, with a fifth edition of humanist scholar Desiderious Erasmus’s (1466 – 1536) Bible in Greek and Latin estimated at £300 – 500. Erasmus made it his life’s work to introduce a more rational conception of Christian doctrine amidst the church’s conflict on the continent following the publication of Martin Luther’s ‘Ninety-Five Theses.’ This edition was the last published during Erasmus’s lifetime and has been hailed as “his life’s crowning glory.” (A.L. Rowse, The English Spirit, 1944).

A first edition of the significant ‘Geneva’ Bible is expected to fetch £2,500 – 3,500. This was the earlist English Bible printed in Roman type and with verse division, and its distinctly ‘Calvanistic’ tone endeared it especially to the puritans, and for three generations it was hailed as the ‘Bible of the people.’ It also significantly influenced the later translation in the King James’ Bible of 1611. Also within the collection is a first edition of the King James’ Bible to be printed in Scotland, probably published to coincide with the coronation of Charles I in 1633. This copy, estimate £800 – 1,200, is inscribed by Robert Everard, a writer who had been engaged as a Royalist during the civil war, but who later converted to Catholicism. A rare first edition of the ‘Douai’ version of the Bible offered Roman Catholics the first English translation of their New Testament. Published in 1582 – a time when Elizabeth I was struggling to maintain a policy of religious tolerance – this copy is expected to fetch up to £1,500.

For more details visit the Bonhams web site.