1879–80 French Holy Bible Louis Segond Leather Gilt Presentation Binding
A handsome late-19th-century French Protestant Bible containing the Old and New Testaments in the celebrated translation of Louis Segond.
The Old Testament title page is dated Paris, 1879, while the New Testament bears the imprint Geneva, 1880. The New Testament is described as a new translation from the Greek by Louis Segond, Doctor of Theology.
This substantial volume is especially attractive for its fine presentation binding. It is bound in full brown leather with gilt rules to both boards, raised bands and gilt lettering to the spine. All page edges are gilt, and the volume has striking blue-and-gold patterned endpapers.
The front board is lettered in gilt:
LES MEMBRES
DE L’UNION CHRÉTIENNE DE JEUNES GENS
À LEUR CHER PRÉSIDENT
GUSTAVE CRAMER
1878–1880
This translates approximately as:
“The members of the Young Men’s Christian Union to their dear president, Gustave Cramer, 1878–1880.”
An extensive handwritten French provenance note appears on a preliminary leaf. It records the Bible’s presentation and subsequent passage through members of the Cramer family, making this an unusually well-provenanced family and presentation copy.
In addition to the biblical text, the volume includes introductory and reference material, chronological tables, tables of measures and currencies, and indexes of Old Testament citations appearing in the New Testament.
The Bible contains the Protestant canon and does not include the Apocrypha.
Louis Segond (1810–1885) was a Swiss Reformed theologian and biblical scholar. He is best remembered for his French translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek. The complete Segond Bible appeared in 1880 and became one of the most influential and widely used French Protestant translations. This volume therefore dates from the very beginning of the complete Segond Bible’s publication history.
A solid and substantial volume with both boards firmly attached and no loose pages noted. The leather binding remains handsome, with general rubbing, surface marking and wear commensurate with age. There is more noticeable wear and scuffing around the spine ends, raised bands, board edges and corners, including some loss of surface leather at the head of the spine and upper corners.
The gilt decoration and lettering remain attractive and legible. The all-gilt page edges show some rubbing and unevenness. The decorative blue-and-gold endpapers remain particularly striking.
Internally, there is sporadic browning and foxing, varying from light to more noticeable in places, including on the title pages and preliminary material. A lengthy old handwritten provenance note is present on a preliminary leaf, along with a later brief annotation in blue ink. No loose pages have been noted.
Please study all photographs carefully, as these form an important part of the condition description.
EU buyers: Buyers in EU countries may be required to pay VAT, customs duties or other import charges upon delivery. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility. This notice does not apply where eBay International Shipping handles the applicable import charges at checkout.