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View full screen - View 1 of Lot 1075. Merbecke, John | First edition of the first concordance to the whole English Bible..

Merbecke, John | First edition of the first concordance to the whole English Bible.

Lot Closed

July 21, 06:02 PM GMT

Estimate

15,000 - 18,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Merbecke, John

A Concorda[n]ce, that is to saie, a worke wherein by the ordre of the letters of the A.B.C. ye maie redely finde any worde conteigned in the whole Bible, so often as it is there expressed or mencioned. [London:] (Richardus Grafton typographus Regius excudebat, July) 1550


Small folio (288 x 200 mm). Woodcut border to the title (McKerrow & Ferguson 67), Grafton's large devicᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe on verso (McKerrow 104a), fine full-page woodcut of Henry VIII in Council at the end, a6 blank and genuine; blank corner of the title-page renewed, slightly wormed at beginning and more seriously in last 56 leaves affecting text and final woodcut, some damp-staining, tears in Ml and 3N. Contemporary London binding of calf over wooden boards by the binder "F.D.," the covers paneled in blind with a double quatrefoil and lozenge roll enclosing a panel using a roll of the heads of Erasmus, Huss, Luther, and Melanchthon, with the initials of the binder; repairs to head and tail of spine, clasps missing, covers wormed, corners repaired, new endleaves (repairs to binding by H. Bailey of Salisbury, 1947).


First edition of the first concordance to the whole English Bible


John Merbecke was a chorister at Windsor; he was sentenced to death in 1543 as a heretic for owning a pamphlet of Calvin's but obtained a royal paꦺrdon, probably because of his connection to the Chapel Royal at Windsor. His papers were, however, destroyed, and he had to recommence work on this concordance. This is the first concordance in English that covers the whole of the Bible, though the printed version was somewhat abbreviated from Marbeck's original, because of the expense of using so much paper.


"[W]hen the English 'Matthew' Bible appeared in 1537, [Merbecke] resolved to own a copy. Being unable to afford one, he began writing it out by hand, but later diverted his energies to the more useful enterprise of compiling a concordance to the same publication" (ODNB). Very uncommon.


REFERENCE:

ESTC S114449; STC 17300; cf. Oldham, English Blind-Stamped Bindings, plate xxix


PROVENANCE:

Edward Pease (early ownership inscription and two deleted inscriptions on title-pagꩲe)&nbs﷽p;— W. H. R. Blacking of Salisbury — George Goyder (book label; purchased from Peter Murray Hill in 1951)

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