Lyon: Jean de Tournes, 1554. First edition. Octavo (6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches; 171 x 121 mm.) . [16], 1152, [76] pp, bound without the last two blank leaves as in most copies(e.g. Mortimer, OCLC). The penultimate leaf had only a fleuron at the foot of the page and the final leaf was blank. Arabesque title border and 198 (with 1 repeat) woodcuts in the text by Bernard Salomon. Title-page with faint early ink "ex-Libris petri ------ at top blank margin. Title-page expertly cleaned, some occasional mainly marginal faint foxing, otherwise a superb example of this wonderfully illustrated mid sixteenth-century Latin Bible. Bound ca. 1880 by Chambolle-Duru in full brown crushed levant morocco, spine with five raised bands, lettered in gilt, gilt ruled board edges, decorative gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edge gilt. Armorial bookplate "In Memori: Weiler, Bibliotheca Trautner Falkiana" on verso of front free endpaper.

First De Tournes Latin Bible, based on Robert Estienne's text, and beautifully illustrated with 198 woodcuts by Bernard Salomon. "Considerable work could be done on Salomon's sources for these cuts. The Expulsion from Paradise suggests Holbein's version; the New Testament shows some dependence on the set owned by Sébastien Gryphius… the Apocalypse blocks are enlarged copies of the fine Janot Apocalypse. But the cumulative effect of Salomon's carefully detailed scenes is that of an individual contribution to Bible illustration. Particularly interesting from the point of view of technique are the night scenes in Exodus and the storm over Noah's ark… In this 1554 Bible, the New Testament blocks are printed with arabesque strip borders at the sides. Arabesque and type ornament headpieces…" (Mortimer) Contents include: Old Testament; Psalms; New Testament, Epistles, Acts; Index Testimoniorum & Index Epistolarum.

Robert I Estienne (1503-1559) was a French protestant printer and scholar, born into a printmaking family. He would take over his family’s Paris firm in 1526, where he printed significant works in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and other languages. His 1531 Thesaurus linguae latinae is considered a major milestone in lexicography. Despite his many commissions for the King, religious tensions forced Estienne to flee to Geneva.

This bible was illustrated by Bernard Salomon (c.1508–1561), a French artist who is known for engravings and illustrations. Although little is known about his life, his art reveals stylistic influences from Mannerism and the School of Fontainebleau, executed in a detailed and small scale. Salomon is known to have collaborated with the printer Jean de Tournes, and produced decoration for emblem books, bibles, and classic texts. Many of his engravings also appear as source material for art objects, such as a Faience plate at the MET featuring the Sacrifice of Noah.

Brunet, I, 876 & Supplement I, 125; Darlow & Moule 6134 (note); Mortimer, French no. 81. (Item #6212)