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ANTIQUE 1880s SWEDISH FAMILY BIBLE - DEN HELIGA SKRIFT - ILLUSTRATED BY GUSTAVE DORE
A massive Victorian-era Swedish language family Bible in ornately embossed leather, published in Chicago for Swedish-American households. The front and back boards feature deeply sculpted black leather panels framing six gilt biblical scenes, with a bright gilt title cartouche at center and heavy gilt decoration across all six spine compartments. This is a genuine antique display piece as much as a Bible, and the covers photograph beautifully.
ITEM DETAILS
Title: Den Heliga Skrift, innehallande Gamla och Nya Testamentet jemte de Apokryphiska Bockerna
Contents: Old Testament, New Testament, and the Apocryphal Books
Text and commentary by H. M. Melin, Theol. Doct. and Domprost of Lund
Includes a comprehensive history of the books of Scripture by William Smith, LL.D.
Illustrations in steel engraving, color print and lithography after drawings by Gustave Dore and other prominent illustrators
Publisher: People's Publishing Co., Lakeside Building, Chicago, Illinois
Language: Swedish, printed in Fraktur (blackletter) type
Binding: Full leather over boards, raised bands, gilt page edges on all three sides
Date: No printed date appears on the title page. Comparable copies of this Melin/Dore Chicago edition are dated 1889.
Features throughout: decorative engraved column borders and chapter head and tail pieces, full-page plates, extensive footnotes and cross references.
CONDITION
Please read carefully and review all photos, which form part of this description.
Covers and spine: Very good display condition. Embossing is crisp and the gilt is bright with strong contrast. Leather is worn through to the lighter orange-tan underlayer at the head and tail of the spine, along the front joint, and at all corners. The leather is lifting and split at the corners, most noticeably at the top corner of the front board.
Binding: The binding has been repaired at some point in its life. A cloth reinforcement strip is visible at the front gutter. The text block is somewhat loose but remains attached. Handle with support when opening.
Text block: Pages are clean, bright and fully legible with only light age toning. I have found no writing, underlining or highlighting anywhere in the book. Light offsetting and a faint stain are present on the rear blank leaf. Some pages may have small edge tears or chips consistent with a book of this age and size.
Page edges: Gilt is worn to a soft brass tone with scuffing along the fore-edge.
Presentation page: The illustrated Tillegnad presentation page is blank and unfilled.
Important, please note: The section at the rear of the book has been removed. Bibles of this edition typically ended with stiff card leaves for family photographs and printed pages for recording births, marriages and deaths. Those rear pages are not present in this copy. The complete Old and New Testament text is present and ends normally at Revelation chapter 22.
Also note: This copy has no metal clasps. Some examples of this edition were issued with two clasps.
INCLUDED
One antique Swedish family Bible as shown and described.
Nothing else is included. No box, no slipcase, no clasps, and no rear photograph or family record pages.
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 12 inches x 12 inches x 5 inches
Weighs over 12 pounds
CONDITION SUMMARY
Sold as a genuine antique in used, well-preserved but imperfect condition, with the specific flaws described above. This is an original 19th century book, not a reproduction. It has not been professionally restored beyond the earlier binding repair noted
