Italian translation by Malermi, 1493

[Italian Bible]. Biblia vulgar historiata.
Venice: Guilelmus Anima Mia de Trino, 23 April, 1493. (06146)

Beginning in 1490, small folio editions of the Italian translation of the Bible by Niccolò Malermi (c. 1422–1481) were embellished with numerous woodcut illustrations. The first of these, printed at Venice by Lucantonio di Giunta in 1490, included 386 woodcuts, most of which were small single-column illustrations. The exhibited Bible, from a 1493 edition of the same Malermi text, features most of the same woodcuts. On display is the beginning of the book of Proverbs, illustrated with a large woodcut of King Solomon enthroned. The elaborate architectural border, comprised of classical sea gods, putti, bucrania, and urns, is highly characteristic of Venetian book decoration during the Renaissance.