Poor man’s Bible of 1495

[Latin Bible]. Biblia integra.
Basel: Johann Froben, 27 October 1495.

Based on a woodcut by Albrecht Dürer, the exhibited frontispiece is the only illustration in Johann Froben’s pocket-sized “poor man’s Bible” of 1495. The woodcut, partially colored by hand, faces the opening of St. Jerome’s introductory letter to St. Paulinus, Bishop of Antioch. Here the translator of the Vulgate turns from his work to pull a thorn from the paw of a lion, his fabled companion. On his desk are the texts of his Prologue to the Pentateuch and the Latin and Greek (Septuagint) versions of Genesis 1:1.

THE ELIZABETH PERKINS PROTHRO BIBLE COLLECTION

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Fifteenth Century
Poor man’s Bible of 1495