Sold for $12,500

Folio (295 x 191 mm). 3 section titles printed within historiated woodcut borders. (Lacking 13 printed leaves: pi1, a1-6, *1-5, 2 2A1; also lacking v4 [blank]; a few leaves fraying or with tears affecting text, some browning, a few leaves trimmed close affecting headlines, catchwords, and shoulder notes). Later diced calf gilt (rebacked preserving original spine, joints starting, some wear). Provenance: a few 16th-century markings on final leaf; Thomas Crewdson of Kendal (letterpress bookplate); James Wilson (signature dated 1729); bookplate.

The so-called "Matthew Bible," known for its translation of Psalms 91:5 ("Afraid of bugs by night," using "bugs" instead of "terror"), and Jeremiah 8:22 ("Is there no treacle in Gilead," using "treacle" instead of "balm"). "The original Matthew's Bible of 1537 was made up partly from Tyndale's and partly from Cloverdale's translation. Thomas Matthew is commonly regarded as a pseudonym for John Rogers ..., but some think it more correct to consider it as meaning Tyndale ... The present edition closely agrees with Raynalde and Hyll's Bible of 1549, which was reprinted from the Matthew's Bible of 1537" (NUC pre-1956 imprints). ESTC S1184; STC 2085. RARE: We trace no copies of this edition at auction in the last 50 years; ESTC locates only 9 copies.