The David Allan Hubbard Library’s department of Archives, Special Collections, and Rare Books recently acquired its third oldest book–Novum Testamentum, dated 1546.  This two-volume Greek New Testament Bible was generously donated by Jill and Bob Smith (‘77 and ‘84) of Dallas, Texas.

1546 Bibles new
Novum Testamentum, dated 1546

Printed in Paris at the famous press of Robert Stephanus, the volumes are bound in full early leather with marbled endpapers and gilt spine titles.  The small size of this Bible (each volume is 4.75 inches long) made it portable and therefore quite valuable in the sixteenth century.

1546 Bibles title page
Printed in Paris at the famous press of Robert Stephanus

The convenience of a small book that you could easily carry around with you was what Harvard University Press had in mind when it created the Loeb Classical Library (for which digital access is currently available on a trial basis to the Fuller community).

If you would like to see this Bible in person, please make an appointment with the Archivist: call 626.584.5311 or e-mail archives@fuller.edu.  Also, look for a showcase of Bibles to be displayed in the Library’s lobby this fall.

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