Depending on whether you are a devout Christian or not, the importance of antique Bible pages will vary. Devout Christians find holding a piece of the “Word of God,” studying it, and sharing it with others a joy that just can’t be measured in terms of words or money. Some others find these antique Bible pages items worth collecting and cherishing, and perhaps even handing them down to the next generation to be kept as a family heirloom.
There’s also a third category of people who believe holding pages of an ancient Bible let them honor those martyrs who faced a lot of adverse situations and even laid down their lives to make the “Word of God” accessible to the commoner. Since it was another era and another place, many might have forgotten the sacrifices made and no longer paused to think about the high cost paid by a handful to bring the Bible into their hands to read, reflect, and implement. As it has become quite easy to get our hands on a Bible these days, often at a relatively low price, many have become oblivious to its real value. This is what this third category of people wants to change by buying antique Bible pages and displaying them or sharing the vital acquisition to the public to drive home the importance of people, who worked tirelessly to translate, publish, and bring the Bible into the hands of the commoner.
Today, when people sit in their air-conditioned buildings, on comfortable seats, and read the Bible in a language they can easily understand, they don’t spare a thought for those who had to undergo tortuous times in prisons and even get burned at stakes or were executed. Those people were the ones who paid the price for the convenience a majority are enjoying today by accessing and studying God’s Holy Words. Though the true value of a Bible has been wiped from the public’s collective memory, a few are striving to hold onto the real value that resides in the appalling pain and blood of the martyrs. And they find buying ancient Bible pages the right way to do it.
According to these people, the pages of an ancient Bible are a genuine testimony to the commitment and courage of a generation that was tried and tested hard for its faith. You simply can’t deny their heartbreak, suffering, and distress. Time or people’s indifference can’t wipe away the truth of these events. No matter whichever of these three categories you belong to, buying ancient Bible pages is an investment worth every dime.
Who Started the Practice of Collecting Ancient Bible Pages
Bibliophiles often search for elusive books, but when they fail to find what they have been looking for, a single page or a few of that book could appease their quest to some extent. Those pages represent that missing piece of history, which can help make the collection of these bibliophiles more complete. For ages, this has been a chief reason driving the collection of ancient Bible pages. Otto Ege, Gabriel Wells, and Francis Fry are some notable individuals who facilitated acquiring those missing pieces of history for collectors that gave the latter a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment. To this date, their long-forgotten efforts of supplying single pages to the book trade of antiquarian tomes are bearing fruit. For instance, if Gabriel Wells - a New York-based antiquarian bookseller, didn’t do what he did, collectors would have never been able to lay their hands on the first book, which was printed using a moveable typeface.
In 1921, after Gabriel Wells obtained a fragmented copy of the celebrated 1455 Gutenberg Bible, he took it apart entirely and sold the pages, charging $150 for a page. This earned him publicity, and the New York Times ran a piece where it said Wells was spreading the Gospel among the affluent. His 8-page fragment was purchased by Mortimer Schiff. He gave it to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, which later sold it via Sotheby.
Final Words
If you plan to buy ancient Bible pages, you need to buy them from a The Bible Museum. You should check your dealer’s reliability and market reputation and compare the quoted price with a few other antique Bible pages’ dealers before closing the deal. And once you get the prized possession, you can display your antique Bible pages to encourage your family and friends to appreciate God’s infallible, absolute, and inspired Holy Words. If you are looking for Antique & Rare Bibles Pages, Visit the world’s most unusual gift shop today.
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