People looking to acquire a rare Bible page are driven by diverse reasons. Some believe it’s an unparalleled joy to possess a historical piece of the “Word of God” and share it with others while for others, such a page could be an antique item worth buying.
A
handful of people also want to get hold of a rare Bible page to honor those
martyrs who were imprisoned, tortured, and burnt at the stake just because they
decided to help the common people get easy access to the “Word of God.” For
these people, possessing an antique Bible page is a way to show they respect
those who worked fearlessly and untiringly to translate, print, publish, and
make the published copies accessible to the commoner.
Whatever
be your reason, knowing a few things will help you make an informed choice.
Ancient
Bible Page Collection -Who Started It?
Ancient
Bible page collectors typically look for pages from celebrated Bibles with
certain characteristics that make them historical pieces worth possessing.
Francis Fry, Gabriel Wells, and Otto Ege are some notable names who helped
collectors acquire old and rare Bible pages.
An
interesting incident regarding the collection of such pages is linked to
Gabriel Wells, an antiquarian bookseller based in New York. After he got a
fragmented copy of the renowned 1455 Gutenberg Bible in 1921, he took the book
apart completely and sold individual pages for $150 each. This gave collectors
a chance to get hold of the pages of the first book (a Latin Bible), which was
the first thing ever printed with a moveable typeface by the inventor of the
printing press.
Now
that you know a bit of history about old and rare Bible pages, here
are some things to remember when buying such a page.
Checklist for Buying Old Bible
Pages
Novices
may not be able to distinguish pages from an authentic rare Bible and one
that's relatively new. To avoid being duped, it pays to buy from places
that specialize in antique Bible pages.
You
should also exercise extreme caution when buying from individuals or online
auctions. Individual buyers often have no idea about their Bible page’s edition
and blindly trust those they bought it from. If their buyers had sold a fake
Bible page claiming it to be authentic, you can get ripped.
Online
sites that let you bid and buy an old Bible page could sometimes misrepresent
facts or hide the real facts. This too could be dangerous and cost you dearly
if you aren’t cautious.
Wrapping Up
It
will help to keep the above pointers in mind and buy an authentic ancient Bible
page from a reputed dealer to ensure it’s worth every dime you pay.
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