Factors to Consider Before Buying Rare Bibles for Sale

People buy rare Bibles for sale driven by varied reasons. Some may plan to procure a rare Bible that can be passed down generations as an heirloom. Others could buy one as an investment or give it away as a gift.

Whatever be your reason for buying antique Bibles for sale, it will be wise to know about certain factors to ensure you understand what you are buying and can negotiate a better deal.

Decide on the Size and Check the Collation

From folio Bibles and quarto bibles to octavo Bibles, old Bibles for sale are available in different sizes. If more than one size is available for your chosen Bible, you need to decide the one you want to buy. Knowing about the collation is also crucial as it lets you decide the version or edition of the Bible and whether any of its pages are missing.

Be Aware of the Additional Features

Old and rare Bibles for sale often have extra features that make them collector’s items. Be it pictorial depictions, marginal notes, woodcut illustrations, calendars showing important holy days, or optional maps, old Bibles often have various special features, knowing which will help you ensure your copy has them. 
Being aware of such additional features also makes you an informed buyer, thus letting you stay safe from dubious sellers and those out to make a quick buck at your ignorance’s expense.

Don’t Forget to Check the Binding

Rare Bibles for sale are always hardcover. They are usually bound in various types of leather over wooden boards. As the binding of these books wasn’t designed to be durable enough to last for centuries, you will notice that several antique Bibles for sale have been rebound or re-backed.
Sometimes, the original boards are retained and reused when an old and rare Bible is rebound. But it’s pretty rare to locate an antique Bible in its original binding.

Wrapping Up

Now that you know what to look for when negotiating a deal and buying rare Bibles for sale, go out there or log in to your chosen dealer’s site and bring home the desired Bible.

Top Three Things to Remember Before Buying an Old Bible

If you don’t have a copy of the Bible at your home and plan to buy one, you could consider buying a rare and old Bible instead of your standard copy. Even if you already have a Bible but want to procure another rare copy, it pays to know a few things before investing in an antique piece.

Three Things to Remember When Buying an Old Bible

Shortlist the Size Huge sheets of paper were used to make old Bibles of the ancient era. These sheets were folded in half for a folio Bible, thus creating 2 leaves or 4 pages. For quarto Bibles, the sheets were folded in half twice, thus giving rise to 4 leaves or 8 pages. By folding the sheets in half three times, octavo Bibles with 16 pages or 8 leaves were created.

When planning to buy an old Bible, you should check the space you have to accommodate the book (say, in your personal library) to decide the size that will suit you.
Check the Collation This is the sequence and manner in which leaves are assembled and bound into a solitary book. Checking the collation helps you decide if any pages in your old Bible are missing and the version or edition of the book.

If you aren’t sure how to check the collation, you could ask an antique Bible collector (if you know one) or rely on a reputed dealer of rare and old Bibles, who usually use catalogs, like the Historical catalog of Printed Bibles by Herbert, A.S., or Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture by Darlow, T. H., and Moule, H. F. to date and list antique Bibles correctly.

Be Aware of the Special Features From maps and Biblical pictorial depictions to woodcut illustrations, marginal notes, and red-ruled markings, old Bibles come with various unique and special features that make them worth possessing.

Knowing the special features of an old Bible you target to buy will help you check if your copy has them, thus letting you decide whether it’s authentic or not.

Wrapping Up

Since old Bibles have a steep price tag, it pays to remember these three things to ensure you make an informed and judicious buy.

Original Source: http://old-bible.com/top-three-things-to-remember-before-buying-an-old-bible.html

Things You Need to Know Before Buying Old Bibles for Sale

People have diverse reasons to buy old Bibles for sale. For example, an individual may plan to buy an antique King James Version as an heirloom, which will be passed down for generations. Another may like to acquire a Geneva Bible to be given to a loved one as a gift – be it for a wedding anniversary or a birthday. Some may even like to buy ancient Bibles as an investment.

You may even have plans to start your own collection of antique Bibles. Whatever be your reason for buying these old Bibles, you may feel somewhat intimidated by the jargon that antique book dealers use while negotiating a deal.

Given below is an overview of the technical terms the antiquarian book trade involves, which will help you navigate this world with relative ease and better understand the different factors contributing to the price of old Bibles for sale. 

Size

In the ancient era, Bibles were made of large sheets of paper. A folio Bible (2°) had these sheets folded in half, which created 2 leaves or 4 pages. Quarto Bibles (4°) had these sheets folded in half twice, which created 4 leaves or 8 pages. Octavo Bibles (8°) had these sheets folded in half thrice, resulting in 8 leaves or 16 pages. In terms of size, folio Bibles were the largest (standing tall at 11-20”), followed by quarto and octavo Bibles that stood tall at 8-10.75” and 6-7.5”, respectively.

Collation

This term stands for the order and manner in which leaves are collected into signatures and bound into a single book. Collation lets you decide if any pages are missing and the edition or version of the book. Antique Bible collectors and dealers typically use catalogs, like Thomas Herbert Darlow and Horace Frederick Moule’s Historical catalogue of the printed editions of Holy Scripture or A.S. Herbert’s Historical catalog of Printed Bibles to date and list ancient Bibles accurately.

Additional Features

Old Bible texts often had extra features. For instance, J.S. Speed’s Illustrated Genealogies came with a pictorial depiction of thirty-four pages of the pedigree from Adam to Christ, and had an optional map of the Promised Land spread across double pages. The Book of Common Prayer - the Anglican Church’s guide to baptism, communion, marriages, and other ceremonies, is another example worth noticing. Some old Bibles for sale even had a calendar that would include significant holy days and daily scripture readings.

Provenance

This gives ownership details of a Bible as it passes through several members of the royal family, collectors, or specific families. In other words, provenance lets you trace an old Bible’s ownership through a famous person.

Red-ruled Markings

A handful of ancient Bibles had the borders and vital parts of the text marked with a straight edge and red ink. A scribe would outline every page after printing, which was an extremely lengthy and detail-oriented practice used only by the affluent of those ancient times. Bibles with red-ruling made their text noticeable and easier to read.

Woodcuts

Woodcut illustrations found in old Bibles for sale were crafted by expert craftsmen, who would carve a picture into a wooden block. The book’s non-printed parts too would be carved out. This resulted in the carved image being at the same level as these parts. This was followed by the ink’s addition to the block. Next, the block would be pressed onto the page, thus creating the desired woodcut illustration.

Margins

Ancient Bibles often had their page perimeters, and the book’s text block undergo soiling, wear, and tear. But since many of these Bibles were originally printed with broad margins, they could be easily trimmed down before a soiled or damaged book was rebound, thus giving the book a relatively fresher and more pleasing look.

Binding

Ancient Bibles are always hardcover and come bound in different types of leathers over wooden boards, each offering a somewhat different color and texture. Since the binding of these books weren’t designed to last more than around 200 years, many old Bibles for sale have therefore been re-backed or rebound. Often, the original boards are reused and retained whenever an antique bible is rebound. However, you will rarely find a Bible in its original binding. It’s even rarer to get hold of the original metal hardware that accompanied these ancient Bibles.

Final Words

All these factors, along with the Bible’s condition, and font size or misprints that add a rare element, determine its value. Take note of these things when browsing old Bibles for sale before finalizing your deal.