The Adventures Of Bible Collecting

Francis Fry Portrait

A book collector is often referred to as a lover of books or as a bibliophile. The pursuit of that hidden treasure buried deeply on the dusty back shelves of a bookshop motivates the bibliophile. Unlike an antiquarian book dealer who loves the work, nevertheless does it for profit, the collector does for the sheer excitement of the pursuit of that last copy of a literary work. It is a well worn saying that one can be a collector or a dealer but he cannot be both.

Book collecting came into prominence after the invention of the printing press. The nineteenth century and beginning of the 20th century is considered the “golden age” for collecting of rare and valuable books.

Collectors generally seek specific authors, books in certain time periods such as printed books before 1500, handwritten illuminated books, beautiful bindings, certain printing typefaces and paper, Americana, or other limited and specific editions of books.  Collectors generally prize first editions of books or books with rare and unusual mistakes in the printing process.

Rare book collecting is distinct from the accumulation of books for reading, or the collecting for bragging rights of having the largest collection. Antiquarian collectors, most notably, collect books prior to the 20th century.

New York born James Lenox (1800 -1880) became America’s foremost book collector in the 19th century.  A wealthy recluse bachelor and a non-practicing attorney, Lenox inherited from his father important holdings in real estate. His wealth enabled him to become obsessed with collecting books.

Lenox collected Bibles, Americana, incunabula (books printed prior to 1500), and Shakespeariana. He has the honor of bringing the first Gutenberg Bible to America. It is said that the only time he broke his strict sabbatical convictions of “no business on Sabbath” was to reply by post to the offer of the only known copy of the 1631 “Wicked Bible” (an error in the 7th commandment: “Thou shalt commit adultery”).

Two important Bible collectors in the 19th century, Francis Fry and George Offor prepared the way for later collectors.  George Offer the son of a bookseller, amassed a large collection of Bibles, works of the Fathers, Medieval Writers, Reformers, Puritans, Quakers, John Bunyan and beautifully Illuminated books and other manuscripts. He also collected rare productions from the presses of John Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, and other English Printers. Upon his death his entire collection was sold at Sotheby’s auction house. The bound book that described his collection printed for the auction is now a prime collector’s item.

The Frys’ were a prominent English Quaker family who made their living in the chocolate business. In addition to joining the family chocolate business as a young man, Francis later became a director and then chairman of the Bristol waterworks, served on the board of directors of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, and served on committees of the Bristol Philosophical Society.

Francis Fry was arguably the greatest Bible collector of the 19th century. His grandfather Joseph Fry’s interest in printing Bibles may have piqued Francis’ interest in his lifelong hobby of Bible collecting. Fry’s reputation as a Bible collector and scholar is his greatest contribution to history. In a visit to Munich in 1860 studying books printed by Peter Schoeffer, the 16th century German printer, he discovered the First complete Tyndale New Testament was published by Schoeffer in 1526 (no extant copy of Fry’s time had this information).

The surging economy in the United States at the turn of the 20th century encouraged wealthy men to enter the book collecting world. Men like Pierpont Morgan, Henry Huntington, J. Paul Getty (primarily works of art) William Scheide, and Henry Folger. Today the remains of these men’s collections represent some of the world’s most valuable collections.

Today book collecting is not just for the super wealthy, although it helps, but for anyone wishing to obtain a piece of history.  For more than 35 years, my hobby has been the collecting of Bibles and books about book collecting. I began with a simple plan to collection every translation of the English Bible prior to the 20th century. Soon after, I included the various editions of the Green New Testaments in my list of collectables.

I recently purchased a 1553 Tyndale New Testament. Since the value of books and Bibles in particular depend on condition, I always seek to find the Bible in the best possible condition. Unfortunately books from the 16th century are nearly always found with defects. This particular copy lacked the general title, some preliminary materials, and the last leaves of the book of Revelation. While leaves from Revelation are nearly always missing in 16th century Bibles, this copy represented a very important translation from the man who translated the first English New Testament from the original Greek in 1526. 

This particular Tyndale was printed by Richard Jugge in London just 17 years after his martyrdom. It is embellished with numerous woodcuts of biblical scenes. The one distinguishing woodcut is one portraying Satan with a peg leg.    

While my collection will never reach the status of the men I have discussed above, it has been a rewarding experience for many years. My collection is currently held at the Dunham Bible Museum, Houston Baptist University and is open to the public. –The Washington Times