Antique Paper Bibles With Original Steel Engravings

I got this set of paper bibles about 25 plus years ago from a woman who collect antiques .Pages are uncut,stell engravings by JS Hart,William Artaud and PJ De Loutherbourg.I can't find the bibles,I have 3 each has an engraving.I believe maybe 1800's.Anybody has idea.

 

In the Victorian era, books were often sold in parts, so you could buy a chapter of Dickens's latest book for a shilling then have them all bound when (if) you got the whole thing. This appears to be a Bible produced on a similar plan, the big draw being the engravings, of which there would have been one in each part. Virtue was a big publisher of illustrated books, mostly scenery but also people. You can find copies of the complete devotional bible these are parts of on Abebooks and eBay, mostly in poor shape, mostly under $100.

 

I checked Ebay but couldn't find this one,but google has this one in museum site or library site but no price,one of my other engravings was found in an auction,not the bible just the engraving.Did I miss something on Ebay or maybe my words was wrong.Thanks

 

There are several Bibles with similar titles on sale. Is this the one by Fletcher? If so, as @2manycats wrote, there are bound volumes for sale on abebooks and eBay.

The only one I found in the eBay Completed search is a poor condition copy of a bound volume that may or may not be the entire text. (I've also seen somebody trying to sell volume 2 of the bound version.)

This won't really help because the condition here is poor, but it's what I found:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334983383615

 

No that's not the one,it's not by Fletcher..I checked Abe,these are like large magazines,uncut.The back of paper has Shakspere on the back for sale.

 

Ok, thanks! Then I didn't find it at all.

 

Thanks all

 

There was a Virtue family that produced illustrated art journals in the 19th and early 20th C. I'm guessing there's a connection here, at least to the engravings.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG61349

There's also a record of Virtue, Emmins and Roberts producing a Bible in 1850.
https://mearto.com/items/1850-bible-published-by-virtue-emmins-and-roberts-london-and-new-york

This is conjecture, but the Virtue family, with its experience in periodicals, specifically art periodicals, would have been well positioned to produce a subscription series illustrated Bible, especially one drawn from an already published volume.

It would be interesting to compare the 1850 Bible with these subscription issues.

 

Books/magazine measure about 15"x10",I have part 63,part 48,I've misplace the last front paper cover,but all read the sameComplete in sixty-nine magnificent illustrations on steel,by the most eminent London artist. T he Devotional Family Bible IHS Every part will contain a brillant steel engraving of the highest merit. price 25 cents each. 26 Ivy Lane,London 25 John Street New York,sold only to subscribers and supplied exclusively by his appointed agents. I've searched and searched,found nothing close.

 

Here's a complete one on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126125337927

Their pictures show a page from Ezekiel that appears to be the identical format as yours, and it's the right size at 14.5 x 11.2. I wouldn't get too hung up on the fact that theirs is Virtue & Torston, at a different address - publishing partnerships were volatile back then, with whomever owned the plates (in this case, Virtue) holding the power, and attracting various investors.

The only question is, how many of the nice plates does this bound volume hold? If 69, it's essentially the complete thing your parts are parts of. There could be many variations - I've got three big ornate bibles right now with different named publishers that were all obviously partly printed by the same printer, with some differences in content & format, but with a lot of the same pictures. Then as now, religion is partly a racket, with all manner of hucksters trying to profit off the faithful.

 

Hi,I saw that one,I have a bible like that one on Ebay with names of a family.the one I have is not by Fletcher,this type was only sold to subscribers for 25 cent each.The 3 I have is maybe a little earlier.Thank so much for your information