Christmas
Bible with Fore-Edge Painting of the Birth of Jesus
Bible with Fore-Edge Painting of the Birth of Jesus
BIB.000810
Bible - Printed Book
1852
London, (England)
English
Printed on Paper, with Ink and Pigment
5.9 × 4.1 × 2.1 in. (15 × 10.5 × 5.5 cm)
Not on View
Printed by G. C. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, this Bible contains a fore-edge painting in the disappearing art method depicting the birth of Jesus with shepherds in attendance, as described in Luke 2. The fore-edge is the side of the book opposite the spine. Originally, this edge of the book was used to display the title written in ink across the pages. By the 1500s, Cesare Vecellio, a Venetian artist, found a way to paint portraits on the edges of the pages of a book, making it visible when closed. Most fore-edge paintings do not identify the artists, making it difficult to date the fore-edge painting.
Printed in 1852 by G. C. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, London, England.[1] Acquired by Sarah B. Smith; Gifted to Joseph Augustus Smith.[2] Acquired by Doyle W. Flowers Jr. (1957–2017), Hinesville, Georgia;[3] Privately purchased in 2009 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2016 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry), under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] It is unknown when the fore-edge painting was added. [2] Sarah B. Smith was Joseph’s mother. Sarah wrote a dedication to Joseph on the front endpaper. [3] Bookseller in Georgia, United States of America.
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