[BIBLE] The Old and New Testament, embellished with Engravings, from Pictures and Designs by the Most Eminent English Artists

London: Thomas Bensley for Thomas Macklin, 1800. 7 volume set [48 cm] Contemporary calf with decorative gilt stamped borders to boards with raised and gilt bands to backstrips. All edges gilt. Marbled endsheets and pastedowns. Some minor wear to corners. Some foxing to the plates. A few small dampstains. Some wear to backstrips and boards. The Macklin Bible is the largest Bible printed on a letterpress. Published serially between 1791 and 1800 in London, this project was of one several ambitious projects that commissioned paintings of literary subjects, exhibited them at their premises, and sold engravings, and/or editions of the relevant text including the engravings, after the paintings by subscription. These 'literary galleries' sought to be both commercial printselling projects for the proprietors, and to foster British history painting, aligning with the ambitions of the Royal Academy to encourage a native school of painting in this genre. The foremost literary gallery was Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, which operated between 1789 and 1805.

In addition to its 70 full-page plates, the Bible includes head and tailpieces for each biblical book - 113 in total. All but two of the vignettes were designed by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, who also painted 16 pictures for the full-page plates. The full-page plates and headpiece and tailpiece vignettes were published by Macklin, and the text was printed for Macklin by Thomas Bensley. The type was cut by Joseph Jackson and Vincent Figgins, Jackon's apprentice. The paper was made by Whatman. The instructions to the binder recommended binding the set in six volumes, but this set, like many others, was bound in seven. Darlow & Moule 982. ESTC T123175. Herbert 1442.