Codex climaci rescriptus. Frangments of Sixth Century Palestinian Syriac Texts of the Gospels, of the Acts of the Apostles and of St. Paul's Epistles. Also Fragments of an Early Palestinian Lectionary of the Old Testament, etc. Transcribed and Edited by Agnes Smith Lewis. With Seven Facsimiles. Horae Emiticae No. VIII

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1909. First edition. Page size: 9-3/4 x 7-1/4 inches; i-xxxi, 201pp; 7pp. folded facsimile. Bound: original blue wrappers printed in black, white sticker showing price of 12'6 net at bottom of front cover, stamp on back cover "Revised prices on application," minor wear to covers and trace of age toning to page edges, a handful of small pencil notes in text, but generally very good+. In English with Greek translation by Dr. Nestle opposite the Syriac.
Dr. Agnes Smith Lewis (PhD., LL.D., D.D., Litt.D.) and her sister Dr. Margaret Dunlop Gibson (LL.D., D.D., Litt.D.) were born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1843, the twin daughters of a wealthy solicitor. Upon the death of their father, the heiresses went to Greece in 1866. Agnes devoted herself to learning Greek; she later learned Syriac, Arabic and Hebrew (among other languages). In 1890, both sisters now widowed, traveled to St. Catherine's Monastery at Mt. Sinai where they discovered a version of the Old Syriac Gospels (5th century AD) - the Sinai Palimpsest. By now they were established as serious Semitic scholars. The sisters continued their travels in the Middle East and made even greater discoveries. Their cataloguing of the manuscripts of Saint Catherine's Monastery, their acquisition of some 1700 manuscript fragments, and subsequent translation and publication profoundly affected scholarship of the early Christian church. (Inventory #: 11216)