1731 Wycliffe New Testament
Extremely Rare Master Bookbinder Edition
Only 199 copies available!
A rare facsimile edition of the 1731 Wycliffe New Testament, produced as a scholarly and collectible reproduction of the historic reprint connected to the early English biblical tradition of John Wycliffe and the Lutterworth manuscript tradition of circa 1380. John Wycliffe, often known as “The Morning Star of the Reformation,” is credited with producing the first translation of the Scriptures into the English language during the 1380s. Since Wycliffe lived nearly one hundred years before the invention of the printing press in 1455, his English New Testaments and Bibles were not printed books, but carefully handwritten manuscripts. Wycliffe’s translation holds extraordinary historical significance. Although it was translated from the Latin rather than directly from the original biblical languages, it represents the earliest known effort to make the Scriptures available in English.
This edition preserves the character of Wycliffe’s New Testament in Middle English, often described as the English of Chaucer’s era. Because of the language and spelling, it is not a modern easy-reading Bible, but it is a fascinating and meaningful volume for collectors, scholars, historians, pastors, and anyone interested in the development of the English Bible.
John Wycliffe is widely remembered as one of the earliest figures associated with translating Scripture into English, making this facsimile an important representation of pre-Reformation Bible history.
Only 160 copies were printed in 1731, and fewer than 10 are believed to survive today. Original copies are valued at nearly $100,000 each.
The edition gives the set strong institutional and display value. The hand-bound presentation makes it suitable not only for private collecting, but also for academic reference, exhibition support, teaching collections, library holdings, and historically themed interiors.
Bound luxuriously in brown leather by Opus Fine Arts London
Dimensions: 21x30cm or 8.30 x 11.70 inches
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