BIBBIA SACRA VOLGARE - Riflessioni morali del Vecchio e Nuovo Testamento - 1788

Moral Reflections on the History of the Old and New Testament

dug from the Holy Fathers, to regulate the customs of the Faithful of every condition. With a brief, concise ending, of the Sacred Chronology. Published by the Seigneur de Rayaumont, Prior of Sombreval, in the French language, and again translated into Italian.
Lucca, Domenico Marescandoli, 1788.

In-16° (mm 173 × 100 on binding). Pp. XVI, 550, (1). With 5 beautiful plates hors texte engraved in copper, full page, depicting famous biblical scenes (including Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Sacrifice of Abraham, The Golden Calf, Defeat of the Philistines).

Contemporary binding in parchment, title handwritten on the spine (“Bible in Vulgare”). Complete copy, with possession notes in old manuscript (including “Lorenzo Alibranti – Tommaso Olivieri” and the date “23. ultimo maggio”).

Contents and importance of the work
Italian translation of the French work by Seigneur de Rayaumont (pseudonym of Nicolas Fontaine, 1625-1709, affiliated with the Port-Royal circle and Isaac-Louis Le Maistre de Sacy). It is one of the most fortunate and widespread “moral Bibles” of the Seicento–Settecento: not a simple narrative paraphrase, but a collection of edifying reflections drawn from the Fathers of the Church, intended to “regulate the morals of the faithful of every condition.”

The work traces the entire sacred history from Genesis to Revelation, accompanying each episode with practical lessons for Christian life. At the end appears the precious Ristretto of the Sacred Chronology, a useful tool for study and memorization.

The five engravings, of good workmanship and eighteenth-century taste, greatly enrich the copy and make it a volume particularly attractive both for the collector of religious illustrated books and for the student of biblical iconography.

Rarity
While Venetian (Baglioni) and Neapolitan editions are relatively more common, the Luccan edition of 1788 at Domenico Marescandoli is decidedly scarcer on the antique market. Few copies are recorded in public libraries and even fewer appear at auctions or in catalogs of antiquarian books.

The presence of the five plates hors texte and the overall good condition (paper still solid though browning and stains, original binding) further increase its appeal.

A copy of certainly interest for collectors of eighteenth-century religious books, of Luccan editions, and of illustrated works on biblical subjects.