College Observes Bible Anniversary
As its contribution to the world-wide celebration of the 500th anniversary of the printing of the Gutenberg Bible, the College last month put on display its notable collection of Bibles, early sources, and other related texts. Filling eight show cases in the main lobby of Baker Library, the exhibit included a wealth of material, varying from the earliest sources and including a leaf from the actual Gutenberg Bible, to the New Revised Version, whose publication date September 30, 1952 —was made to coincide with the Gutenberg anniversary. The exhibit, which was open to the public, was held from September 27 to October 16 and brought numbers of visitors to the Library from Hanover and the surrounding country.
In addition, three members of the faculty gave papers on historical and religious themes related to the development of the Bible, on the evening of September 30, in Dartmouth Hall. Royal C. Nemiah, Lawrence Professor of the Greek Language and Literature, presented a paper on "Translation: Form and Substance"; Henry M. Dargan, Willard Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, spoke on "The Bible and Western Imagination"; and Francis L. Childs '06, Winkley Professor of the Anglo-Saxon and English Language and Literature, gave a paper entitled "The Religious Heritage of Dartmouth College."
The College has in its collection most of the important Bibles which have been published since the time of Gutenberg, as well as reproductions of old manuscript Bibles which pre-date it. Among these a reproduction of the Codex Sinaiticus, dating back to the 4th Century (found in 1844), and the Codex Washingtonianus, written in the sth or 6th century but discovered in 1906, revealed important origins in the Bible as we know it. The scope of the exhibit also made possible to the layman some comprehension of the history of the famous Vulgate version, which the Pope commissioned Jerome to do in 38a A.D., and which, except for changes in text ornamentation, remained the same until the 16th Century.
The oldest book in the collection on display was a Vulgate Bible of 1498- One of the most valuable was a first edition (of 1516) of the New Testament translation done by Erasmus. It was this version, written in Latin and Greek, which later in- fluenced Martin Luther to re-cast certain significant passages in his own translation. This, too, in an edition of 1584, was in the exhibit. Also shown was a copy of Wyclif's translation, the first in English; examples of Pre-Reformation Bibles; Luther Bibles of 1720 as well as of 1584; King James versions; the first Bible printed in this country, in Germantown, in 1743; Bibles be- longing to Jefferson, Daniel Webster and Samson Occom. A copy of the Great Bible, so called because of its size, dated 1539, has a title page reputedly by Holbein. The Dartmouth Library copy of this Bible is a rare first edition. The copy of the Bishops Bible is the same edition as that on the Cranmer Desk in Canterbury Cathedral.
As an educational experience, demonstrating the influence of the Bible over a span of centuries on scholars and laymen, and as an impressive showing of some of Dartmouth's most prized acquisitions, this exhibit was a worthy tribute to the anniversary it commemorated. Working under the direction of Prof. Harold G. Rugg '06, Assistant Librarian, a committee made up of Assistant Dean Arthur H. Kiendl Jr. '44 and Profs. Henry B. Williams and Fred Berthold Jr. '45 prepared the showing.
AS PART OF THE DISPLAY commemorating the 500th anniversary of the printing of the Gutenberg Bible, these Bibles were on exhibit in Baker Library, September 27 to October 16. In the foreground is a replica of the Book of Kells, an 8th Century manuscript of the Bible. Horizontal in the background ,is a Luther Bible of 1720 and standing (I to r) are a Greek New Testament of Erasmus, 1516; a Geneva Bible of 1607; the Great Bible, 1539; the Bishops Bible of 1575 and a Luther Bible of 1584. At the far right is a Hebrew manuscript of the Book of Esther.
NEW TESTAMENT TITLE PAGE of The Great Bible, so called because of its great size. This is a rare first edition, dated 1539, belonging to Baker Library s permanent collection.
THIS ORNATE FRONTISPIECE depicting Old Testament incidents is in The Geneva Bible, an edition of 1607.
A LEAF from the first published edition of the King James Bible, dated 1611, is another rare item owned by the College.
The three faculty papers presented on the occasion of the Gutenberg Bible anniversary are to be printed by the College, under the auspices of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation. Alumni and all others interested may obtain copies by writing to the Secretary of the College, Hanover, N. H.
