Concordantiae Maiores Sacrae Bibliae – 1526 – Froben Printing Company – Period Binding

Concordantiae Maiores Sacrae Bibliae – 1526 – Froben Press – Original Binding
Full Title

Concordantiae Maiores Sacrae Bibliae, summis vigiliis iam recens et castigatae et locupletatae: una cum indicibus copiosissimis omnium vocabulorum, quae in Sacris Bibliis passim reperiuntur. Anno Domini M.D.XXVI.

Bibliographic Details

• Author: [Anonymous, Dominican tradition]

• Title: Concordantiae Maiores Sacrae Bibliae

• Printer: Likely Johann Froben, Basel

• Date: 1526 (confirmed on title page)

• Language: Latin

• Format: Folio (approx. 32.5 × 23 cm)

• Pagination: Uncollated; hundreds of leaves, printed double-column in Gothic type

• Illustration: Large woodcut initials, rubricated title

• Binding: Original 16th-century blind-stamped leather over wooden boards with brass clasps (1 present, 1 missing)

Physical Condition ReportComponentDescriptionBindingFull contemporary blind-stamped leather, triple-panel design with floral tools. Some wear and abrasions, but joints are firm. One original brass clasp remaining, the other lost. Spine with raised bands, leather intact though rubbed.Text BlockComplete, though not fully collated. Minor marginal tears, occasional worming, and moderate water staining throughout, especially near edges. All text remains highly legible.PaperEarly handmade paper, slightly browned, with scattered foxing.Inks & TypographyPrinted in Gothic type, rubricated title page, and numerous large woodcut initials.Manuscript AdditionsSome marginal annotations and a full Latin manuscript provenance note (dated 1692) in the rear endpaper.????️ Provenance

"Liber iste spectat ad usum Fratrum Minorum Conventualium S. Mariae Angelorum in Gandavo. Donatus fuit per fratrem P... anno Domini 1692."

Translation:
"This book belongs to the Conventual Franciscan Friars of St. Mary of the Angels in Ghent. Donated by Brother P[---] in the year of Our Lord 1692."

This handwritten ownership statement, in brown ink on the final flyleaf, confirms the book was in the working theological library of the Franciscan Conventual friary of Ghent (Gandavo) by the late 17th century. Such provenance connects this volume to the Counter-Reformation ecclesiastical environment in the Southern Netherlands, and establishes monastic institutional use.

Notes on Rarity and Value

• Early Biblical concordances are rarely preserved complete and even more seldom in their original binding.

• This edition is printed within a few decades of Gutenberg's Bible — part of the first wave of large-format ecclesiastical reference printing.

• The Froben press, if confirmed, was at the heart of Humanist and Reformation-era scholarship, publishing works by Erasmus and others.

• Provenance to a named Franciscan house is documented and enhances both scholarly and collectible value.

Summary for Listing

A large and impressive 16th-century Latin Bible concordance, likely printed by Johann Froben of Basel in 1526, preserved in a substantial original blind-stamped leather binding with one original brass clasp surviving. Includes a dated 1692 Latin manuscript inscription documenting provenance to the Franciscan Conventuals of Ghent. Despite moderate signs of age, the book is structurally sound, complete, and retains strong visual and historical appeal. A rare and valuable survivor of early ecclesiastical scholarship.