| Show FOUR CENTURIES OLD A bible was printed rife years before luthers what is probably the oldest copy of the scriptures in the united states is a very curious bible in the possession of rev father A A lambing tho historian of wilkinsburg Wil kinsburg pa it is a folio in size containing about nine hundred pages of heavy parchment sheep and bears a marked resemblance to tho first bibles printed by gutenberg when bo invented printing the bibles printed at first by gutenberg in 1430 and aro described as quarto in size double columns tho initial letters of the chapters being executed with the pen in colors father lambinus lambings Lam bings bible was printed in 1178 1 and is therefore one of the earliest specimens of printing tho letters are in large gothic stylo and the hand illuminated work is simply beau the gilt painting after abo lapse of time is as clean and pretty and bright as though put on only yesterday chemistry today to day is said to possess no materials which will maintain a red color any length of time and here in this bible the flourishes and initial let tors in red bavo withstood abo ravages of time for more than four hundred years and are still brilliant the monks had some secret in the mixture of their paints they became adepts at tho illuminating lumina ting art the test of the book is in the latin vulgate gato except that tho acts of the apostles are put after st pauls epistle to the hebrews there are many contractions in tho printing which are bard to make out oven to latin and biblical students the cover is of maple wood covered on the outside with over which flourishes and fancy stamp work have been embossed the corners of the cover are protected by solid brass castings another of these metal ornaments has been fastened to the middle of the back and tho fragments of brass clasps are still hanging to tho biblo in those days durability was aimed at in binding far more than it is now father lambing says that this biblo Is live years older than martin luther luther was born november 5 1483 and abo book was printed november 1478 he says it is probably ono of tho old books which were chained in the monasteries as |
