The Bible (Աստուածաշունչ), 1733 - Lot 224

The Bible (Աստուածաշունչ), 1733 Venice, published by Abbé Mékhitar de Sébaste, printed by Antoni Bortoli, 1733. In-4° (24.2 x 14.2 cm); 10, 1280 pages (=1290 pages) double-columned, preface single-columned. Pagination in Armenian letters and Arabic numerals. Frontispiece and 156 woodcut vignettes. The text is adorned with lettering, headbands and endpapers. Bound in period leather with silver plate additions. First Armenian Bible printed in Venice thanks to the efforts of Mekhitar vardapet of Sebaste, founder of the Mekhitarist order. According to the preface, this edition of the Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, was carefully modeled after the Amsterdam edition of 1666. It is printed on high-quality paper, with refined illustrations and elegant typography.