Johann Arndt | The largest book printed on Franklin's press, a German-language devotional with engraved emblems

Johann Arndt

Des hocherleuchteten Theologi, Herrn Johann Arndts, Weiland General-Superintendenten des Fürstenthums Lüneburg, &c. sämtliche sechs geistreiche Bücher vom wahren Christenthum, das ist: von heilsamer Busse, hertzlicher Reue und Leid über die Sünde, wahrem Glauben, auch heiligem Leben und Wandel der rechten wahren Christen. Philadelphia: Gedruckt und verlegt bey Benjamin Fräncklin und Johann Böhm, 1751

Thick 8vo (182 x 118 mm). Six parts bound as one, printed in Fraktur types, with woodcut and typographic ornaments in the text, and with 64 engraved plates, including two frontispieces, the portrait of Arndt and David and Goliath, the plates at the beginning of each of the six parts, and the 56 emblems; toning, dampstaining, and occasional spotting, textblock trimmed close, touching a scant few headlines and one platemark, tiny losses and wear at the edges and short tears at the head of the frontispieces, tear to leaf 2P2 affecting the printed marginalia, leaves 3X3-6 sprung at the top of the gutter but holding, a tiny tear at the edge of leaf 4U2. Contemporary mottled sheep, blind-ruled, spine with raised bands in six compartments; light rubbing and a few small spots of wear mostly to extremities, superficial craquelure in the spine, joints expertly restored, hinges cracked but the sewing is sound. Half red morocco slipcase, chemise.

"One of the great publishing feats of the colonial American German press, and a monument to the short-lived partnership of Franklin and Johann Böhm" (Miller).

"The largest book printed in Philadelphia up to this time, and one of the rarest of Franklin Imprints" (Evans).

This emblematic devotional text by Johann Arndt was first printed in Frankfurt between 1605 and 1609, and became very popular among German separatist Pietists. The engraved emblems were added by the end of the seventeenth century. Franklin and Böhm's edition is based on the text of the 1727 reprint of the 1696 Leipzig edition, which included additional emblems and explanatory text.

Franklin would occasionally employ or partner with German-speaking printers. "Johann Böhm (d. July 1751) printed at least eight pieces with Franklin's German types from 1749 to 1751, using Franklin's name as co-printer" (Lemay, Life II, p. 398). They decided to publish this edition by subscription, priced at 12 shillings, in an edition of 500 copies bound in sheep, as stated in an advertisement that appeared in Saur's German-language newspaper, Pensylvanische Berichte, on 16 May 1749. In the end, they sold 511 subscriptions, mostly to German Reformed and Lutheran congregations throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

The engraved plates following the frontispieces were likely imported from Germany. "Edge marks suggest that the emblems were arranged in blocks of fours on the copper plates; they and the accompanying letterpress were separately machined and carry their own set of signatures: A-G⁸, a practice common in the German printing of large illustrated books, but rare in English colonial publishing" (Miller).

Though a few copies of this work have appeared at auction in the past 25 years, this is an exceptional example — it is complete with all the called-for engravings, and is in a contemporary sheep binding, as Franklin and Böhm intended.

REFERENCES

Miller 520; ESTC W18571; Evans 6630; Hildeburn 1204

PROVENANCE

Burton William Pearl (bookplate)