SCHEUCHZER, JOHANN JAKOB.
Kupfer-Bibel in welcher die Physica sacra oder geheiligte Natur-Wissenschaft derer in heil. 4 vols.
Augsburg & Ulm, Christian Ulrich Wagner, 1731 - 1735.
Folio (390 x 255 mm). Uniformly bound in four contemporary full calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spine. All edges gilt. Bindings defective, spines missing or partly detached and boards with scratches. Internally with various defects (see below) but internally overall nice and clean. With 706 engraved plates out of 762.
Vol. 1: Spine missing, boards partly detached. Stamp with crown to half-title. 10-line note in contemporary hand to title-page (Stating it was given by Gottlieb Heinrich Kannegiesser to Carl Friedrich Cramer, professor i Kiel). Leaf A and A2 with tear. Internally with occassional light marginal miscoluring but generally nice and clean. Half-title, Title-page, (52), 276 pp. + Portrait, frontispiece and 164 (of 177) engraved plates.
Vol. 2: Extremities with wear, boards with numerous scratches. Leather on lower compartment detached and partly missing. Head of spine chipped. Small crowned stamp to lower margin of title-page. First 5 ff. with tear to lower margin. Plate CCXL with tear. First leaves slightly soiled and occassional marginal brownspotting throughout, but generally internally nice and clean. (8), 277-672 pp. + 178 (of 189) engraved plates.
Vol. 3: Spine partly missing, hinges loose. Most of title-page missing. Last 10 ff. missing upper half of leaves torn off. Light marginal miscolouring throughout, but otherwise internally nice and clean. (6 - not counting the partly missing title-page), 738 pp. + 200 (of 210) engraved plates.
Vol. 4: Small stamp to lower margin of title-page. First 5 ff. chipped at lower outer margin, but a bit off loss to the portrait. A few leaves evenly browned and a few leaves with tears. Last leaves soiled. Occassional light marginal brownspotting but internally generally nice and clean. (8), 739-1426, (78) pp. + portrait and 164 (of 173) engraved plates.
First appearance of Scheuchzer’s monumental of lavishly illustrated work attempting to marry the scriptures with the sciences, including paleontology, zoology, biology, astronomy and geology. Scheuchzer's is here attempting a scientific explanation of biblical history and discusses events such as the creation, flood and various miracles in terms of physics, medicine and natural history. Further more it also contains a taxonomy of all the plants and animals mentioned in the Bible. Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672 – 1733), was a Swiss naturalist and geologist. Scheuchzer extensively studied and mapped the geological layers of Switzerland, collecting numerous fossils of shells, fish, and plants. As a diluvialist, he believed that the rock strata and fossils were remnants of Noah's Great Flood. Notably, Scheuchzer identified what he thought were human remains from the Flood, which he named “Homo diluvii testis” or the "human witness of the Flood". “Scheuchzer, however took a giant step beyond his contemporaries. If one can learn about God and the world by studying the Bible and by studying nature, why not combine the two and publish a Bible with a running commentary on natural history, so that each discipline can mutually shed light on the other. The outcome was Scheuchzer's massive Physica Sacra, a four-volume set of thick folios that is often referred to as the "Copper Bible” (Bibel kupfer), because of its abundant copper-plate engravings. The work starts with Genesis 1:1 and proceeds via 760 engravings to illuminate 760 Biblical verses with the most recent information gathered by natural philosophers and natural historians. Nissen ZBI 3659
“In Scheuchzer’s gigantic work, Physica Sacra, the Baroque attains, philosophically as well as artistically, its high point and its conclusion. It is the last of those elegant works which do not really contain illustrations to a text but which are, in effect, composed of splendid plates with a text to accompany them. The best engravers of the time took part ... and made the whole splendor of Baroque chalcography appear once more” (Faber du Faur).
The attraction of the Copper Bible format for Scheuchzer is that it gave him a framework within which to place a wealth of scientific knowledge that otherwise would be very difficult to structure. It was an encyclopedia of nature, organized by God and annotated by Scheuchzer. No wonder it was so popular, with editions in Latin, French, and German. It was, almost, the perfect book.” (Dr. William B. Ashworth, Linda Hall Library, Scientist of the Day – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer)
A Latin edition was published simultaneously.
(Brunet V, 198 - The Latin edition).
Order-nr.: 61289
DKK 30.000,00