Bibel, Das ist, alle Bücher Alts und News Testaments, 1550

Printed in Cologne in 1550, this is an example of a rare kind of German bible—a Catholic one. During the Counter-Reformation, this bible was favoured by German Protestants, for the translation’s close adherence to the original text. They did not then have access to Lutheran bibles.

The book is opened to Genesis, which includes elaborate Gothic initial letters and a woodcut, depicting Eve’s birth from Adam’s rib.