Very rare late-17th-century Antwerp edition of the New Testament edited by Henricus van den Leemputte (1588-1657) in a magnificent 18th-century mosaic binding. The binding is made by or in the style of the French (Parisian) binders Le Monnier. "The delicate construction, finesse of tooling and delineation, and the fantasy of these bindings render them veritable jewels." (see The History of bookbinding 525-1950 A.D., no. 456).
Van den Leemputte was a highly educated cleric from a noble family in the Southern Netherlands. He held high offices within the diocese (bishopric) of 's Hertogenbosch. Aside from the present version of the New Testament (first published in 1622), he wrote several treatises on the Holy Sacraments (published 1624) and edited two works (one manual for explaining the Holy Scripture and one defence of the Catholic church against the Reformed church).
From the library of Carlo de Poortere (1917-2002), a director of the family tapestry business and a Belgian bibliophile with a large collection of 17th- and 18th-century book bindings and illustrated books from the 16th-20th centuries. It had previous been part of the collection of English Baptist minister and book collector Andrew Gifford (1700-1784). The "of the Museum" below his name in the engraved bookplate seems to refer to his position as assistant keeper of books and manuscript at the British Museum from 1757 until his death. Curiously, he bequeathed his collection of books, manuscripts, pictures, and other curiosities, not to the British Museum, but to the Bristol Baptist College. In the 1970s, the Trustees of this college decided to sell all copies of the Gifford collection to pay for renovations to the chapel.
With the gold-tooled red morocco bookplate of Carlo de Poortere on the verso of the blank fly leaf and a near contemporary engraved paper bookplate of "A: Gifford, D.D. of the Museum", possibly of Andrew Gifford (1700-1784). The binding shows minor signs of wear at the outer corners of the boards and spine, otherwise it is in fine condition. The bottom outer corner of the first blank flyleaf and the title-page have been restored, a slight water stain in the bottom margin of the first half of the work, some occasional slight browning. Quire 2*4 has been mis-bound at the end of the work in quire 3H4, but the collation is complete. Otherwise in very good condition. A very rare late 17th-century edition of the New Testament in an exquisite 18th-century mosaic binding. STCV 12918655 (1 copy); USTC 1535523 (1 copy, same as STCV); WorldCat 66131050 (4 copies, including the STCV copy); cf. The history of bookbinding 525-1950 A.D. An exhibition held at the Baltimore Museum of Art November 12, 1957 to January 12, 1958, no. 456 (plate XC).