Historiated Title-Page Of Luther's December Testament
Author: Luther, Martin, 1483-1546
Image Title: Historiated Title-Page Of Luther's December Testament
Description: The December Testament is the second printing of Martin Luther's (1483-1546) German translation of the New Testament with dialectic changes. (The first printing was in September 1522 and is called the "September Testament." This second printing was in December 1522 and is the "December Testament.") This historiated title-page border depicts Peter and Paul with their attributes, a key and a sword respectively and the attributes of the four gospel writers: Matthew (winged-man), Mark (lion), Luke (ox), and John (eagle). This border also includes the printer's device of Adam Petri (1454-1527) at the base with a child riding a lion, and at the head are the arms of the city of Basel with its stylized head of a bishop's crozier and the motto, INCLYTA BASILEA (The renown Basel). The woodcut design is crafted after Hans Holbein the Younger, but cut by Hans Lutzelburger (d.1526). The date 1523 is on the title-page woodcut, but the printer, Adam Petri, finished the book earlier and published the date in the colophon.
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Rights Status: No Copyright - United States
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