Beautiful Bible Leave from 1690s Bloom Bible

The engraving in my first post was one that was found in a stack of bible leaves. Above is one of these leaves (both sides shown). This double-side leaf  from what is frequently known as "Blome's Bible," after the name of the publisher, Richard Blome. The Old Testament was published in 1690 with several "2nd" editions in 1691 & 1701. The New Testament was actually published in 1688. This leave has verses from the Books of Obadiah & Jonah, specifically the entire Book of Obadiah and Jonah 1:1 to 4:2. These verses contain the story of Jonah swallowed by a giant whale.  

 Click Here to See Other Blome Bible Leaves

My Adventure into History

I am not exactly sure when and where my interest and passion for history began. It certainly was not during my formal education period...as many of my history teachers will attest. More than likely it all started during my years of traveling in Europe as part of my previous career. During those trips I would visit museums and old bookstores. I began to buy old book, antique maps and early engravings. On every trip I tried to buy an earlier and earlier piece of history. After a while I had quite a collection. And, I mean quite a collection...thousands of books, maps, copper-plate engravings and much more. After retirement I decided to turn my hobby gone wild into an enjoyable business. So, I started an Internet business of selling my pieces of history. I called my business HistoryOnPaper and opened my store on Ebay. the rest is...History.  Sorry, I could not resist the pun.

What I hope to do with this blog is to share some of the wonderful pieces of history I have and continue to acquire. I am going to close my first blog entry with a picture of one of my most recent acquisitions.  

This is a 1690s copper-plate engraving by van Hove. It is from a copy of "Blome's Bible." It represents a verse in the book of Jonah, Chapter 3, where the people of Nineveh repent as Jonah preached to them. The print is called a copper engraving because it is printed from a copper printing plate upon which the art picture was engraved.