THE WORLD OF BIBLE LEAF COLLECTING
Leaf collecting has a long history of bibliophiles searching for an illusive tome and when it could not be found a single leaf would then do to represent that missing piece of history in order to make one’s collection more complete. Francis Fry, Otto Ege and Gabriel Wells are only a few of the notables who made it possible for collectors to acquire those missing pieces of history that give much enjoyment and satisfaction to the world of book collecting. Even today their long ago forgotten efforts of supplying single leaves to the antiquarian book trade and art market are bearing fruit. For instance had it not been for Gabriel Wells collectors would have never had the thrill of owning a piece of the very first book printed with moveable typeface. Because in 1921, after Wells acquired a fragmented copy of the famous 1455 Gutenberg Bible, he broke it and distributed single leaves and single books for hundreds of collectors to personally own and enjoy. With only 48 known copies of the 1455 Gutenberg Bible and all of them in institutions and with the last copy that came to market in 1988 fetching over $5,000,000.00 it would be virtually impossible for anyone to be able to add that missing piece to their Bible or book collection but for Gabriel Wells.*
Our mission at Biblical Archives is your opportunity to collect, study and share the Word of God. Imagine owning an origial leaf (2 pages) from the first edition of the 1611 King James' Bible or even collectiong an entire set of leaves from all the early English translations of the Bible including one from a Tyndale New Testament. Our archive is one of the richest private resources of original ancient biblical materials in the world. For 40 years, since 1977, we have been assisting connoisseurs in growing their collections of books and Bibles. Now you too can collect, study and share the Word of God with others.
A single original 350 plus year old KJV Bible leaf of our choice can cost as little as $25.00 including 1) a fine art reproduction of the title page 2) a Certificate of Authenticity with 3) free postage and handling.
NOTE: The above illustrations are of Gabriel Wells' Noble Fragment, 1921 [Isaiah 8-10] with accompanying original correspondence between Wells, a book seller and the first purchaser.
THE WORLD OF BIBLE LEAF COLLECTING
Choice leaves, finer than gold, from the Word of God. Taste and see!
They are sweeter than honey!! Psalm 19
Because it was another age and another place we have forgotten the sacrifices made. We no longer know how to count the cost. The ease with which we have access to a Bible and the relatively inexpensive price it costs make most oblivious to the real value of the Word of God. The Bible has become so common place that the price paid by others in prisons of torture and on stakes of fire has been wiped from our collective memory. Today we sit in heated and air-conditioned buildings on comfortable padded seats reading and studying God's Holy Word in a language we can easily understand all because someone else paid the price for our translation of the Bible. So what is the actual value of your Bible? Well, it cannot be calculated in monetary terms but in the awful pain, suffering and blood of the martyrs.
The stories of the martyrs are all true. The persons and places are all real. The documents on offer from the Biblical Archives are actual genuine testimonies to courage and commitment of a generation tried and tested for their faith. Their anguish, heartbreak and sorrow are undeniable. And time cannot errase the reality of these events nor can the lack of interest on the part of twenty-first century Christianity make them of no consequence.
When Joshua [4:5-7] led the children of Israel into the Land of Promise he commanded memorial stones be erected so that their children would someday be provoked to ask the question “what mean ye by these stones?" Giving the parents the profound privilege to share God's saving and sustaining grace during forty years wandering in the wilderness. It was a reminder of God’s continuing tender care for His children. Our prayer is that these ancient memorials of God’s Word upon the walls of your homes, businesses and places of worship might provoke your children and friends to ask “where did we get our Bible from?”
In the same way that Moses [Deut. 11:18-21] commanded the Law to be placed on the door posts of every home, so we too, encourage believers to place upon the walls of their homes, businesses and churches the venerated Word of God, select leaves from ancient Bibles - as the Psalmist sang they are "...finer than gold and sweeter than honey." Provoke your family and friends to remember and appreciate God’s inspired, infallible, immutable and most Holy Word by displaying a memorial leaf to God's amazing grace. It is Our Mission at Biblical Heritage Collection Archives to make available to every Christian home and church a reminder of God's supernatural care and preservation of His Holy Word.
But there is more! Biblical Archives not only wants you to display these heirlooms of history we also want you to study them. Thats right!!! Our mission is more about scholarship than it is about display. That is why we have carefully and prayerfully made it possible for Bible believers to collect the SAME TEXT from hundreds of early manuscripts and printed Bibles in many languages so that critical textual word for word comparisons can be made. Learn more!
But wait!!! There is still more!!! As magnificent as display might be and beneficial as scholarship is they are none the less secondary to the very reason why God speaks to mankind through His Word. See our mission is more about evangelism than anything else. If you are not willing and eager to use these historic documents as a means to share the saving grace of Jesus Christ then there really is no purpose in display or scholarship. Maybe you should collect coins or rocks or stamps and let others take advantage of this unusual way of declaring the good news, Jesus saves! Learn more!