old German bible

[bobkim808]

Trying to find information on an old German bible my father had. It has a date of 1855 but i don't know if that is a first printing date. I tried to find something online that looks like the cover but could not find anything. Any information is appreciated. Thank you.

[argon38 · Accepted solution]

This isn't a Bible, it's a Catholic prayer book entitled "Die Gnadenquelle des Christen"  (The Christian's Source of Grace), published in Dülmen, Germany by the firm A. Laumann. There were many editions over many years. For example, here is a first edition from 1855:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=20976935160&clickid=TBl2cjTgCxyORkgwUx0Mo3ERUkiyHf... 

an edition from 1897:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/401929815424 

and a reference to a 16th edition in 1908:

https://www.worldcat.org/title/gnadenquelle-des-christen/oclc/252809626?referer=br&ht=edition 

You would have to upload a photo of the main title page in order to determine which edition you have. The photo you show has the text of the local bishop's approval of the work in 1855, giving permission to publish. But this approbation would have appeared in later editions as well, so it doesn't mean your copy actually dates from 1855.

[bobkim808]

Thank you for the information

[argon38]

Glad to help, but don't you want to you post some more photos of the first few pages? That would let us date your edition more precisely.