1932 13th CENTURY BIBLE. Facsimile of the Rockefeller McCormick New Tesatment - Signed Goodspeed.

A superb author association copy of the first full color facsimile imprint of a magnificent 12th-century Byzantine illuminated New Testament, designated Codex 2400. Discovered in an antique shop in Paris, it was purchased by the philanthropist Edith Rockefeller McCormick and entrusted to the University of Chicago’s New Testament department for research. Published in 1932 by the University of Chicago Press, the imprint represented a high-water mark in facsimile reproduction for its time, providing scholars worldwide with full-color reproductions of the manuscript's exquisite miniature paintings and text.

And this a wonderful association copy linking two of the most eminent figures in American textual criticism and Greek paleography. Edgar J. Goodspeed, a giant of the University of Chicago faculty best known for his accessible translation of the New Testament and his vast contributions to biblical scholarship, served as the principal coordinator and editor of the publication project. The recipient, Ernest Cadman Colwell, was Goodspeed's younger colleague and protégé at Chicago who would himself go on to become one of the world's foremost authorities on New Testament manuscripts, the president of the University of Chicago, and the founder of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity.

Goodspeed’s warm dedication describing Colwell as a "skilled master of the craft" is a direct testament to Colwell's crucial contributions to the Rockefeller McCormick project and to the field of paleography as a whole. A presentation copy from Goodspeed to Colwell on this specific work represents a foundational passing of the mantle between two legendary scholars within the famous Chicago School of New Testament studies, directly capturing the intellectual collaboration that defined early 20th-century manuscript scholarship in the United States.

Two further volumes were printed, one being a commentary on the text and another being a facsimile of the miniatures. This the rare loose leaf issue facsimile of the full NT MSs in buckram folder. A real joy to browse. 

Inscribed on the ffep, "To Ernest [Cadman Colwell], skilled master of the craft. From Edgar"

Goodspeed, Edgard J. [Intro] The Rockefeller McCormick New Testament. Volume I. Color Facsimile with Introduction by Edgar J. Goodspeed. Chicago. University of Illinois. 1932. First Edition. 

Very good. Some light rubbing and handling to buckram. Closure does not "bite." Textually pristine. Stain to cloth on rear board.