The Holy Bible, Containing The Old Testament and The New: Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues, and With the former Translations diligently Compared and Revised. By His Majesties Special Command. Appointed to be Read in Churches. London: Thomas Newcomb and Henry Hills, 1712. [Together with] The Book of Common Prayer with the Psalms of David. London: John Baskett, 1713. [Together with] The Whole Book of Psalms. London: T.I., 1702.
AN EXCELLENT EARLY COPY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE FROM 1712 WITH JOHN BASKETT'S IMPORTANT 1713 PRINTING OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER!
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John Baskett is certainly a controversial name in the world of printing of theological material. His name is the origin of the term "basket case", originally a "Baskett-case" due to the amount of errors which came through his printings of the Bible and BCP. His most infamous is called the "Vinegar Bible", so named due to its error in Luke 20 of the Parable of the Vineyard as the Parable of the Vinegar, among hundreds of other errors. This Vinegar Bible was however a magnificent edition, one which many describe as the most magnificent Bible ever produced in England. We sold a copy of it at the beginning of 2023 and agree that it is indeed a magnificent (and very large) edition.
This Bible of course precedes the 1716-1717 Vinegar Bible, as does the Book of Common Prayer printed in this book in 1713 which is one of the earliest editions of any work which John Baskett published. The King James Bible printed in this edition is one of the very last not published by John Baskett in England prior to him gaining exclusive rights in Bible publishing through the early to mid 18th century. It is therefore one of the final King James Bibles to be published in its original manner with the recognisable typography as with the 1611 original. This is therefore a historically significant printing of both the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, and we find both here bound together into a lovely quarto volume as well as an earlier copy of the Book of Psalms printed in 1702.
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Provenance:
Ink ownership inscription to front pastedown of Mary Barton dated December 9th 1807.
Small ownership label of Robert Baker to front pastedown.
Ink ownership inscription of Mary Lucy Baker dated February 27th 1826 to front pastedown.
Gift inscription reading "Elizabeth Lowe, the gift of Miss Baker, 1829", presumably the gift of the prior owner Mary Lucy Baker who signed the book just three years prior.
Inscription to final pastedown reading "To the memory of Tho. Lowe, who died December 22nd 1839 aged 87 years."
Inscription to the final pastedown reading "to the Memory of Ann Lowe who died 31st of January 1855 aged 90 years 10 months."
Inscription to final pastedown reading "to the memory of Elizabeth Dowley (?) who died 18th of May 1868 aged 78 years 11 months."
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Size: 199 x 254 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[A1, a1-i8, A2-3B2, a1-l8, A1-P4, [a1-c4], A1-G4]
Near contemporary full calf binding with raised bands delineating compartments to the spine lined in gilt. The joints at some time were seemingly split and the boards detached but they have since been sewn back in a manner which we have not seen before, but it does have a certain charm! Binding rubbed with some losses at extremities, lacking tooled label to spine. Shelf and edge wear with losses at corners. Boards rubbed and scuffed. A few ownership inscriptions to the front and rear pastedowns and an ownership label to the front as discussed in the provenance section, above. The Old and New Testaments collate as complete as does the index and Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Psalms at the rear is incomplete and ends at G4, that leaf is fragmented around the edges. Generally clean throughout the text blocks, mildly toned as typical with the occasional small stain but far better than typical examples.
[Herbert 917]
