The Bible. Translated according to the Ebrew and Greeke, and conferred with the best translations in divers languages. With most profitable annotations upon all the hard places, and other things of great importance, as may appeare in the Epistle to the Reader. And also a most profitable Concordance for the readir finding out of anything in the same contained. Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majestie in 1605-1606.
AN ORIGINAL GENEVA "BREECHES" BIBLE, VERY RARE WITH BOTH OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT TITLE PAGES DATED TO THE YEARS 1606 AND 1605!
-------------------
A very rare original 1605-1606 "Breeches" Geneva Bible, so named for the reading in Genesis 3:7 describing Adam and Eve as having made "breeches" to cover their nakedness instead of "aprons" or "loincloths".
The Great Bible (named for its large page size and first ordered by Henry VIII in 1538) was restored to the churches after Elizabeth I's succession halted persecution of Anglicans and Protestants, but the Geneva Bible, imported from Europe and not printed in England until 1576, quickly surpassed the Great Bible in public favour. The Geneva Bible was the first Bible in English to add numbered verses. It was also one of the first to include extensive commentary notes, which were later deemed "seditious" by King James when he banned the Geneva Bible not long after the publication of the King James Bible in 1611.
King James despised the revolutionary and "seditious" Geneva Bible. He thought the Geneva Bible's study notes on key political texts threatened his authority, so he outlawed it and ordered a new translation of the Bible - the King James (Authorised Version). While the King James Version is an excellent translation, it was edited and authorised by the Government. The Geneva Bible was not. It was truly a Bible by the people and for the people.
The Geneva Bible is unique among all other Bibles. It was the first Bible to use chapters and numbered verses and became the most popular version of its time because of the extensive study notes. These notes were included to explain and interpret the Scriptures for the common people and laid the foundation for a Republican form of government. For nearly half a century these notes helped the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland understand the Bible.
When the Pilgrims arrived in America in 1620, they brought the Geneva Bible with them. You can see why this remarkable version with its profound study notes played a key role in the formation of the American Republic, and its influence on the development of Western thought, politics, government, society generally, and literature (the Geneva Bible is often called 'The Bible of Shakespeare' for example).
Size: 180 x 230 x 80 mm (approx.)
Condition:
Housed in a very good contemporary full leather binding with the spine rebacked preserving earlier boards. Externally very smart and without substantial wear, with both boards securely attached and the joints fine. No shelf lean. Page edges very good. A small chip to rear board else the boards are in excellent condition. Externally in very good condition indeed, significantly better than typically found for similar age Bibles - one which can truly still be read and appreciated. Black letter (gothic script). The full collation is provided below, but the Bible lacks only two leaves, the first two leaves in Genesis (A1+A2) and has both main title pages for the Old and New Testaments. There are some later endpapers but the original endpapers with various family history details are preserved, including the history details of the Topham, Coulson, and Whitehead families dating from 1754 through to 1831 in the Yorkshire area of England. These details can be checked against Ancestry files which reveal the marriage of John Coulson and Mary Topham at Settrington Church, Yorkshire on October 8th 1776, and the subsequent marriage of George Whitehead and Rebekah Coulson at Holbrough Church, Yorkshire on August 12th 1818, among many other details including the various names of children etc. ff.550 torn but fully present without loss, a few small tears/holes at the edges of some leaves occasionally catching some of the margin text, though none of the main text is affected by this. Mildly toned throughout with title pages more heavily toned as typical. Occasional very minor dampstaining but none obscuring the legibility of any text. A few very early ink ownership inscriptions throughout the text block at leaf edges, for example at ff.291 in Jeremiah reading 'John..' (the remainder is illegible due to the handwriting), at the edge of ff.300 recto reading 'William Dodgson, 1688 (?)', and there are several others throughout. It seems likely that this Bible has never left the UK through its over 400 year history. Though mentioned on the main OT title page, this Bible is bound without a concordance.
Collation:
Old Testament: [A3-III2 complete - lacks only A1-A2]
[A3-A8, B1-B8, C1-C8, D1-D8, E1-E8, F1-F8, G1-G8, H1-H8, I1-I8, K1-K8, L1-L8, M1-M8, N1-N8, O1-O8, P1-P8, Q1-Q8, R1-R8, S1-S8, T1-T8, U1-U8, X1-X8, Y1-Y8, Z1-Z8, AA1-AA8, BB1-BB8, CC1-CC8, DD1-DD8, EE1-EE8, FF1-FF8, GG1-GG8, HH1-HH8, II1-II8, KK1-KK8, LL1-LL8, MM1-8, NN1-NN8, OO1-OO8, PP1-PP8, QQ1-QQ8, RR1-RR8, SS1-SS8, TT1-8, UU1-UU8, XX1-XX8, YY1-YY8, ZZ1-ZZ8, AAA1-AAA8, BBB1-BBB8, CCC1-CCC8, DDD1-DDD8, EEE1-EEE8, FFF1-FFF8, GGG1-GGG8, HHH1-HHH8, III1-III2]
New Testament: (complete)
[Title page (A1), A1-A4, KKK1-KKK8, LLL1-LLL8, MMM1-MMM8, NNN1-NNN8, OOO1-OOO8, PPP1-PPP8, QQQ1-QQQ8, RRR1-RRR8, SSS1-SSS8, TTT1-TTT8, UUU1-UUU8, XXX1-XXX8, YYY1-YYY8, ZZZ1-ZZZ10]
