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Geneva "Breeches" Bible 1608
Geneva "Breeches" Bible 1608
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The Old Testament and The New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ, Translated out of Greeke by Theod. Beza: With Briefe Summaries and expositions upon the hard places by the said Author, Ioac. Carner. and P. Loseler. Villerius. Englished by L. Tomson. Together with the Annotations of Fr. Iunius upon the Revelation of S. John. Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majestie. 1608. Bound with an incomplete Book of Common Prayer and Book of Psalms at the front of similar publication date.
AN ORIGINAL GENEVA "BREECHES" BIBLE DATED TO THE YEAR 1608. AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE INCLUDING TWO MAPS OF THE HOLY LAND AND SEVERAL OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS, WITH MUCH OF ITS PROVENANCE DETERMINED.
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A very rare original 1608 "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". A very old English Bible, preceding even the publication of the King James Version.
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).
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Provenance:
Mary Roberts September 1935
Unidentified, 1929
Lord Francis Churchill (?) c. 1800
Mary Reiniger (?) c. 1750
John Turpin, unknown date, probably after 1709
William Turpin 1709
Mary Pettit (?) 1686
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Size: 170 x 215 x 60 mm (approx.)
Condition:
Lacks Old Testament main title page (as common) else collates as complete through the main text of the O.T. and N.T.
Externally very smart indeed and certainly remains a very useable/readable Bible despite over 400 years of its history. Spine expertly rebacked preserving older leather. Some rubbing and a little dry. Cambridge style panelled boards with some scratches and slight loss but generally remain very nice. Corners repaired with slight loss but certainly remain presentable. The book is without any shelf lean. Page edges very good, uniform and without staining. Contemporary endpapers without any bookplates or ownership inscriptions, though with a good few ownership inscriptions throughout the text block through this Bible's history, described above in the provenance section. Though worth mentioning is the interesting marginal writing on leaf L1 which reads "stock market crash October 1929 (worst in History)", and another interesting one reads "William Turpin, 1709" (perhaps a relative of Dick Turpin, the highwayman?). Bound with an incomplete Book of Common Prayer at the front, which is largely complete but lacks a few leaves, and also a Book of Psalms, both undated but circa the same publication time as the Bible. Lacks Old Testament main title page as common, but retains the first two preliminary leaves (To the Christian Reader and the general contents page of the Books of the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament). O.T. Text begins on A1 (Genesis 1) and continues uninterrupted through to the end of the Old Testament, including the Second Part title page and Apocrypha title page. 2B4 torn with loss to just over half of the leaf, therefore lacking Psalms 56:9 through to 62:9, with some in that gap remaining. New Testament title page present and dated to 1608, collated as complete with the map of the Holy Land to the verso of Matthew 1. Also bound with "A briefe Table of the interpretation of the proper names which are chiefly found in the Old Testament, wherein the first number of signifieth the Chapter, the second the verse", which is also collated as complete and dated 1608. Text block generally very clean, mildly toned with some extremely minor occasional staining. Some expert repairs to the first few leaves with minor loss. Internally significantly better than typically found, and externally so too.
A really fantastic Geneva Bible with some beautiful illustrations throughout.
