Bible Geneva Breeches 1595 & 1597 Psalter WOODCUTS MAPS

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Offered is a rare and desirable complete example of an Elizabethan Geneva (or âeoeBreechesâe) Bible in English, with woodcut illustrations and four woodcut maps, printed at London in quarto by Christopher Barker in 1595. The Bible is bound with a Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter in rhyming verse with music printed in 1597, the two works bound in 17th century blindstamped (paneled) calf. This copy is in roman type and contains Tomsonâe(tm)s revised New Testament. Along with the woodcuts, the completeness of the Bible makes this a desirable copy. Both the general title and the New Testament title are present, along with the title for the âeoeSecond Part of the Bible.âe The presence of the general title is particularly notable; it is very frequently lacking in Bibles of this vintage. If t was a title for the Apocrypha, it has been excised (the pagination skips from 127 to 129 w the leaf would have been). The only fault in the Bibleâe(tm)s collation is that two leaves from a 16th century black letter Geneva Bible have been substituted for 3G (text complete). Concerning the Geneva Bible itself, first, it was by far the most popular English translation of the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th; it was the translation read by Shakespeare, Donne, Knox, Bunyan and Cromwell. This is also the translation that the Pilgrims brought with them to America. This volume was printed only 20 years after the first edition of 1560, and only four years after the first edition to be printed in England. Second, the Geneva Bible was the product of English Protestant recusants taking refuge in the Republic of Geneva, which was at the time under the spiritual leadership of John Calvin. The appellation âe~Breechesâe(tm) is owed to the translation given at Genesis 3:7, which has Adam and Eve clothe themselves in the following terms: âeoeThen the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches.âe Finally, the Geneva Bible marks the first instance of an English translation of the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew, while the translation of the New Testament is taken largely from the earlier works done by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale. The King James Version is in large part a revision of the Geneva version, and in many cases whole passages and whole pages echo the Geneva version almost exactly. The marginal notes are almost as famous as the translation itself, and provide a clear view of the theological positions of the nascent Puritan movement. The notes for the Old and New Testaments are generally done by Laurence Tomson, as well as Lâe(tm)Oiseleur, and are based on the work of Beza, Bale and Bullinger. The Bible is complete with the qualification noted above. The first and second parts of he Old Testament number 190 and 196 leaves respectively; the New Testament numbers 116. Two tables of concordances appear at the end of Revelations. The Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter is a pleasing 16th century example, and at first glance appears complete, but in fact lacks about 6 leaves, from Psalm 115 to Psalm 137. Three other defects ought to be noted: first, leaf 116 of the New Testament is torn with slight loss of text; second, the final leaf of the concordances is slightly stained and torn, but without loss of text; third, the general title is a little abraded and reinforced at a small portion of the verso of the upper margin. The binding is in very good condition, with wear to the hinges and spine. The leather of the boards is quite fresh; that of the spine somewhat dried and cracked, although the spine remains strong. The original endpapers have been retained, and modern black morocco spine labels (with gilt lettering) have been supplied. The volume measures 21.4 cm by 15.5 cm by 6.5 cm; each page measures 208 mm by 153 mm. In all, this is a very attractive example of a rare 16th century Elizabethan Geneva (or âeoeBreechesâe) Bible in English, printed in... read more

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