The Bible:

rare complete with the Book of Common Prayer, Concordances and Psalms

A superb, rare complete example of the Geneva Bible, bound with the Book of Common Prayer, Concordances and Psalms. An excellent example well-preserved in contemporary blind-panelled calf binding.

The Geneva Bible was first published in 1560. The translation was primarily the work of English 'Marian exiles' on the continent, who, having fled England following the accession of Mary I in 1553, sought to create a version of the scriptures that emphasised clarity and promoted accessibility for the learned lay. It was the primary Bible of the evangelical movement and continued to be used by dissenting Protestants — from Shakespeare to Oliver Cromwell — well into the seventeenth century; it was one of the Bibles taken to America by the first pilgrims on the Mayflower.

Notable innovations include the use of verse divisions, which made it easier to locate specific passages, and extensive study notes, commentary, and annotations that reflected the Reformed Calvinist theology of the time. As a result the translation proved unpopular with the Elizabethan regime, which sought a more moderate religious settlement. The Archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker was duly authorised in 1568 to produce a more orthodox translation, the Bishops' Bible, which promoted the Anglican church and would go on to form the basis of the King James Version in 1611. Nevertheless, the Geneva Bible remained popular until at least 1644 when the last known seventeenth-century edition was printed.

Four works in 1 vol.; 4to (23.5 x 18 cm); woodcut title-pages, NT title dated 1613, with apocrypha, Common Prayer with woodcut title and calendar printed in red and black, early MS annotations in pen to margin of Bible 2H3, extensive MS family register to front endpapers, the odd spot and area of toning, final f. with closed tear to margin, internally generally clean and crisp; contemporary blind-panelled calf, later endpapers, spine expertly restored, edges sprinkled red, a little rubbed, very good or better.

ESTC S1399, S93850 & S121126 (our copy a variant with 'Company' not 'Companie' in imprint); Herbert 330 (our copy without Speed's Genealogies and map); DM 256; Griffith 1614(1).