BIBLE IN ENGLISH (TAVERNER’S VERSION) | [The Most Sacred Bible, Whiche is the holy scripture, conteyning the old and new testament, translated into English, and newly recognised with great diligence after most faithful exemplars, by Rychard Taverner. London: by John Byddell for Thomas Barthlett, 1539]

BIBLE IN ENGLISH (TAVERNER’S VERSION)

[The Most Sacred Bible, Whiche is the holy scripture, conteyning the old and new testament, translated into English, and newly recognised with great diligence after most faithful exemplars, by Rychard Taverner. London: by John Byddell for Thomas Barthlett, 1539]

Folio (10 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.; 267 x 190 mm). Black letter, text in two columns, separate dated title-page for New Testament, Apocrypha bound at end; lacking 31 of 512 leaves: lacks in OT all 19 leaves prior to A4, including general title, preliminaries, and first 3 leaves of Genesis (these 3 leaves supplied from a later edition), Gg3, Oo3–4, AA1, LL3–4, NN1, NN8; lacks in NT R5–8; numerous shoulder-notes and occasional headlines shaved or cropped, some tears, repairs (some with loss), and staining throughout. Nineteenth-century calf; rebacked preserving original spine, corners repaired, worn. Black cloth folding-case. Sold with all faults, not subject to return. 

First edition of Taverner's Bible, a revision of Matthew's Bible of 1537. The author, Richard Taverner, aimed at "compression and vividness" in this revision, and did not hesitate to coin new words. "Many marginal notes are omitted, and some new comments added ... he introduced parable, passover and a few other terms still in use" (Herbert) such as "spokesman" for "advocate" in Greek, and "commytteth aduoutry" for "breaking wedlocke."

REFERENCES

STC 2067; ESTC S106968; Herbert 45; Formatting the Word of God 8.5

PROVENANCE

Several early signatures and annotations including "Mary Gray 15 1500" (G3r); "A Mary" (N1r); "Jonas Gray his Booke 1656" and "Jonas Hawes is my name …" (both on verso of NT title) — This and the following 21 lots of Bibles are part of a collection formed by Arthur Burrell (1859–1946), principal of the Borough Road College, London 1900–1913