Bible in English | A complete copy of the "Great She Bible"

Bible in English

The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New: Newly Translated out of the Originall Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesties Speciall Commandement. Appointed to be read in Churches. London: Robert Barker, 1613-11

Folio (393 x 260 mm). Black letter, text in double columns, 59 lines to the full column, printed within ruled border with enclosed inner and outer margins for side-notes, roman type for chapter summaries, roman and italic for side-notes, general and New Testament titles within woodcut border (McKerrow & Ferguson 231), almanac and calendar in red and black, woodcut historiated and decorated initials, headbands and tailpieces, engraved Speed 1611 map of Canaan and Speed's Genealogies inserted before Genesis; preliminaries to genealogies, general title re-margined, A2-3 corners repaired, marginal dampstaining to C3, open tear at inner margin and markings in pen to head of D2; genealogies, short closed tear to C1 affecting print; Old Testament, stray stain to A1, C1 chipped at upper corner, S2 chipped at lower corner and with internal open tear at margin, two short closed marginal tears to 2C5, stray stain at inner margin to 2E1, marginal dampstaining to 2F6-2G1, 2G5-6, and 2T3, small hole at margins of 2X2-6, large marginal dampstaining to 3B3, 3E1 restored at lower corner with loss to text, tiny closed tear to foot of 3I4, holograph annotation to margin of 3R1, stray stain to head and holograph annotation to margin of 3U1, chip to foot of 3X5, chip to lower corner of 4B3, marginal dampstaining to 4C1-2 and 4D4, stain at head of 4D5-E6, closed and open tears at head of 4E6, smudging to head of 4F6, tiny closed tear at foot of 4G4, marginal dampstaining to 4P3-4, tiny chip to foot of 4S5 and pinhole to 4S6, marginal dampstaining to 4U1-4, 4X1 faded, dampstaining to 5B6-5C6; New Testament, dampstaining to title, pinhole to B2 barely affecting text, restored long closed tear to B3 with some minor loss to text, dampstaining to B6-F1, F2-6 re-margined with minor loss to text at the foot of two leaves, stray stains to H2, at inner margin of I2-K2, and to verso of K1, short closed tear to V2, lower corner of V6 restored, dampstaining and browning to last two quires, margins and corners of 2A3-6 restored. In early paneled brown calf, spine with raised bands in 6 compartments, 2nd compartment with red morocco label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers; rebacked, boards rubbed.

A complete copy of the second folio edition of the King James Bible, known as the "Great She Bible"—named for the more correct reading of "she went into the citie" in Ruth 3:15 (following the Latin Vulgate). The present copy also contains the unfortunate error in Matthew 26:36 where "Judas" appears, rather than "Jesus," to lead the Apostles into the Garden of Gethsamene. In this copy, an early reader has corrected the mistake. Herbert notes, "The general title is usually dated 1613, though the NT title bears the date 1611. Presumably the greater part of the book was printed in 1611, but the publication, for some reason or other, was delayed till 1613." Complete copies of the Great She Bible are highly desirable and uncommon. John Speed's map of Canaan is frequently defective or missing in copies of this edition.

REFERENCE

ESTC S123049, Herbert 319, Pforzheimer 63, STC (2nd ed.) 2224