Note: The Bible has been reserved for a buyer already.
Importance: The Great Bible was first printed in 1539, by the order of Henry VIII. 60% of it was printed by Francis Regnault in France, while the rest was printed by Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch in London. The Great Bible was the first Authorized English Bible printed, and it was called “Great Bible” due to its large size. Every parish was to have a copy.
The 1553 Great Bible is the 9th edition, and was printed in London by Edward Whitchurch, and published by Nicholas Hill and Steven Mierdman. The 9th edition in particular was published between the death of Edward VI (a Protestant) and the reign of Mary I (a Catholic). When Mary I ascended to the throne she made efforts to reestablish Catholicism in England, this lead the authorities to destroy most copies of the 1553 edition.
Binding: Folio (13” x 9” x 3.5”). 8 lb. Late 17th c. full brown calf leather binding with red-edges. Late 18th c. to early 19th c. smooth wove paper endpapers. Worn.
Provenance: •An interesting manuscript can be found on the front pastedown. Possibly either offset or there indeed is writing but was covered by another pastedown.
•From the library collection of Mulberry House, a former rectory of High Ongar church.
•There are a few early names written in the margins.
Collation & Notes: Part 1 Pentateuch: OT: [89] ff.; [178] pp.; π2 ([π1r] GTP & [π2r] TOC); A-L8 (A-C1). Part 2 Joshua-Job: [134] ff.; [268] pp.; Aa-Qq8, Rr6r. Part 3 Psalter-Malachi: [150] ff.; [300] pp.; A-S8, T6v. Part 4 Hagiographa: APOC.: [86] ff.; [172] pp.; A-K8, L6r. Part 5 New Testament: NT: [116] ff.; [232] pp.; ππ2 ([ππ1r] TP & [ππ2] TABLE), A-N8, O-P6v (O6, P1-6). Total [575] ff. & [1,150] pp.
Complete, but lacks 26 ff. (OT: π1-2, A-C1 & NT: O6, P1-6). Vertical chain lines. Late 18th c. to early 19th c. smooth wove paper fly-leaf at rear. D&M 2091. H102. USTC 20. USTC 504792. STC 2091. ESTC S107034. According to a MS. note in the BM copy, Queen Mary is said to have destroyed the greater part of this impression.
Condition: ff. (12.5625” x 8.4375”). Scattered light damp staining & text browned in places. Part 1: C2 minor paper loss, C2-I1 tiny worm hole (very slightly affecting a headline’s letter on 2 ff.), D1 3.625”/D5 1.5” tear through text, K4 .75” margin tear. Part 2: K4 .75” margin tear. Aa4 1.25” headline tear, Cc1 2” in text slit, Cc7 1” margin tear, Ff3 2.25” inner margin head tear, Ff5 .625” head tear, Hh8 4.5” in text slit, Ii2 .375” margin hole, Rr6 portion of text backed with some paper loss to margin. Part 3: E1 .625” margin tear, E2 .75” head tear, E3/G8 .375” in text hole, F8 tail corner slight paper loss, L1 1.25” in text slit, S4 minor paper loss to margin with short tear.l, T6 in text small hole & backed with missing text in manuscript. Part 4: C1 1.125” margin tear, C8 1.5” margin tear (slightly through text). Part 5: A2-B3 tail inner margin minor worming, B3 4.5” long tail margin paper loss (some words missing), M2 in text small hole, N1-8 margins frayed, O2-5 head slight tear.
