B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 5 "OF CARDINAL IMPORTANCE FOR ITS INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND THOUGHT": THE GENEVA BIBLE PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND, 1576 5. BIBLE. The Bible. That is, the Holy Scriptures Conteined in the Olde and Newe Testament. London: Christopher Barkar [sic], 1576. Thick folio (8 by 11 inches), near-contemporary full black morocco expertly rebacked with original spine neatly laid down, gilt centerpieces to covers, raised bands, marbled pastedown endpapers, all edges gilt; pp. [6], 366, 84, [2], 115, [11]; [7], 35, 35-92, [2]. $38,000 Handsome 1576 folio edition of the important and influential Geneva Bible (or "Breeches" Bible, for its unique rendering of Genesis 3:7), the important translation that shaped Protestant piety for some five decades—only the second folio and second complete edition of the Geneva Bible published in England, published the same year as the first. With double-page woodcut plan of the temple at Jerusalem, double-page woodcut map of the Holy Land, and 31 intext woodcut illustrations, rubricated in red throughout. A magnificently bound complete copy in nicely refurbished near-contemporary morocco-gilt. First published in 1560, the Geneva Bible—often called the "Breeches Bible" for its unique rendering of Genesis 3:7—was "more scholarly than any previous translation… The Geneva Version included prefaces, maps and tables; and for the first time in an English Bible the verses were divided and numbered… It has been more properly called the Elizabethan family Bible, since it was this version which was the first to enter the English home" (PMM 83). "It became the textus receptus for the Puritan element in England. It was read by Shakespeare, Bunyan and the soldiers of the Civil War, and is thus of cardinal importance for its influence on the English language, literature and thought" (Great Books and Book Collectors, 105-8). "The publication of the Geneva Bible in 1560 was a major event in the history of English Bibles. Produced by some of the best scholars of the day, it strongly influenced the King James version which appeared half a century later. Its influence on Shakespeare and his contemporaries is well known; whenever Shakespeare's biblical references can be traced to any one version, it is most often to the Geneva. Even the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible adopted numerous Geneva readings… Although it is true that the Geneva aroused a great deal of interest when it first appeared, it actually got off to a slow start. The Geneva Bible did not become the most widely-circulated version till after 1576, when for the first time it was allowed to be published in England." (Naseeb Shaheen, "Misconceptions About the Geneva Bible," in Studies in Bibliography Vol. 37, (1984), 156-58; emphasis ours). Extensive 17th-century ink genealogical annotations on front flyleaf. Title page rehinged. Small paper repair to outer margin of 5O1, with a very few letters supplied in neat pen facsimile; a few other small tears, not touching letterpress. Only occasional spotting or foxing; text generally quite clean. A beautiful and very early folio Geneva Bible in nicely refurbished early morocco-gilt, in excellent condition and most desirable.
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