Bible and Book of Common Prayer

6B Oxford: University Press, 1894. Pocket Sized Set in Two Volumes.

Notes

The Holy Bible has a long and complex printing history, beginning with early manuscript traditions before the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century. One of the earliest major printed editions was the Gutenberg Bible, produced around 1455, which marked the beginning of large-scale dissemination of the text. Over time, the Bible was translated into vernacular languages, with English versions gaining prominence through editions such as the Tyndale Bible in the sixteenth century and the King James Version of 1611, which became the standard text for English-speaking Protestants. The Book of Common Prayer, first compiled in 1549 under Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, was likewise printed and reissued in numerous editions, with revisions in 1552, 1559, and 1662 helping to establish its enduring form. Together, these works became central to both private devotion and public worship, widely printed and distributed across Britain and its expanding influence

By the Victorian era, advances in printing and binding allowed both the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer to be produced in a wide variety of formats, including finely made pocket-sized editions intended for personal use. These smaller volumes were often bound in leather, sometimes with gilt edges, decorative tooling, and even clasps, combining portability with craftsmanship. Designed to be carried and used regularly, they reflect the period’s emphasis on personal devotion as well as the growing ability of publishers to produce attractive, affordable books for a wide audience. Today, such editions are valued not only for their religious significance but also as examples of nineteenth-century bookmaking and everyday use.

Description

Plum velvet binding with brass edges and single clasp on each volume. Brass addition to upper board of each book. One reading ‘prayer’ and the other ‘Bible.’ All edges gilt. Wearing down of velvet to head and foot of spine on ‘prayer’ book. Bent corners to some twenty or so edges of ‘Bible’ pages. Slightly dusty velvet but very good condition overall.