Holy Bible 1657

6B Holy Bible bound with The Whole Book of Psalms. Cambridge: John Field, 1657.

Notes

The history of the Bible is a long story of composition, translation, and dissemination, beginning with texts written over centuries in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and preserved through careful manuscript copying in Jewish and early Christian communities. As Christianity spread across Europe, translations into vernacular languages became central to worship, teaching, and personal devotion, culminating in major printings after the invention of the movable-type press in the 15th century. One of the most influential English translations is the King James Version (KJV), first published in 1611 under the sponsorship of King James I of England. It was intended to unify the English Church and replace earlier versions like the Geneva and Bishops’ Bibles. The KJV is celebrated for its majestic language, literary quality, and enduring influence on English-speaking Christianity and literature.

The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 poetic prayers and hymns found in the Old Testament, traditionally attributed in part to King David and long used in Jewish and Christian worship. Covering a wide range of human experience—praise, lament, thanksgiving, repentance, and hope—the Psalms have been central to both personal devotion and communal liturgy for thousands of years. Their poetic language, emotional depth, and adaptability to music have made them some of the most frequently read, memorized, and sung passages of the Bible.

John Tillotson (1630–1694) was a prominent English clergyman who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1691, known for his moderate, rational approach to theology and his emphasis on practical morality over doctrinal controversy. Born in Yorkshire, he was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and rose through the Church of England during a period of intense political and religious upheaval, including the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution. Tillotson was admired for his sermons, writings, and conciliatory style, which sought to bridge divides between Anglicans, Dissenters, and Catholics, earning him wide respect both in England and abroad. He is the one who gifted this bible to George Chadwicke who signed an early fly leaf in Latin.

Description

Bound in black Morocco with gilt paneled boards decorated in blind stamping. Spine with six raised bands and decorated compartments. Marbled endpapers. Text ruled in red. Gauffred edges. Some rubbing and wear to extremities. Joints and boards slightly rubbed and faded. Inscription on a blank preliminary leaf. Housed in clamshell box. Very good condition with ecclesiastical provenance.