1586 complete Geneva 'Breeches' - Black Letter Font - Bible with Concordances and Apocrypha - Antique Family Bibles and Early English Bibles

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    1586 complete Geneva 'Breeches' - Black Letter Font - Bible with Concordances and Apocrypha
Size: quarto 9" x 7" x 3.5" thick
 Publisher: Christopher Barker, London
VERY GOOD CONDITION

Price: $3,950.00

'The Bible - Translated according to the Ebrew and Greeke [...] [Bound With] Two Right Profitable and fruitfull Concordances ... 1586'
EXQUISITE GENUINE 430+ YEAR OLD GENEVA "BREECHES" BIBLE IMPRINTED AT LONDON BY  CHRISTOPHER BARKER PRINTER TO THE QUEENS  MAIEFTIE 1586 - QUARTO EDITION MEASURES 9" x 7" x 3.5" thick overall.
In this Bible both fine woodcut title-pages are present - the general one and the NT title-page (also dated 1586).
This 1586 edition is one of the so-called "BREECHES BIBLES" (first of which appeared in 1579), so called due to a peculiar rendering of Genesis III:7, which here reads: "...and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed figge tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches." (In the 1611 KJV "breeches" was changed to "aprons".)
This COMPLETE 1586 Bible is comprising both Old Testament and New Testament, as well as he Apocrypha (included in this edition between the Prophets and the New Testament). In addition, the Bible is bound with (as issued, according to ESTC) a COMPLETE copy of "Two Right Profitable and Fruitfull Concordances," compiled by Robert F. Herrey,  with his Preface to the Christian Reader, dated 1578, and comprising two extensive Concordances: The first Alphabet of directions to common places, conteyning all the Hebrewe, Caldean, Greeke, Latin, or other strange names..., and The second Alphabet of directions to common places, contayning all the English words …".
Thick Quarto, Leaves measure about 21 cm x 15 cm; bound in contemporary (late 16th-century) full brown calf (clasps gone, but retaining original brass clasps); rebacked in matching modern leather: spine with raised bands and modern printed paper label.
Foliation: Bible: [2], 434, [4], 441-554 leaves [forming 1108 pages]; signatures: π2 A-Hhh8 Iii2 *4 Kkk-Yyy8 Zzz10. Concordances : [82] leaves [forming 164 pages]; signatures: A8-K8 L2.
 
Bible with TWO WOODCUT TITLE-PAGES (General and NT), numerous woodcut initials, several woodcut head- and tail-pieces; Concordances with woodcut vignette on title-page. Two large woodcut printer’s devices: at the end of Prophets (Pp6v) and on final page of Concordances (L2v).
Bible text printed in Black Letter, with marginal notes printed in small roman type. Concordances printed in small black letter, italic and roman.
Bible and 1st Concordance printed in double columns; 2nd Concordance printed in triple columns. 
Preliminaries to the Bible contain "Of the incomparable Treasure of the Holy Scriptures...", a preface "To the Christian Reader" and "Howe to take profite in reading of the holy Scriptures."  Preliminaries to the New Testament contain "The summe of the whole Scripture...", "Certaine questions and answeres touching the doctrine of Predestination", and "The names and order of al the bookes of the Olde and Newe Testament."
Preliminaries to the Concordances contain "The Preface to the Christian Reader...".
Provenance:
Contemporary ownership signatures of George Carlill at bottom of NT title-page (in Latin, stating that this book was a gift from his father, and dated 1596), and of Thomas Carlill (perhaps his father?) on final page of the Concordances. Another early (late 16th- or early 17th-century) signature of Thomas Atchard on blank verso of the final leaf of the OT. 
A 17th century (?) ownership signature of Robert Cook to front pastedown. Several other ownership inscriptions (mostly late, ranging from 17th to early 19th-century), including family records (births of children, etc.) of Atchard family on blank verso of the Concordances title-page. An 18th century (?) signature of Elizabeth Walker to blank verso of the final leaf of the OT and to a couple of margins of  text-pages.
Condition:
Absolutely complete and, generally, rather well-preserved for a 16th-century English Bible. Rebacked retaining original calf boards, which show wear and some discrete repairs to corners (which are bumped and somewhat rounded); clasps gone but brass catches retained. Retaining original pastedowns, but with somewhat later free endpapers. Occasional moderate soiling, mainly marginal; a few harmless stains or minor ink-smudges. A short vertical tear or narrow stab-hole (0.5 to 2 cm long and just 1-2 mm wide) to leaves 412-456 affecting some letters. Margins cropped somewhat close (as usual) occasionally affecting a few running heads or foliation numbers and (rather seldom) some of the marginal notes, but Bible text intact, except for two leaves (Ppp4,5) where top margin cropped unevenly cutting into a few words of the top line. Quires B, D and Cc with fore-edge worn somewhat more significantly with fraying, short tears and creasing, causing partial loss of marginal notes (but not the biblical text). A few other minor marginal tears. Contemporary manuscript ownership note (dated 1596) at bottom of NT title-page, and of another early possession note to final page of the Concordances, as well as other manuscript notes, signatures and pen-trials on blank verso of the final leaf of the OT, on blank verso of the Concordances title-page, and on a few margins. In all, a solid, fairly clean and perfectly complete example of this rare Elizabethan Bible with lots of character!
A true 1586 Geneva Bible!
 
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