1612 First Quarto King James New Testament - Scarce

The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Newly translated out of the originall Greeke: and with the former Translations diligently compared and revised.

Summary

A scarce copy of the first separately issued quarto New Testament of the King James Version. A very early printing closely conforming to the first edition He Bible.

Description

Title page (1612) with woodcut border featuring the four gospel symbols and the figures of fides and humilitas with the royal arms above. Text in single column black letter with headings and marginal references in Roman type. Concludes with dated colophon (1612). First chapter floriated initials, head- and tailpieces.   

Collation

A-Z^8 (-A4, A5), Aa-Vv^8. Lacks two leaves (Matthew 2:17-4).

Binding

Nineteenth century blind paneled brown calf. Rebacked with old brown morocco spine. Gray plain endpapers. All edges red. Rubbed with bumped corners.

Condition

Text is generally clean with sporadic marginal spotting; final leaf lightly soiled; title page with short marginal tear, mounted on a stub with small loss to inner margin; four leaves with lower marginal loss, not impacting text; headlines cropped on a handful of leaves; overall a bright copy.

Provenance

“M W Stoddard (?) August 1870” to front endpaper; “Thoma(s) Bonn was born in the year 1694” to verso of title page.

Note

Arguably the most important book ever published in English and an opportunity to own a first edition at the fraction of the price of a complete He Bible. Macaulay said of it, “If everything else in our language should perish, [the King James Bible] would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power” (PMM 114). The quarto New Testament is more scarce than its complete quarto Bible counterpart (H313) and slightly more common than the very scarce octavo and 12mo editions (H310 and H315).

References

Herbert 318; ESTC 2910; USTC 3004925 with only 18 copies in holdings.