[The Bible. Translated according to the Ebrew and Greeke].

Rare early 17th century printing of Robert Barker’s Geneva Bible

London: Robert Barker, 1605.

$5,200.00

In Stock Item Number: RRB-149784

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Rare early 17th century printing of Robert Barker’s Geneva Bible. Small quarto, bound in three quarter calf over marbled boards, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, text in black letter, double column, lacking general title-page, New Testament title-page with woodcut border, Concordances and Psalms bound in at rear [Herbert 280]. Period family ownership inscriptions and manuscript genealogies, intermittent staining, closed tear in P8, chipping to quire Q with loss to Q8, tears with loss of text to 2C2 (Job XIV-XVII), 2T3 (Daniel II-III), hole in side-note of 2R3, a few other marginal chips and tears. In very good condition.

Most notably the printer of the King James Bible, one of the most influential books ever printed in the English language, Robert Barker was a printer to James I of England and the son of Christopher Barker, printer to Queen Elizabeth I. Barker inherited his father's printing house in London in 1599 upon his father's death and printed mostly works of an official nature including books of prayer and scripture. In 1631, Barker collaborated with fellow royal printer Martin Lucas on a word-for-word reprint of the King James Bible which would later become known as The Wicked Bible due to the accidental omittance of the word "not" in the sentence: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." The majority of copies of the Wicked Bible were immediately cancelled and burned; Barker was fined the equivalence of over 33,000 pounds and was deprived of his printer's license.