Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture in the Library of the British and Foreign Bible Society: English

The seconde boke of the Machabees. Vnto these also belongeth Baruc, whom we have set amōge the prophetes next vnto Jeremy, because he was his scrybe, and in his tyme (within border), on verso a short preface: The transslatoure vnto the reader, and the contents of Esdras; the text, ff. ij to lxxxi (really 83, O 5) b, 1 f. blank; (6) the New Testament, with title: The new testament. The gospell of S. Mathew.... The Reuelacion of S. Jhon (within border), on verso the contents of Matthew; the text, ff. ij to cxiij (TT 5) b; at the end of the text is A faute escaped in pryntinge the new Testament, below which is the colophon: Prynted in the yeare of oure Lorde M. D. XXXV. and fynished the fourth daye of October; 1 f. blank.

...

The title and preliminary leaves mentioned above are printed in English black-letter, unlike the angular type used in the body of the book. The Marquis of Northampton's is apparently the only copy known which contains this 'English' title of 1535. But the copy preserved in the Earl of Leicester's library at Holkham Hall, has a different title: Biblia | The Bible, that is, the holy Scripture of the | Olde and New Testament, faithfully and truly translated out of Douche and Latyn | in to Englishe. | M.D. XXXV. S. Paul. II. Tessa. III. | Praie for vs. and be glorified. &c. | S. Paul Col. III. | Let the worde. in all wyssdome &c. | Josue I. Let not the boke... therin daye and nighte &c. (within the same woodcut border); on verso, The bokes of the whole Byble. . . (ending at the bottom of the page with Malachias, Malachy the prophet). In this same copy is also found a unique leaf of preliminary matter, containing on recto the end of the prologue from the words are able to make satisfaction. to the end... be glory and domynio now and ever. Amen., and on verso: The first boke of Moses, called Genesis. What this boke conteyneth. Now both this title (hence styled the foreign' title) and this leaf are printed in the same angular type which is used in the body of the book. No doubt they are relics of the preliminary matter as originally issued, which, in all probability, consisted of four leaves, containing title, list of books (2 pp.), prologue (4 pp.), and contents of Genesis. (One of the two British Museum copies, C. 18. c. 9, has an imperfect title resembling that in the Earl of Leicester's copy.) It appears that the printer who promoted the sale of the edition in England cancelled these leaves, and issued instead a fresh title (slightly altered) and seven other preliminary leaves (including a Dedication to the king), all of which were printed in English black-letter. This printer-no doubt Nycolson, from whose press came the second edition of 1537—probably also inserted the map which is found in some copies of this Bible.

It should be noted that the first page of the Dedication in a genuine copy of this edition contains the words your dearest iust wyfe, and most vertuous Pryncesse, Quene Anne (i.e. Anne Boleyn). In some copies is found Quene Jane (i.e. Jane Seymour, whom the king married 20 May 1536); Fry has shown that this Queen Jane leaf' really belongs to Nycolson's 1537 Bible, and has been substituted for the other.

Varieties of the 1535 title are found in a copy at the University Library, Cambridge, and in another sold by Mr. Quaritch in 1900. Yet another title, very similar to the 1535 English title, but bearing the date M. D.XXXVI, occurs in the copy formerly in the possession of the Earl of Jersey (now Lord Carysfort's), and also in that preserved in the library of Gloucester Cathedral.

Signatures: (Nycolson's issue), a-po, aa-vv", Aa-Hh Ii', Aaa-Rrro, A-06, AA-TT"; 570 ff. Each part of the text has a separate foliation. The text is printed in angular black-letter; two columns on a page, 57 lines to the full column; no catchwords. In the margins are printed references, a few alternative renderings, and the letters denoting the sections into which each chapter is divided; there are no verse-divisions. The chapter-contents are given together at the beginning of each book. No notes, except a very few in the margins. A short preface occurs before Proverbs, and another before the Apocrypha.

Woodcuts: The border to the general title is composed of four blocks: (1) the top block represents the Sacred Name 7, in the left corner a picture of the Fall, Genesis. 2, with the words In vvhat daye so euer thou eatest therof, thou shalt dye, and in the right corner the risen Christ, Mathe. 28, with the words This is my deare sonne, in vhom I delyte, heare him. Matth. 17; (2) the left-hand block contains representations (above) of Moses on the Mount receiving the Tables of the Law, Exo. 21, with the words These are the lavves, that | thou shalt laye before them, and (below) of the reading of the Law, 3 Esdre. 9; (3) the right-hand block shows (above) our Lord giving his last charge to the disciples, Marci. 16, with the words Go youre vvaye in to all the | vvorlde, & preach the Gospel, and (below) St. Peter preaching, Actvvm 2; (4) the bottom block represents Henry VIII seated on his throne, with the royal arms displayed below; the king holds in his right hand a sword, and with his left presents the Bible to a group of prelates kneeling on his right side, while a similar group of nobles are kneeling on his left; in the left corner stands David bearing his harp, with the words O hovv svvete are thy vvordes vnto my | throte: yee more then hony &c., Psal. 118, and in the right corner

is St. Paul holding a sword in his right hand, with the words I am not ashamed of the Gospell of christ. for it is the povver of god. Ro. 1. The border to the pt. 2 title is composed of eight blocks: (above) three blocks-Joshua viewing the slain, Moses, and the storming of a city; (at the sides) two_ornamental blocks-boys blowing horns; (below) three blocks-the Ark crossing Jordan, David, and the fall of Jericho. The border to the pt. 4 title is similar to that of pt. 2, but has different corner blocks, representing Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel's vision, and Daniel in the lions' den, and an extra block inserted beneath the letterpress of the title-Baruch reading the prophecy. The border to the pt. 5 title is also similar, but the corner blocks represent a priest reading the Law, the return to Jerusalem, the sortie after the death of Holophernes, and the storming of a city. The border to the N. T. title is also similar, but the small central block at the top represents our Lord triumphing over death, and that at the bottom St. John Baptist; while the four corner blocks depict the Evangelists. The woodblocks in the text include two before Genesis (representing the six days of Creation), a large illustration of the Tabernacle, and many small cuts (generally about 70 x 50 mm.) scattered throughout the volume. Altogether 68 separate woodblocks are used, and by repetition these are made to form 158 distinct illustrations.

A map is inserted at the end of the Pentateuch in some copies. It is entitled: The descripcion of the londe of promes, called Palestina, Canaan, or the holy londe, and measures 400 x 297 mm. The inscriptions on the two scrolls are in English. According to a MS. note by Fry only two whole copies of this map, and four halves, are known to exist. One of the two copies of this Bible in the John Rylands Library at Manchester possesses a perfect and unique impression of the map, with the inscriptions in Latin, and other peculiarities.

¶317 × 202 mm., with original rough edges to some leaves. Like every other copy extant, it is imperfect. Wants title and all preliminary leaves except 3, also a 3 to 6, and the last leaf of text (TT 5)—12 ff., which are supplied in facsimile. The two blank leaves (06 and TT 6) are also missing. And the right half of the map is wanting.

Inserted at the beginning of the copy are the following:-(1) Facsimiles of three titleleaves-(a) the original, or foreign,' title, (b) the 'English' 1536 title, (c) the imperfect 'foreign' title found in one of the two B. M. copies (C. 18. c. 9), as first mended by Harris, who completed it by copying the right half of the titlepage in the Apryll 1540' (Petyt and Redman) Bible, or that of 1549 (Raynalde and Hyll), which gives the legends in Latin, not in English. (2) A facsimile of the unique leaf of preliminary matter (in foreign' type) found in the Earl of Leicester's copy. (3) A map (genuine) out of the Bishops' Bible of 1574, being an impression off the same block as that used for the Coverdale map. (4) Harris' facsimile of the 1535 map. (5) A photograph of the 1535 English title (wanting the bottom right-hand corner, which has been incorrectly completed by hand), taken from the Marquis of Northampton's copy. (6) A facsimile of the Prayer printed on verso of the title found in one of the copies in the University Library, Cambridge (this Prayer very closely resembles that printed on verso of the title in the 1537 edition-see below). [F. F.]

Another copy.

301 x 196 mm. Imperfect: wanting title and all preliminary leaves, also a 1 to 6, b 1, TT 1, 2, 3 and 5-19 ff., which are supplied in facsimile. The two blank leaves are also missing. Part of the map appears to be genuine, but has been restored.

Inserted at the beginning are facsimiles of the three other titles mentioned above, and of the unique preliminary leaf found in the Earl of Leicester's copy.

1536. The Newe Testa- ment yet once agayne corrected by wil- lyam Tindale: where vnto is added a necessarye Table: wherin easely and lightelye maye be foude any sto- rye contaynd in the foure Euangelistes, and in| the Actes of the Apostles. The Gospell of (S. Matthew. | S. Marke. | S. Luke. S. John. | The Actes of the Apostles. | Jesus sayd Marke.xvj. | Go ye into all the worlde, and preache | the glad tydynges to all creatures, | he that beleueth and is bapti- sed, shalbe saued. | Prynted in the yere of our Lorde God. M. D. and .XXXUJ.

[Qu. Antwerp ?]. 4°. B. L.

There are three distinct quarto editions of Tindale's New Testament, all bearing this date, which, while agreeing closely, differ throughout in many small points.

They are distinguished from one another chiefly by the variations in a woodcut of St. Paul, prefixed to eleven Epistles. The Apostle's foot rests on a stone, which in one edition is blank; in another it bears the figure of a mole (or hedgehog); and in the third an engraver's mark or monogram, with the initials A. B. K. The text agrees closely with that of the G. H. edition.

F. Fry in his work, A Bibliographical Description of the Editions of the New Testament, Tyndale's Version,. (pp. 72-82), deals at length with these three quarto editions. They were probably published independently of the translator, and were printed at Antwerp by one or other of the following printers :-Symon Cowke, Christopher Endhoven, William Vorsterman, Matthew Crom, or Hans van Ruremonde; the last seems to be the most likely name. Herbert (pp. 492-3) suggests John Gowghe of London. All three issues differ in the cut of St. Paul (alluded to above), in the cut of St. Matthew, and (slightly) in the arrangement or spelling of the two titles, etc. There is no conclusive evidence to show their order of publication. But various small differences mentioned below suggest that the Mole' edition was the first, and the Blank Stone' the last, of the three.

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As the corresponding leaves in each edition are generally interchangeable, no doubt many copies have been mixed.

A. Known as the 'Mole' edition. Fry's No. 8.

DESCRIPTION. Four preliminary leaves: title (within narrow woodcut frame), verso blank, Willyam Tyndale vnto the Christen Reader-5 pp., The office of all estates and A prayer to be sayd dayly-1 p. Text: Matthew-Acts, ff. 1 (not numbered) to cxlij (s 6) a, verso blank; title: The epistles of the | Apostle Saynet Paul.... The Epistles of S. Peter.... The Reuelacion of Saynet John the diuine. The Epistles taken oute of the olde Testament. | A necessary Table for the hole newe Testament. | Prynted in the yere of oure Lorde. [ 1 5 3 6 (within same frame as general title), verso blank, A prologe vpon the Epistle... to the Romayns-13 pp., 1 p. blank (these 8 ff. are not numbered); text, Romans-Revelation, ff. 143 (not numbered) to ccxlvj (H 8) a; on verso begin . . . the Epistles taken oute of the olde Testament... after the vse of Salsburye . . .—21 pp., ending on fo. ccliiij (really 256, I 10) b; This is the Table wherein ye shall fynde the Epistles and the Gospels, after the vse of Salsbury-8 ff., ending on 8b, with a small cut of the royal arms.

Signatures: [second leaf signed ‡ ij, and third leaf A iij]', a-ro so, A3, t−zo A-Ho [1o, ; 276 ff. The numbers 252 and 253 are repeated in the foliation. A full page contains 38 lines. References, and only two notes (Acts xvii. 28, Aratus; Tit. i. 12, Epimenides), in the margins; contents at the head of each chapter in the first part; prologues, printed in smaller type than the text. The necessarye Table mentioned in the general title and that (probably the same) alluded to in the title to the second part are not found in any extant copy, and apparently were omitted.

Sheet A (containing title to second part and prologue to Romans) seems to have been printed separately from the rest of the book, and afterwards inserted, since it interrupts the foliation and sequence of signatures.

Among the errors may be noted the omission in 1 Cor. xi. 25 of the words This cup is the new testament in my blood (fo. clxij, x iiij, b).

The numerous woodcuts, many of which repeat the same blocks, include cuts of the Evangelists, 122 small cuts in the Gospels, the Day of Pentecost, the Conversion of St. Paul, SS. Paul, Peter and James, and 21 large cuts in Revelation, as well as the title-border, and a small cut of the royal arms (with dragon and greyhound as supporters) on the last page. Cuts identical with, or very similar to, many of these are found in books printed at various presses.

235 x 149 mm. A duplicate of fo. clxxxvij (A 5), showing slight variations, is inserted.

[F. F.] 8.

B. Known as the 'Engraver's Mark' edition. Fry's No. 9.

The cut of St. Paul, containing the engraver's mark, is found in a book entitled Storys and prophesis out of the holy scriptur . . . (1535,36), printed by Symon Cowke at Antwerp (Herbert, p. 1545).

This generally agrees closely with the 'Mole' edition. The office of all estates, however, is printed on verso of the title, instead of on the last page before the text, which is blank in this edition. The second and third preliminary leaves are signed ij and iij, and the first sheet in the second part bears the signature . In pt. 2 title, Ebrues occurs instead of Hebrues in the 'Mole' edition. The last leaf before the Table is correctly numbered cclvj. One new note is added, 1 Cor. xv. 32, Menander.

¶ 222 × 139 mm. Imperfect: wanting title and three following leaves. (Fry apparently removed these on the ground that they belonged to the 'Blank Stone' edition.) The second and third leaves of the Prologue to Romans really belong to the 'Mole' edition; they are signed A ij and A iij. All the rest of the volume is 'correct,' according to Fry's note.

Inserted at the beginning are a photograph of the titlepage; a reprint (2 pp.) of A Proclamation for the abolishing of English bookes, after the death of Anne Askew, set forth by the King, Anno 1546, the eighth day of July; and many MS. notes.

ANOTHER EDITION.

C. Known as the 'Blank Stone' edition. Fry's No. 7.

[F. F.] 9.

This generally agrees with the 'Mole' and 'Engraver's Mark' editions, but differs in the following points:-The woodcut frame of the titles is shortened by the removal of the bases to the columns. The preliminary matter and the Romans prologue are printed in a different type, with 57, instead of 59, lines to the full page. The lines in the text are slightly longer, and the print shows wider spacing.

Other noticeable points are:-The second preliminary leaf is signed ij, and the third A iij ; while the first sheet in the second part bears the signature A. The pt. 2 title is printed in larger type (the same as the first title). In some copies of this edition the mistake in 1 Cor. xi. 25 is corrected. Variants-incorrect and corrected leaves-are also found of x 5 and y 7. Sig. I 10 is numbered ccliiij, as in the 'Mole' edition.

203 x 146 mm. The first title is mended. Contains both impressions of the three variant leaves mentioned above. Inserted are many MS. notes by G. Offor and F. Fry.

[F. F.] 10.

[Qu. Antwerp ?] 8°. B. L.

There are three, or perhaps four, octavo editions of Tindale's New Testament bearing this date, which, while agreeing closely, differ throughout in many small points. The text in all agrees generally with that of the G. H. edition.

Although we have no direct evidence as to printer or place, they were probably all produced at Antwerp.

A. Fry's No. 10.

DESCRIPTION. Twenty-nine preliminary leaves: first title (in black and red, within woodcut border), on verso An Almanack for . xxi. yeares (1535–55), Kalendar-6 ff., The offyce of all estates-1 f., An exhortacion. -23 pp., 1 p. blank, Willyam Tindale vnto the Christen reader-8 ff.; second title: The newe | testament | newlye | corrected (with a rose below title, and ornaments at top and bottom), on verso The bokes conteyned (with rose and cornflower at foot of page). Text, A ij to z iiij b; Here folowe the Epystles taken out of the olde Testamet after the use of Salsburye. which end on bb iiij a; on the same page begins. the Table wherein ye shal fynde the Epystles and the Gospels after the use of Salsbury, ending on cc 4 a, verso blank.

Refer

Signatures: [unsigned] [second leaf marked ij]* * *, A–Z3 &a 9o a-p3 q' r-zo aa bb cc'; 428 ff. Leaves not numbered. A full page contains 35 lines. ences, subject-headings, and notes, in the margins. Contents before each chapter, in the Gospels and Acts. Prologues to most of the books. Of S. Marke, what man he was, & of hys auctoryte is printed after St. Mark's Gospel. The exhortacion in the preliminary matter is a translation of Erasmi Roterodami Paraclesis Ad Lectorem Pium prefixed to the first (1516) and subsequent editions of his Greek Testament.

Among the errors may be noted, Mark v. 27, 30 preache for preace (or press), Phil. iii. 19 worthely mynded for worldely mynded, and a strange confusion of words in Rev. xix. 15.

This edition may be readily distinguished from Fry's Nos. 11 and 12 by two decisive differences: (1) The lines in the text are slightly shorter, measuring 57 mm.,

instead of 60 mm. in the other two editions; and the letters are consequently printed more closely. (2) The asterisks referring to marginal notes have 5 points in No. 10, but 7 points in Nos. 11 and 12.

The woodcuts include the title-border, composed of four blocks representing, above, a symbol of the Trinity, with the words Soli Deo Gloria; at the sides, figures of St. Peter (left) and St. Paul (right); and, below, emblems of St. Luke (left) and St. Mark (right), and a medallion (in the centre) with the words Verbum Caro Factum; cuts of the Evangelists, SS. Paul, Peter and James, and the Day of Pentecost; 21 cuts in Revelation (like those in Matthew's Bible of 1537); and a few ornaments.

129 × 86 mm. Imperfect: wanting both titles (which are, however, supplied in facsimile) and all preliminary matter except Tindale's Address (8 ff.); also 33 leaves of textH 1, S7, X 1 and 8, all sheet 9, a 1, 4 and 5, b 1 and 2, i 3 and 4, t 8, v 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8, x 6 and 8, y 3, 5 and 6, z 2 and 4; and 16 leaves of supplementary matter-z 5, 6 and 7, and aa 8 to end; 70 ff. in all.

There is a large perfect copy in the John Rylands Library.

ANOTHER EDITION.

B. Fry's No. 12.

[F. F.] 11.

No perfect copy of this edition is known to exist. It agrees closely with Fry's No. 10 described above, and probably contained exactly the same preliminary and supplementary matter, though no leaves before the Exhortacyon, or after bb 8, are extant.

...

DESCRIPTION. [? title, almanack, etc.-8 ff.,] An Exhortacyon -23 pp., 1 p. blank, Willyam Tyndale vnto the Christen reader-8 ff.; second title: The newe | testament | newlye corrected | M.D. xxxvi. (within woodcut border, with flower above date), on verso The bokes conteyned... (with ornament at foot of page). Text, A ij to t (really z) iiij b; followed by the O.T. Epistles and Table, ending probably on cc 4, as in No. 10.

Signatures: [-]'s [leaves numbered 1 to 12 at foot] 12, A-Z3 & Q$ a-p3 q1r-za aas bbs [-]; probably 428 ff. Generally agrees closely with the other edition, though there are slight variations in the text and woodcuts. Phil. iii. 19 is printed correctly. 126 x 88 mm. Imperfect: wanting all preliminary matter except Tindale's Address (8 ff.) and second title, and all supplementary matter-z 5 to end; probably 44 ff. in all. _The text is perfect. [F. F.] There is a less imperfect copy in Lambeth Palace Library. (A copy of the very similar edition, Fry's No. 11, may be seen in the Baptist College Library, Bristol; and a copy of Fry's No. 13-the last of this group-in St. Paul's Cathedral Library.) 12.

[The 1536 folio edition of Tindale's Testament (Fry's No. 6), ascribed by H. Bradshaw to T. Godfray, London, is generally considered to be the first portion of the English Scriptures printed on English ground. A perfect copy is in the Bodleian Library.]

1537? (The New Testament.)

Coverdale's version.

[Qu. James Nycolson: Southwark. 1537?] 8°. B.L.

The only copies known are imperfect, both at the beginning and at the end, and leave us uninformed as to printer, place, and date. But the type, initial letters, etc. agree very closely with those used by James Nycolson of Southwark, especially in his quarto Bible of 1537. The contents of chapters stand in the form of a summary before each book (as in the 1535 folio Bible), and not at the head of each chapter as in Matthew Crom's 1538 New Testament; and only one of Tindale's Prologues appears in this edition. Both these points suggest that this edition preceded M. Crom's, and was printed in 1537 or even earlier. Lea Wilson (p. 143) mentions under 'circa 1535' an edition which appears to resemble this; and J. Dix suggested 1534 or 1535 as the date of the similar edition described below.

...

DESCRIPTION. [title, etc. ?], Prologue-4 ff., The summe of this Gospel (Matthew)—2 ff. text, ff. (not numbered) to ccc.lii (Yy 8) b; . . . the Epistles of the olde Testament after the vse of Salisbury .—31 pp., ending on fo. ccc.lxviii (bb 8) a, on verso begins The Table (? pp.)

...

Signatures: [-] A?, A-Y® Aa-Cc®, "", Dd-Yys, aa® bb3 [—]; [—] +6 +368 +16 +[-]ff. The two sheets and, containing the Prologue to Romans, are not included

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Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture in the ...