{"product_id":"1599-geneva-breeches-bible-herbert-250-maps-apocrypha-psalter-concordance","title":"1599 Geneva “Breeches” Bible Herbert 250, Maps, Apocrypha, Psalter \u0026 Concordance","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eAn attractive and extensively illustrated example of the celebrated 1599 Geneva Bible, the famous “Breeches Bible”, catalogued as Herbert 250.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe title page bears the imprint:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Imprinted at London by the Deputies of Christopher Barker, Printer to the Queenes most Excellent Maiestie. 1599.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite the London imprint, Herbert 250 is now generally regarded as one of the editions produced for the English market in the Low Countries. The numerous editions carrying the date 1599 are notoriously complicated bibliographically, with some apparently printed considerably later than their stated date. A recent Dominic Winter catalogue identifies Herbert 250 specifically as a Geneva version with Tomson's New Testament and Junius's Revelation, noting the characteristic Esther 1:1 reading and probable Low Countries origin. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume contains the celebrated Geneva translation of the Old Testament together with Laurence Tomson's revision of the New Testament and Franciscus Junius's annotations upon Revelation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also a genuine “Breeches Bible”, retaining the famous rendering of Genesis 3:7 in which Adam and Eve “sewed figge tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eIllustrations, Maps \u0026amp; Supplementary Material\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA particularly appealing feature of this copy is the survival of numerous woodcut maps, diagrams and illustrations throughout the Old Testament. These include the Garden of Eden, Noah's Ark, the Tabernacle, the prohibited degrees of marriage, the Israelites' journey through the wilderness, the Holy Land, Solomon's Temple and throne, and other biblical subjects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese illustrations are not merely decorative. Together with the extensive marginal annotations, cross-references and explanatory material, they demonstrate the Geneva Bible's importance as an early English study Bible, designed to allow the reader to interpret and study Scripture closely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe biblical text reaches its proper conclusion at Revelation 22, followed by the extensive supplementary material. Particularly interesting is the “Order of Time”, presenting an explicitly Protestant historical interpretation of Revelation and connecting its prophecies with events involving medieval popes, emperors and the Roman Church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso present are the Tables, including “A briefe Table of the interpretation of the proper names which are chiefly found in the Old Testament.” The Tables reach their printed conclusion with the 1599 Barker imprint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBound at the rear is The Booke of Psalmes, Collected into English Meeter, by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and others, retaining printed musical notation together with prayers and additional devotional material. An undated Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter is known associated with the 1599 Geneva Bible. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Geneva Bible\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 1560, the Geneva Bible was one of the most influential English Bibles of the Reformation period. Produced by Protestant scholars associated with the English exile community in Geneva, it was designed for private reading and study, with numbered verses, extensive marginal annotations and numerous explanatory aids.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts notes frequently reflected distinctly Reformed Protestant interpretations of Scripture, giving the Geneva Bible a character quite different from later English Bibles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Geneva remained enormously popular even after the appearance of the King James Bible in 1611, and demand from English readers helped sustain the production of editions in the Netherlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHerbert notes that the various editions carrying the 1599 date are distinct despite their close similarities and that the nominal date is probably inaccurate for many of them. Herbert 250 is one of this fascinating group and is associated with the Low Countries rather than straightforwardly with Christopher Barker's London press. A recent auction catalogue likewise describes Herbert 250 as probably printed for English use in the Low Countries and notes that the Apocrypha appears to have been omitted from all but a few copies. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eBinding \u0026amp; Condition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBound in dark leather, with raised bands, gilt decoration and gilt-lettered HOLY BIBLE spine label. The binding appears to have undergone restoration\/rebacking at some point in its history, while retaining an appropriately antiquarian appearance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe contents display expected evidence of more than three centuries of use, including general toning, occasional staining and spotting, handling marks, edge wear and occasional close trimming. The final portion of the Psalter exhibits more pronounced staining and wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNevertheless, the text throughout the photographed portions remains strong, clear and highly legible, with the numerous woodcuts and maps presenting particularly well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImportantly, the New Testament reaches the proper conclusion of Revelation and is followed by the Tables, which themselves reach their printed conclusion. The separately bound Sternhold and Hopkins metrical Psalms also survive with musical notation and concluding devotional material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe presence of the extensive illustrative and supplementary material makes this a particularly attractive example for a collector of early English Bibles, Reformation printing, Protestant history or seventeenth-century English religious culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease see photographs for reference.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeight - 1.31kg\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeight - 22cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWidth - 17cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThickness - 6.5cm\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Momo Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54864840589651,"sku":null,"price":3000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/9187\/5411\/files\/IMG_8933.jpg?v=1788613537","url":"https:\/\/www.momorarebooks.co.uk\/products\/1599-geneva-breeches-bible-herbert-250-maps-apocrypha-psalter-concordance","provider":"Momo Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}