1776/7 KJV Whitehaven Family Bible, American Revolutionary War Era, Herbert 1243

Offered here is an attractive eighteenth-century Family Bible printed during one of the most significant periods in British and American history. This substantial folio edition contains the Authorized (King James) Version of the Holy Bible together with the Apocrypha and the celebrated theological observations of the Swiss Reformed divine Jean Frédéric Ostervald.

The Old Testament and general title were printed in Whitehaven in 1777 for Milliken and Little, while the New Testament bears its own title page printed in Edinburgh by William Darling in 1776, a common practice for large provincial Bible editions of the period.

This edition is believed to correspond to Herbert 1243, making it a desirable provincial printing of the Authorized Version. While London, Oxford, and Cambridge dominated Bible production, Whitehaven was one of the principal provincial centres of printing in northern England during the eighteenth century, and comparatively fewer Bibles survive from its presses.

Unlike many ordinary household Bibles, this copy remained in family ownership well into the twentieth century, preserving an extensive manuscript family register that documents over sixty years of one family's history.

Jean Frédéric Ostervald

One of the defining features of this edition is the inclusion of the notes and introductory arguments of Jean Frédéric Ostervald, the Swiss Reformed pastor and theologian.

Ostervald sought to make Scripture more accessible to ordinary readers by providing concise chapter summaries and practical moral observations rather than lengthy theological commentary. His editions became enormously popular throughout Britain during the eighteenth century and were especially favoured as family Bibles, intended for regular household reading and devotion.

His commentary helped transform these large folios from simple biblical texts into practical guides for Christian life, making editions such as this highly regarded among Protestant families.

Historical Context: The American Revolutionary War

This Bible was printed in 1777, during the height of the American Revolutionary War 1775-1783.

While this volume was being produced in Whitehaven, Britain was engaged in a conflict that would ultimately lead to the independence of the thirteen American colonies. The year 1777 proved to be one of the war's turning points. General Burgoyne's surrender at the Battle of Saratoga persuaded France to formally enter the war on the American side, transforming what had begun as a colonial rebellion into a global conflict involving Britain, France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic.

Although this Bible was intended for readers in Britain rather than America, it was printed at a time when newspapers carried regular reports of battles across the Atlantic, political debate filled Parliament, and Britain's military and naval resources were stretched across the world.

The contrast is striking. While the Empire fought to preserve its American colonies, presses in provincial towns such as Whitehaven continued producing substantial family Bibles that would serve generations of readers. This volume therefore stands as both a religious work and a tangible witness to one of the defining events of the eighteenth century.

Provenance

The Bible contains an attractive manuscript family register recording the Cannon family.

The entries begin with the marriage of:

• Thomas Cruickshank Cannon and Anne Fisher (1855)

followed by the births of several children including:

• Peregrine Fisher Cannon
• John Oswald Cannon
• Sarah Anne Cannon
• Thomas Cannon
• Grace Cannon

Later entries record family deaths between 1903 and 1919, mentioning locations including Cockermouth, Birkenhead, Liverpool, and Bebington, illustrating the family's movement across northern England during the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

These manuscript entries significantly enhance the historical interest of the volume, demonstrating that it remained in continuous family use for over sixty years.

Condition

Large folio.

• Original calf binding
• showing expected wear from over two centuries of use
• The rear board is detached with evidence of an old repair and exposed sewing supports.
• The final gathering containing the concluding leaves of Revelation is detached from the text block but complete.
• The biblical text appears complete through Revelation 22, with the concluding leaves present despite their detached state.

The manuscript family register remains clear and legible. General age-related wear, occasional staining, and rubbing consistent with a well-used eighteenth-century family Bible.

Dimensions:

• Weight - 4.25kg
• Height - 38cm
• Width - 24.8cm
• Thickness - 9cm