Offered is an authentic 1764 King James Version Holy Bible, printed in Edinburgh, Scotland by Alexander Kincaid, His Majesty's Printer, one of the foremost royal printers of the eighteenth century.
This charming pocket-sized Bible is bound in its original gilt-tooled calf leather binding with decorative floral and Greek key tooling on the spine. Measuring only a few inches tall, it was intended for personal devotion and travel.
The title page is present and dated MDCCLXIV (1764) and includes the traditional wording:
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments... Newly translated out of the Original Tongues... Appointed to be Read in Churches.
The volume retains its original period binding with attractive honest wear acquired over more than 260 years. The leather remains supple, the boards are attached, and the text block is solid. The spine shows expected loss at the head and general wear consistent with age.
Several nineteenth-century ownership inscriptions and handwritten notes appear on the endpapers, adding to the book's history and evidence of generations of devotional use.
Condition
- Printed in Edinburgh by Alexander Kincaid in 1764
- Original gilt-tooled calf leather binding
- Original title page present
- Contemporary decorative spine tooling
- Boards remain attached
- Text block remains solid
- Expected wear to spine and corners
- Age toning throughout
- Handwritten ownership inscriptions and notes on endpapers
Please Note: This Bible is one volume of 2. It ends in Proverbs.
Historical Significance
This Bible was printed during the reign of King George III, only one year after the conclusion of the Seven Years' War. Britain had emerged as the dominant global power, and Scotland was experiencing a flourishing period of printing and publishing centred in Edinburgh.
When this Bible was printed:
- The American colonies were still under British rule, more than a decade before the Declaration of Independence.
- George Washington was a Virginia planter and former military officer, not yet a revolutionary leader.
- Mozart was only eight years old.
- The Industrial Revolution was just beginning to transform Britain.
- Edinburgh was one of Europe's leading intellectual centres during the Scottish Enlightenment, home to thinkers such as David Hume and Adam Smith.
Pocket Bibles like this one were treasured personal possessions, often carried daily by merchants, travellers, ministers, and ordinary families.
Dimensions:
- Weight - 165g
- Height - 12.5cm
- Width - 7.8cm
- Thickness - 2.5cm
