The Gruber Rare Books Collection and Other Rare Books
English Bibles: King James Bible 1611
Gruber 1. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament and the New: Newly Translated out of the Originall Tongues: and with the former Translations diligently compared and reuised, by his Maiesties speciall Commandment. Appointed to be read in churches. First edition of King James version. London: Robert Barker, 1611. Two leaves of map torn out before Genesis. The title page lists the twelve tribes of Israel down the left side, while the twelve apostles are listed on the right side.
No Gruber Number - A facsimile copy of the first edition in superb condition. This facsimile of the first impression of the original 1611 edition was produced for the World Publishing Company 2231 West 110th Street, Cleveland, OH 46102, by George Rainbird Limited, 2 Hyde Park Place, London, W.2. It is one of an edition of 1500 copies, of which this is number 691. Printed in Italy. n.d.
Gruber 8. Second edition of King James Bible in 1613. Two famous misprints are in this Bible. The first is in Ruth 3:15, which reads “and she went into the city.” It should be “he (Boaz) went into the city. Consequently, this is sometimes known as the “She Bible.” In Matthew 26:36 Judah rather than Jesus makes his way toward Gethsemane. The Table of Contents for the Old Testament has 1 and 2 Corinthians for 1 and 2 Chronicles.
The initial “P” at Psalm 112 contains the crest of Sir Francis Walsingham, who was the spymaster of Queen Elizabeth I.
The New Testament in this edition is dated to 1611.
Gruber 9 The Holy Bible, conteyning the Old Testament, and the New... London: Robert Barker, 1613. Herbert, 322. Second Edition of the King James Version. The title page for the New Testament is dated 1613, and all the misprints noted under Gruber 8 have been corrected.
Gruber 171 The Holy Bible... London: Robert Barker...and by the Assignes of John Bill...1631. (Bookplate: Myrtle A. Kelley; Marriage and birth entries from 1639 onward)
Gruber 11 The Holy Bible...
London: John Field, 1653 (Bookplate: Lucy Adela Jenner) This is often called the Pearl Bible because of the smallness of its type. There was a forged version of this Bible printed in Amsterdam in 1658. The authentic version has the first four psalms on one page.
There are a number of misprints in this Bible. Matt 6:24 “Ye cannot serve and mammon.” The word “God” was omitted. John 3:21 “his deeds might manifest” instead of “his deeds may be made manifest.” John 9:21 “Or who hath opened his eyes we know not.” Omitted: “But by what means he now seeth, we know not.” Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of righteousness unto sin.” Should read “unrighteousness.” 1 Cor 6:9 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the Kingdom of God?” Should read “shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Sometimes this is called the Wicked Bible. Other 17th century Wicked Bibles: Exod 20:14 “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Psalm 14:1 “Fools say in their hearts, There is a God.”
Gruber 170 The Holy Bible...London: John Field, 1653 (Bookplate: Myrtle A. Kelley) This is a duplicate of Gruber 11.
The Holy Bible. London: J. Field, 1655. Herbert 647 or 648. This Bible omits accidentally 2 Cor 13:6, and the title page of the Old Testament is missing.. BS185 1655. Colophon on New Testament: London: Printed by John Field, one of his Highness Printers, 1655. This Bible does not contain the Apocrypha. Ruth 3:15 reads “she” (Cf. Gruber 8).
The Holy Bible. Oxford, the Theatre, 1682. Title page indicates that these Bibles are to be sold by Moses Pitt at the Angel in St. Pauls Churchyard London. Another version of Psalms follows NT. Collected into English Metre, by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and others. The colophon on the Book of Revelation reads: Printed at the Theater in Oxford, and are to be sold by Moses Pitt, at the Angel in St. Paul’s Churchyard, at the Oxford Arms on the West side of the Royal Exchange, and William Leak, at the Crown in Fleet-street, London. Anno 1682. Herbert 770b.
The Holy Bible as printed by Robert Aitken and Approved and Recommended by the Congress of the United States of America in 1782. The British had not allowed the American Colonists to print Bibles in the New World, so after the American Revolution the U. S. Congress authorized Aitken to print such a Bible. In a sense therefore this is a Bible authorized by the Congress. The LSTC copy is a facsimile printed in 1968 and donated to the collection by Edgar Krentz.
King James Bible in the British Library
The Gruber Collection was assembled by L. Franklin Gruber, President of Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, Maywood, Illinois.
Annotation prepared by Ralph W Klein