The Hickman courier., 1882-10-13
OLD AM RsRE BIBLES.

OLD AMI RkRE BIBLES. G
The Prices Thcy Brlng In America and
Enrope-'rhe Mast Valuable Bible IN
the world. ~ .s.ff ll4~ I
The sale of old and rare Bibles forms
an important branch of the secondhand
book trade in New York. Bibles of an
early date, or of which small edition.
only have been published. are eagerly
sought after, and for good copies high
prices are occasionally paid. The de
mand, of course, fluctuates from time tc
time, but certain books meet at an times
with ready sale, and American houses
lind the trade lucrative enough to EN-
ploy European agentsand TO send buyers
TO Europe ut certain periods for the spe-
cial purpose of searching out old and
curious Bibles. The majority ofs.the
Bibles which appear in the market
through American channels are of little
value. The uninItiated are likely to at
tach great value TO mere age; whereas
unless an old bookpossesses peculiarities
of text oris photographed rarity it is
almost worthless.
From information gathered bya World
reporter on the subject it appears that
the Bibles most in demand are the YIN
egar,n '.Breeches, '.Presbyterian, .
and Douai versions. OF the first named
there are probably twenty copies in
America. The version takes its name
from the substitution of the word swim
egar' for '.yineyard' in the twentieth
chapter of Matthew. IT was 1pu1-
lished in two volumes by Bassett, of
London, in 1717, and there are perhaps
n hundred copies extant 1t is embel-
ished with frontispiece and vignettes
by Won der Gricht. A fine copy has
been sold in England for as much as
twenty guineas, though fair one could
be bought here for seventy-fve dollars.
Two impressions were taken on veilum,
one of which is in the British Museum
and the other in the Bcdleian library at
Oxford. The Breeches'' Bible is so
called from The use of the word ..breech-
esq in place of aprons in Genesis ill.,,
z. The Breeches Bible was printed in
1860 at Geneva by Rouland Hall, and
went throu gh fifty editions within thirty
wears 1t is common in America, but
perfect specimens are hard toget. Copies
have been sold in New York at from ten
to twenty dollars. The Presbyterian
Bible is found in the American market
from time to time. It Is a King james
version, and was published by Buck a.
Daniel of Cambridge, in 1858. The sub.
stitution OF, the word Eve for 1--WE tin
Acts vi, s, materially alters the import
of the text The. error was, without
foundation, imputed to the Presbyte-
rians, hence the name of the book Cop
les may be bonghtfor thirty dollars each.
The number extant is uninown. Cop
ies-ef- the version printed by.John Cos
turier at -Douai in 1885, are numerous.
and deare sold at low prices. - srs
There are innumerable other versions
of the Bible which attract purchasers on
account of their containing typograph-
ical or other errors. During the Comsu
monsSealth in England the press Was
prolific of Bibles, which were not re-
markable for accuracy of text. DIR. Cot
ton. the famous .bibliophile, stigmatized
the Bibles of the Protectorate as filled
with egregious blasphemies and damu-
able errata y 1T is well known that :
Bible formed part of the equipment OF
each of Cromwers s sIronsides.. The
Soldiers Pocket-Book,n published in
London in 1913, and reprinted at Cam
bridge. Mass, in 1861, has on the title
page the haracteristicsentence Trust
in the Lord and keep the. powder dry.'''
Copies of the reprint are valued at "a to
So OF the originals two only are said
to be in existence. One of them is at
the British Museum and the other formed
part of the collection of the late Mr..
George Eivermore.- Mr.. Sotheran, the
London, publisher. reproduced in 1862
is s BSss Tsss sfiated ss S
one of which was sold at the Mem
ziesg eelex ing New York' for rSI 4.
The first Bible printed in foreign
language in America was the German
version issued at Germantown, Pa, i'm
1743. 1t is becoming rather valuable, o
copy having been sold atthe Brindley
sale in April. of last year for $3.50 The
volume is a thick, clumsy quarto. The
Elliott Indian Bible, printed in one Of
the dialects of the North American In
dians, is great curiosity. 1t was pub
lished at Cambridge,,M Mass, in 1663,eby
Samuel Green and Mar1nadallxe John
son.. 1t is believed that no. person living
can understand the language in which Il
was written. Thebest known copy was
originally in possession of Mr. John
Allen, the ssDe of whose library caused
such a stir in photographed circles in
New York. 1t brought 5000. A copy
now would be worth 81 900 to 81. 800.
A second edition was printed at Cam
bridge ins 1855, and q copy disposed of
at the Brindley sale sold for $500.
The first book printed in America was
that published at Cambridge Mass, in
1929, and known as the Bay Psalm
Book. In Bible printed at the same
towntin 1868 two important errors were
made which are said to have been inten-
tional tricks on the part of the irreyerent
compositor. The substitution of right
eousness' for s~ righteousness in
Romans, vi, 13. gives . ludicrous turn
to the verse. In + Corinthians, vi, 9.
the omission Of the word mot promises
the inheritance of heaven to the un-
righteous. - = ~
There is on view at Messrs. Leavitt's,
the book auctoneers. "Bible of
The Sword, I" printed in 1885 at Neu-
chatel, Switzerland, by Peter de
Wingle. This book. issued at the
instance of the Waldenses, was
published under the personal SUPER
vision of Calvin and Olivetan, his coad-
jutor. Ittakes its name from the emblem