Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-11

bridge. or to DR.. Harding, our Hebrew
reader in Oxford. or to DR.. Andrews.
the rest Of their several companies. that
go our said intended translation may
have the help and furtherance Of all our
principal learned men within this our
kingdom
Six Committees Chosen.
Six committees Of scholars were select
ed. two to meet in Oxford, two to meet
in Cambridge. and two to meet in West
minister; and to each of these commit
tees were assigned groups Of books The
first Westminster company consisted Of
ten scholars and Launcelot Andrews, dean
of Westminster. afterward Bishop Of
Winchester was chairman-the same
Bishop Andrews whose "Preces Privatae"
Is one of the choicest books of private
devotion ever issued. To this company
were assigned the books Of the Old Tes-
lament from Genesis to II Kings, inclu-
sive.
The first Oxford Committee Company
included among it's several members DIR.
Reynolds. who suggested the project, and
to this committee was assigned Isaiah to
Malachi, inclusive: The first Cambridge
Company, with Mr.. Lively at the head,
consisted of eight members, and to 1t
was committed / Chronicles to Eccle-
siastes, inclusive, The second Cambridge
Company, in which was Dr. Ward, Crom-
wells master, had the Apocrypha, which
was included I'm this Authorized Version,
though it's exclusion from the required
lessons of the church was one Of the
subjects Of the Puritan petition that
brought about the Hampton court confer
ence.
The New Testament was divided be-
tween the second Oxford and the second
Westminster committees.
By the kings orders the Bishops Bible,
which had been made by Wyckliffe &
Tyndale, was the foundation Of the new
translation. and it was the practice for
one member of committee to read the
text while the rest held in their hands
French. Spanish. Italian, Hebrew and
Greek translations. IF they found any
fault they spoke: If not he read on"
Which indicates the method employed in
this important undertaking. The commit
tee did not fairly get to work before
1907, and it was engaged four years at
its task. Finally. when each group had
finished it's work, they came together in
London and after nine months of wran-
Cling succeeded in. putting together the
new volume and gave the manuscript to
Robert Barker, Printer to His Majesty
the King in Powles Churchyard at the
syne OF the tygres head"
None Now in Existence.
Not one OF the Bibles used by the six
the manuscript notes, annotations or COM
mentaries has been preserved, and the
original manuscript furnished Mr.. Bar
ker also has disappeared. The king In
terfered continually with the work Of
the committees, but does not seem to
have done much damage. He ordered all
marginal comments stricken out on the
ground that they 'Savored too much OF
dangerous and traitorous conceit." He
continually expressed contempt for the
Puritans and hated them worse than
the papists," saying that their criticism
of the clergy of the established church
was only a new tOot Oh an auld horn
During the reign Of Eliza beth, Christie
pher, father of Robert Barker. purchased
the exclusive right to print ''all Bibles
and Testaments in the English language,
Of whatever translation, with notes or
without them" Later, August s, 1883.
he applied for and received from the
queen direct patent, including both
himself and his son Robert, which en-
braced the monopoly of printing .'all BIZ
bles and Testaments whatsoever in the
English language, Of whatever transla-
ton. with notes or without notes, print
ed before then or afterward to be printed
by our command" This patent was to
continue during the lives of himself and
his son.
The Typographical Work.
The printing was done from movable
types of the style known as book letter
and the initial letters and the ornamental
borders were done from block. The out
side measurement of the pages was ten
by fifteen inches. The binding was full
calf with heavy pastboard covers fully
half an inch thick, blind fooled, with the
title in letters of gold on the back Each
volume weighed seventeen and a half
pounds. The title page is very hand
some and complicated example of steel
engraving with the cipher of the de-
signer and engraver: &C Boel fecit; in
Richmont. The ornamental border
around the pages resembles very strongly
that in the Bishops Bible edition of 1909.
The dedication reads: ITO the Most
High and Mightie Prince James"
Within the covers We're bound:
1.-The Transators to the Reader
'Kalendar.'
"An Almanacke for xxx years."
with notes, etc.
ITO finde Easter for euer."
THE Table and the kalendar. express
ing the order of Psalmes and Lessons,
ETC.
1.-The Apocrypha."
''The Genealogies of Holy Scriptures"
1t was customary to put these appen-
dices in Bibles. and they appear in all
of the early editions. Usually the book
of Common Prayer was included also,
and tables of lessons for holidays and
holy days.
Compliment to King.
In compliment to his majestys Scotch
ancestry the first initial letter was orna-
mented with Scotch thistle.
There has always been a difference of
opinion as to the number of the first edi-
Ii