Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2022

Department

English

Abstract

In 1629, Thomas and John Buck, Cambridge University Press printers, published three texts—the Book of Common Prayer, the Bible and the Whole Book of Psalmes (known as the “Metrical Psalter”)—that were often bound together in one volume [UL], 1 one copy of which is now on permanent loan to the Archives & Special Collections of Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville. We do not know with any certainty when UL was bound, but because the KJV second edition was published in 1638, with many scholarly corrections based on the original languages, we can assume that the three texts were bound together within a decade of the 1629 imprint date.

This case study, based necessarily on incomplete evidence of the book’s history and use, casts light on diverse ways on the history, politics and culture of its time. We can excavate the original printed text from the changes made by readers and owners, who marked the physical artifact, making it unique, as we can see by looking at its variances from other copies, as illustrated below. Important open questions remain, especially those concerning the attribution of its binding, but triangulation from UL and other copies to the history of the period helps us recapture, reveal and qualify our understanding of the edition in its own time.

Spine.png (3959 kB)
Spine of the book

KJV title page.JPG (6564 kB)
Title page to King James Version of the Holy Bible

KJV prefatory note to readers.jpeg (4989 kB)
Prefatory note to readers

BCP 04c.png (75 kB)
zz KJV UT Ransom 220.52 B629 catalog w-collation.pdf (361 kB)
zz BCP UT catalog card.pdf (85 kB)
Conservator Write-up 2015_ Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts.pdf (707 kB)
BCP 07.JPG (8085 kB)
BCP 01 SBTS.jpeg (1279 kB)
1st page of Book of Common Prayer @ Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

BCP 01 UT.jpg (154 kB)
1st page of Book of Common Prayer @ University of Texas

BCP 01.JPG (2442 kB)
1st page of Book of Common Prayer @ University of Louisville

KJV 10.jpg (3290 kB)
Open space between end of biblical text and KJV colophon

zz Bookplates ID--Grolier 200924.pdf (1695 kB)
zz Wheatley bookplate (back pastedown) (1).JPG (2742 kB)
BCP 01a.png (440 kB)
Latin motto

zz Leech CJ 1954-11-12.pdf (721 kB)
Courier-Journal account of book donation

zz Allen bio Caroline Leech.pdf (2459 kB)
Biographical sketch of Caroline Apperson Leach

zz Transfer to UL 1981-12-15.pdf (1020 kB)
Letter transferring book to UofL in 1981

zz Collet harmony 1637--Badir 402.png (214 kB)
1637 Collet family harmony

1918 Wheatley sale catalog descrip.jpg (2536 kB)
BCP 07b.jpg (147 kB)

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