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.
ThinkIR Citation
Billingsley, Dale B., "Cambridge 1629 Anglican Trilogy" (2022). Faculty and Staff Scholarship. 761.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/761
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)
Included in
Biblical Studies Commons, History Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons