202 i:\RLY ENGLISH PRINTED BIHLfcS. 



the two 1611 editions. Some of the " He" Bibles have a wood 

 cut first title, as in the present case, and some a copper engrav- 

 ing, of which a facsimile has been inserted in my copy. Besides 

 being the first, it is one of the finest [Fig. VII.] editions of the 

 thousands that have since been issued, and is now very rare. I 

 exhibit two other editions of the Authorized Version Field's 

 folio edition of 1660, containing also the prayer book, which, as 

 far as I can learn, is not usual, and what is said to be " The 

 smallest Bible ever printed ;" size jj x i x fin.; date, 1896. 

 That of Field's is a noted edition on account of its size, printing, 

 and the fine plates which are so thickly interspersed in its pages. 



I have found it very difficult to curtail my notes on account of 

 the magnitude of the subject, and I have abstained from any 

 history of the translation of our present Authorized Version, 

 which is of the greatest interest, but very accessible. I might 

 also mention the many Bibles distinguished by curious misprints, 

 such as the "Vinegar Bible" (1717), of which the Club saw, 

 or might have seen, a fine copy at Sir William Marriott's. I feel 

 sure that there must be many other treasures in Dorset in the 

 way of old Bibles, probably in many cases unknown to their 

 owners, if only one knew where to look for them. 



There are one or more translations in a modern colloquial style, 

 as proposed by Benjamin Franklin about the year 1780, which 

 were perhaps well intended by their authors, but to my mind 

 sound most objectionable ; and there are a series of American 

 Bibles which deserve notice, though hardly on account of their 

 earliness, as no English Bible was printed in America until 1782, 

 though an Indian translation was printed there in 1663, and a 

 German one in 1743. As a final exhibit I have brought a copy 

 of the Revised New Testament of 1881. It seems doubtful, 

 however, if it will come into general use, even as quickly as that 

 of 1 6 1 1, which is now so firmly fixed in the affections of the 

 English speaking people of the world. 



