The Holy Bible conteyning the Old Testament and the New: newly translated out of the originall tongues ... London: Robert Barker, 1611.
This is the first edition of the ‘Authorised’ or King James Bible that was to become the standard English translation for the next 400 years. A.H. Reed purchased this copy from the bookseller H.G. Commin of Bournemouth in September 1950, for £130.
A.H. Reed was a man with a passion for the Bible, and for living and promoting the Christian life. He amassed a collection of rare books on a variety of topics, but his chief interest was in early English bibles, which he avidly acquired from the 1920s through to the 1970s. These he saw as the heart of his collection.
The number of English Bibles donated as part of Reed’s original gift of 1948 was relatively modest. The next two decades, however, saw Reed add numerous ‘high point’ editions of the Bible in English. Besides the KJV of 1611, these included a 1540 edition of the Great Bible, a 1549 Matthew’s Bible, a 1550 Coverdale Bible, a 1572 Bishop’s Bible, a 1579 Bassendyne Bible, a 1582 Rheims New Testament, a 1609 Douai Old Testament, and a 1613 second edition of the KJV.
The Holy Bible conteyning the Old Testament and the New: newly translated out of the originall tongues ... London: Robert Barker, 1611.
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