ISBC Sponsored Exhibition at Firsts,
London’s Rare Book Fair (7-9 June 2019)

The International Society of Bible Collectors was proud to recently sponsor Collecting the Bible: From Gutenberg to the Jerusalem Chamber, a special exhibit presented at Firsts in June of 2019.

From a Noble Fragment of the Gutenberg Bible (the world’s first printed book) to the gold-encased Lunar Bible (the first printed book to make landfall on the surface of the moon), this exhibit showcased the literary and cultural significance of the Bible as an important part of our world heritage.

Highlights included six Tyndale New Testaments, an exquisite copy of the 1535 Coverdale Bible (the first printed Bible in English) and an illuminated manuscript copy of Coverdale’s First Psalter in English.

First editions of significant early printed Bibles in English were also displayed; including a remarkable copy of the Matthews Bible (1537), Henry VIII’s Great Bible (1539), Cranmer’s Bible (1540), the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishops Bible (1568) and both issues of the first edition of the celebrated Authorized Version (1611).

Prominent association copies and controversial printings were also featured; including a seventeenth century Bible with the bookplate of Charles Dickens and a rare copy of the “Wicked” Bible (1631) containing the infamous misprint “thou shalt commit adultery.”