This breathtaking mid-Tudor landmark is a foundational pillar of the English Reformation and the development of the English language itself. Published in December 1549 under the brief, volatile reign of the boy-king Edward VI, this massive folio represents the historic revival of the "Great Bible"—the first translation officially authorized to be read aloud in English churches.

The translation, edited by Miles Coverdale, serves as a bridge between William Tyndale's martyred work and the later King James Version. What makes this copy a museum-grade showpiece is its visual presentation. The volume retains its magnificent divisional title pages—including The Seconde Parte, The Thyrd Part, and The Newe Testament—each beautifully framed within complex, historiated architectural woodcut blocks depicting classical motifs, biblical allegories, and the dramatic, storytelling blocks within the text itself.

Historical Context

Before the printing press broke the monopoly on knowledge, books were symbols of pure state power—and this 1549 Folio Great Bible was the ultimate contraband turned official law. Dropping you straight into the dangerous, fast-moving landscape of Tudor politics, this text represents the exact moment the English language was wrenched away from Latin secrecy and given directly to the common people. This isn't just a sacred book; it's a revolutionary political engine.

Prefaced by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s famous Prologue (which closes with a bold, defiant block-printed "God save the Kyng"), this edition was designed to be chained to church pulpits across the nation. Its double-column Gothic typeface and bold visual programs operated as early modern visual art, transforming ancient near-eastern texts into high-stakes English literature. It stands as a stunning monument for anyone obsessed with the history of free thought, state censorship, and the raw power of the written word. Herbert 76 | Fourth Folio Printing, with Early English Black Letter Type | Measures: 13 x 9 inches | 33 x 22.9 cm

Price $24,500 | Purchase Page | See all

SKU: 92425

About this Particular Bible

This specific Bible offers an elite opportunity to acquire a substantial and visually commanding 16th-century artifact, preserving the core narrative, historic woodcut architecture, and theological heart of the rare 1549 Whitchurche folio translation. In the realm of early Tudor printing, encountering an absolutely flawless copy is a near impossibility, as the vast majority of surviving 470-year-old Bibles naturally bear heavy textual loss, missing title pages, or severe marginal decay from centuries of intensive pulpit use. This copy stands proud as a beautifully curated survivor of that ancient legacy. Complete with its magnificent general title page and its full suite of original historiated divisional titles—including the iconic architectural borders for the Second Part, Third Part, and the New Testament—the text flows continuously through the monumental black-letter Gothic typography.

The preservation of these early Tudor sheets highlights the raw, human reality of mid-16th-century manual presswork. In the early decades of the English vernacular Bible, running a heavy wooden printing press under the oversight of printers like Edward Whitchurche was a grueling, imprecise art. Minor variations in layout, foliation errors, and idiosyncratic ink distributions were natural occurrences of manual labor rather than errors under official penalty. Because these workshop nuances did not compromise Cranmer's state-sanctioned doctrine, they were embraced as authentic marks of early craft. This 1549 Whitchurche printing can be contextualized via historical auction results at Christie's Antiquarian Auctions or tracked via active trade records on the AbeBooks Rare Book Registry.

Provenance

• The Welsh Lloyd-Lhuyd Dynasty (1690–1714): A breathtakingly complete, multi-generational Welsh family timeline is penned elegantly onto an original blank preliminary leaf.

The chronological signatures; David Lloyd (1690), Roger Lloyd (1703), John Lloyd (1714), Jane Lloyd (1714), David Lhuyd (1714).

1. The 1714 Orthographic Shift: Reclaiming Welsh Identity

Notice how the name abruptly changes in 1714 from "Lloyd" to "Lhuyd." This choice is highly intentional and historically charged.

• Under the restrictive Tudor Laws in Wales Acts, Welsh gentry were heavily pressured to anglicize their names, which is how the original Welsh name Llwyd (meaning grey or brown) was systematically turned into the English spelling "Lloyd".

• By scratch-writing his name as David Lhuyd in 1714, this family member was actively participating in the early 18th-century Welsh Antiquarian Revival. This cultural movement was heavily championed by the legendary scholar Edward Lhuyd (who famously standardized the "Lhuyd" spelling). Reclaiming this distinct, archaic spelling in the margins of an expensive Bible was a quiet act of intellectual patriotism, declaring pride in their ancient British, non-English heritage.

2. Jane Lloyd (1714) & Female Book Ownership

Finding a woman's ownership signature—Jane Lloyd her Book 1714—in a massive, premium church folio of this era is exceptionally rare. In the early 1700s, large family Bibles were almost universally passed down exclusively via the male line from father to eldest son. The presence of Jane's bold, beautifully executed script alongside John and David implies either a sudden family succession crisis or an unusual level of female literacy and domestic authority within this Welsh household, marking her as a trusted keeper of the family’s most sacred heirloom.

3. Chained Pulpit Bibles in Welsh Homes

The significance of this entire list is what it tells us about the survival of the book itself. This 1549 Whitchurche folio was originally printed to be chained exclusively to church lecterns in England. The fact that by 1690, a proud Welsh gentry family had successfully salvaged, purchased, and transported this massive English volume back to Wales to use as their household register shows the intense hunger for vernacular scripture that defined Welsh culture.

This sequence offers is a time capsule, documenting a family's shift back to traditional Welsh orthography (Lhuyd) at the turn of the century.

• The Taylor Family Legacy: Continuously cherished across centuries, the volume features a later mid-20th-century family transmission note on the flyleaf: "This book belongs to Kelvin Taylor, passed to his son, Richard Taylor 1975," providing an incredibly honest chain of custody across distinct families.

The Exterior

A stunning, masterfully executed bespoke masterwork binding. Hardcover bound in a heavy, rich cream-colored full alum-tanned pigskin leather over thick, heavy boards. The front and rear covers are ornately stamped with delicate geometric blind tooling and fortified with a period museum-grade suite of heavy antique brass fixtures. Features four thick, defensive corner guards on each board, matching top and bottom center metal bosses, and complete operational heavy leather straps closing tightly on the fore-edge with beautiful, delicate clasps.

The Interior

A highly impressive, robust text block. The hand-pressed rag paper leaves remain remarkably crisp, thick, and durable, showing an honest, uniform ivory age-toning and typical minor peripheral corner smudging or light historical water-toning to the early leaves. Includes the rare general title page, Cranmer's Prologue, and the distinct divisional woodcut titles. The Black Letter typography remains remarkably dark and sharp.

We provide detailed photographs to allow you to assess the book's condition and aesthetic appeal. Many, if not all, of the early books and Bibles we offer will show signs of aging, whether it's foxing on the pages, dog-eared or chipped corners, inscriptions from previous owners, or staining from years of use.

Price $24,500 | Purchase Page  | See all SKU: 92425

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