John Baskerville - The Holy Bible - 1763

Offered is an original 1763 Baskerville Bible, printed in Cambridge by the celebrated English printer John Baskerville. This substantial large-format folio edition of the King James Version is one of the most distinguished achievements of eighteenth-century English printing.

Baskerville’s Bible is particularly admired for its elegant typography, spacious page layout, finely printed text and characteristic red-ruled margins. The edition represents the culmination of Baskerville’s work in type design, papermaking, ink and presswork, and is an important example of the development of fine printing during the eighteenth century.

This impressive copy includes the complete Old Testament, complete Apocrypha and New Testament, together with a separate New Testament title page, Index to the Holy Bible and chronological tables. The large margins and distinctive Baskerville typography remain particularly striking.

The Bible is housed in an attractive nineteenth-century full calf binding, likely representing a Victorian rebinding or rebacking of the original text block. The binding has raised bands and a gilt spine title. There is wear and rubbing to the extremities, particularly around the head and foot of the spine, consistent with age and use.

The text block is generally sound and presentable. There is moderate age-related foxing throughout, while the pages retain the generous margins and red ruling characteristic of this edition.

John Baskerville was one of the most influential printers of eighteenth-century Britain. His work combined refined typography with improvements in paper, ink and printing technique, producing books that became highly influential in the history of English printing.

The 1763 Bible is regarded as one of Baskerville’s major achievements and is represented in important institutional collections, including the Museum of the Bible, Trinity College Dublin and Canterbury Cathedral Library.

Contents
Complete Old Testament
Complete Apocrypha
Complete New Testament
Separate New Testament title page
Index to the Holy Bible
Chronological tables
Decorative title pages
Wide red-ruled margins
Condition

The text is complete from Genesis through Revelation, with the concluding Index present. The nineteenth-century full calf binding shows age-related wear, rubbing and wear to the head and foot of the spine. Moderate foxing is present throughout. The text block remains substantial, sound and highly presentable for a book of this age.

Please study the photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the condition description.

Dimensions

Height: 51 cm
Width: 34.5 cm
Thickness: 8.5 cm
Weight: 10.2 kg

A², 1, B–13D², *a–*e², *f¹

The copy is recorded as comprising 573 leaves in total, with the numbered text extending to page 1146. The bibliographical description therefore gives the extent as approximately 573 leaves / 1146 pages, including the preliminary and final unnumbered material.

The numbered pagination runs through page 1146, followed by the concluding index and tables.


A substantial and historically important example of eighteenth-century English printing, suitable for collectors of rare Bibles, antiquarian books, typography and the history of printing.