Is My The Holy Bible (King James Version, 'He' Bible) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Folio (about 387 x 263 mm), London: Robert Barker, 1611, printed in black letter, double column, 59 lines to the full column, with ruled borders and side-notes
• The general title-page is wholly engraved — title and imprint included — by Cornelis Boel of Antwerp, whose name appears at the lower left; the New Testament title is set within a wide woodcut pictorial border, with woodcut head- and tail-pieces
• The preliminaries comprise the Dedication to King James, 'The Translators to the Reader', the calendar, the genealogies associated with John Speed and Hugh Broughton, and Speed's map of Canaan
• The first-issue point is at Ruth 3:15: the 'He' Bible reads 'and he went into the citie', where the 'She' Bible reads 'she went into the citie'
• References: Herbert 309
• ESTC S122347

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

There is no UK-versus-US or original-language precedence question: London: Robert Barker, 1611 is the only original, the work being the translation made by the companies appointed by King James I. Both 1611 folios are collected and both should be named: the 'He' Bible (Herbert 309) has priority, and the 'She' Bible follows as the second issue — a wholly reset setting rather than a reissue of the 'He' sheets. Complete copies are uncommon and made-up copies are closer to the norm than the exception; the Bonhams copy examined for this entry lacked the 18 preliminary leaves before Genesis and 43 leaves at the close, which is the usual pattern of loss at the extremities. Expect supplied or facsimile leaves, and check the engraved Boel title first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

This is the record where the donor caveat matters most: a Bible in a family's hands is almost always a 19th-century or later printing whose interest is genealogical rather than bibliographic. The single most important reprint tell is the 1833 Oxford 'exact reprint', which follows the 1611 page-for-page and word-for-word — spelling, punctuation, italics, capitals, and the distribution into lines and pages all reproduced with scrupulous care — but which substitutes roman type for the original's black letter. Typeface alone separates it from the original at a glance. Photographic facsimiles of the 1611 are widely sold and are generally identifiable by machine-made paper and modern binding structure.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Holy Bible (King James Version, 'He' Bible) a first edition?

A first edition of The Holy Bible (King James Version, 'He' Bible) by [translators appointed by King James I] (Robert Barker, London) is identified by: Folio (about 387 x 263 mm), London: Robert Barker, 1611, printed in black letter, double column, 59 lines to the full column, with ruled borders and side-notes.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. There is no UK-versus-US or original-language precedence question: London: Robert Barker, 1611 is the only original, the work being the translation made by the companies appointed by King James I.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

This is the record where the donor caveat matters most: a Bible in a family's hands is almost always a 19th-century or later printing whose interest is genealogical rather than bibliographic. The single most important reprint tell is the 1833 Oxford 'exact reprint', which follows the 1611 page-for-page and word-for-word — spelling, punctuation, italics, capitals, and the distribution into lines and pages all reproduced with scrupulous care — but which substitutes roman type for the original's bl

I have a first edition of The Holy Bible (King James Version, 'He' Bible) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.