1539 Great Bible Facsimile Reproduction

In 1539, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, hired Myles Coverdale at the bequest of King Henry VIII to publish the "Great Bible". It became the first English Bible authorized for public use... essentially the first English Bible to not be illegal. It was distributed to every church, chained to the pulpit, and a reader was even provided so that the illiterate could hear the Word of God in plain English. Cranmer's Bible, published by Coverdale, was known as the Great Bible due to its great size: a large pulpit folio taller than any English Bible that came before it. Seven editions of this version were printed between April of 1539 and December of 1541.

The original Great Bible, from which this facsimile was produced, was part of the Francis Fry collection. Fry was the most famous and influential ancient Bible collector and scholar of the 1800's. This is the only facsimile reproduction of a Great Bible that has ever been produced since the originals of the 1500's. It was printed privately as a limited-edition publication of just a few hundred copies. This publication, of course, sold-out immediately. We have only three copies available.

This Facsimile Reproduction measures approximately 17 inches tall by 11 inches wide by just under 4 inches thick, and is bound in hardcover tan bonded leather with gold stamping along the spine. While an original Great Bible from the 1500’s is available in the Platinum Room of our Ancient Rare Bibles & Books section for nearly $200,000, this reproduction is much more affordable, and quite beautiful as it features many large woodcut illustrations. You will definitely want to make this visually magnificent edition a part of your library. Discover what the 1539 Great Bible looked like in it's original form.

High-Quality Facsimile Reproductions