[TYNDALE, William.] [FRITH, John.] [BARNES, Robert.] The Whole/ workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn/ Frith, and Doct. Barnes, three/ worthy Martyrs, and principall/ teachers of this Churche of England,/ collected and compiled in one Tome to-/ gither, beyng before scattered, & now in/ Print here exhibited to the Church./ To the prayse of God, and/ profite of all good Chri-/ stian Readers. London: Printed by Iohn Daye, and are to be sold at his shop under Aldersgate, 1573. (colophon, 1572)

First edition. Small folio signed in fours and sixes. Black letter; some roman and italic. Foxe’s cut of Tyndale’s martyrdom at [A4]. Collation: engraved title-page [A.i.], A4, B3, C-Y4, Aa-Yy6, AA-EE6, FF-GG4 (GG.ii. is finis of Tyndale, dated 1572, [GG3] is engraved fly-title to the works of Frith); HH6, II4 – three text leaves missing ([II5, 6, and KK.i.) pagination jumps 20-27 (i.e., lacking 21-26)– KK.ii-[6] LL-XX6, YY4 (finis of Frith at [YY4] recto; fly-title to Barnes [*AAa.i*] with half-page woodcut of the 1540 martyrdom of Barnes, Thomas Garret, and William Hierome (Vicar of Stepney) on verso (after Foxe); lacks AAa.i., AAa.ii. – [6], BBb-QQq6, RRr4, colophon [RRr4]recto and woodcut (after Foxe) on verso: “A lively picture describyng the authoritie and substance of God’s most blessed word, weyghing agaynst Popish traditions.”

Tyndale’s work dominates the publication and the Tyndale section includes: “A Preface to the Chistian Reader” by John Foxe; “The Life of Wylliam Tyndall” by John Foxe; (by Tyndale:) “A protestation of the state of soules departed”; Tyndale’s prefaces or prologues to the Books of Moses, the Gospels, the Epistles (including the seminal “Prologue to Romans”; “A Prologue shewing the use of Scripture”; “Parable of the Wicked Mammon”; “Obedience of a Christian Man”; “Practice of Popish Prelates”; “Answer to Syr Thomas More’s dialogues”; “Pathway into Holy Scripture”; “A Fruitfull treatise upon signes & Sacraments”; “Two Notable Letters to John Frith;” etc.

The works of John Frith include: “His Booke of Purgatory”; “An Answer to Rastal’s Dialogue”; “An answer to Syr Thomas More”; “An answer to Fisher”; “A Bulwark against Rastall”; “A Mirrour of Glasse”; “Treatise upon Baptisme”; “An antithesis between Christ and the Pope”; “A book of the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ”; etc.

The works of Barnes include: “His Life and Martyrdom”; “Fayth Onely justifieth before God”; “What the keyes of the Church bee, and to whom they were geeuen”; “Free will of man…”; “Of the Original of the Masse…”; etc.

Obviously, a hugely important publication in early Elizabethan society.

17th-Century full calf, paneled in blind and gilt, gilt central lozenge to boards with (unidentified) initials M and B. Old red morocco lettering piece. Paper shelfmarks (V) and (d16) in top and bottom compartments; GIFFORD in gilt at foot of spine. Joint repairs; some splitting but still sound. Remains of perished clasps. Worn at extremities. Very few minor internal flaws: occasional marginal tears; occasional ink notations. [RRr4] with short tear into woodcut; QQq.i. with closed tear into text about 3”. Crisp, clean, luxuriously margined.

An exceptionally appealing Provenance: From the Library of Andrew Gifford – Minister of the Baptist Chapel in Eagle Street, London, and a co-founder and librarian of the British Museum – with his armorial bookplate reading “of the museum” and his shelf numbers; and the Bristol Baptist College Library with their bookplate and shelf numbers.

Andrew Gifford’s will stipulated the donation of his extensive personal library to the Society of Baptists of Bristol (i.e., Bristol Baptist College).

STC 24436.

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This is the largest Geneva Bible ever printed, and the only oversized huge pulpit folio Geneva Bible ever printed, standing a whopping 17 inches tall by 12 inches wide by 5 inches thick.  The grandest and most beautifully typeset Geneva Bible ever printed, this Magnum Opus of Geneva Bibles is known affectionately to collectors as “The Noblest Geneva Bible” since 1938 when the famous Bibliophile Edwin Rumball-Petre referred to it as such in his legendary listing of “must have” antique Bibles.  This is truly one of the most desirable of all rare and antique Bibles that any collector could ever hope to obtain.

A stunning masterpiece of printing history; the 1583 Noblest Geneva Bible is as rare as it is beautiful.  In our nearly 30 years as the world’s largest rare Bible dealer, we have only seen three (3) other examples of this 1583 printing come onto the world market, and it is likely that fewer than two dozen complete copies are extant anywhere today, with nearly all being locked away in collections never to be offered for sale.  The Geneva Bible was the first English Bible with numbered verses, the first Bible with commentary notes in the margins, the first Bible taken to America, the Bible quoted over 500 times in Shakespeare’s plays, the only Bible to ever out-sell and exceed the popularity of the King James Version, and the first Bible offered in Roman typeface … though this 1583 edition retained the beautiful fancy gothic blackletter typeface for its text, with Roman type used for the headlines.

Curiously, while collectors of early King James Bibles consider the 1611 First Edition to be the most desirable edition; it is not the 1560 First Edition of the Geneva Bible which is typically the most sought after by collectors of Geneva Bibles. This is because the 1560 edition is just a regular quarto-sized printing which is not particularly attractive, and with fewer than 10 of the 1560 First Editions extant today, they are essentially unobtainable (not for sale anywhere) and would likely fetch far into six figures if one did come onto the market.  In contrast, the 1583 Noblest Geneva Pulpit Folio Bible stands alone in size, beauty, and overall desirability, making it the edition most highly prized of all Geneva Bibles.

This is a magnificent example, with all pages present including both dated title pages (OT Title nicely remounted).  A few pages have minor edge repairs, and the paper is a bit soft with age just in the lower corner, but overall there is little staining, no cropping of headlines, and nothing missing.  The binding (professionally redone by Starr Bookworks) is an ornately blind-stamped black leather with hand-made marbled end papers.  This is a very pleasing example of the 1583 Noblest Geneva Pulpit Folio Bible.

Our insurance cost replacement value estimate on this Bible is $65,000, however its rarity actually makes it irreplaceable, and its estate liquidation discounted sale price of just $39,000 makes it a very attractively priced treasure for the astute collector seeking a world-class acquisition.

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First English Edition of John Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis.

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