1633 King James New Testament

The King James version of the Bible is the most widely printed book in history. First printed in 1611, there have been numerous subsequent printings and editions. This early New Testament was printed in 1633 in Scotland and bound with Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins’s 1633 Book of Psalms in English Meter printed in London. It is bound in black goatskin with gilt showing intricate tooling on the front and back cover. Within the cover’s design are the initials “M. S.” but it is unclear to whom this refers. This early King James New Testament contains a list of extensive prior ownership over almost 200 hundred years in the endpapers.

Printed in 1633 by Robert Young, Edinburgh. Acquired before 1717 by an individual named Boughton;[1] Gifted in 1717 to Simon Knight, cousin to Boughton; Via widowhood in 1776 to Mrs. Knight;[2] Gifted in 1788 to Miss Henrietta Moor, second daughter of Reverend Christopher Moor; Gifted to Revered James Moor, vicar of Clifton; Ownership assumed by Miss Frances Moor, daughter of James Moor; Gifted in 1892 to Reverend Charles Moor, the great-great-grandson of Reverend Christopher Moor. Acquired before 2010 by Adrian Greenwood Rare Books Inc., Oxford, England; Purchased in 2010 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2016 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry), under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] The front pastedown states this Bible was gifted to Simon Knight in 1717 by his cousin “Boughton.” A bookplate with a coat of arms is present on the front pastedown, but it is unclear whose bookplate this was. [2] The front endpapers contain an extensive history from Simon Knight’s death to the Reverend Charles Moor in 1892.

King James Version Bibles