Submitted by Bruce D. Liddell
Owned by W. Kirk Liddell, Conestoga PA.
Report by Bruce D. Liddell 10-Jun-2002. Bruce’s comments in [brackets.]
Enlarged color and b/w images of scanned pages available without charge via email. Contact BDLiddell@yahoo.com
Summary: This is the second book of a two-volume Authorized (official Anglican) King James Version Bible published England 1786 with approval of the Crown, plus addendum approved Metrical Psalms published Glasgow 1782. The evidence suggests someone bought both volumes new for 3 pounds 6 shillings (30/- per volume plus 6/- for addendum) from one of the authorized London booksellers Charles Dilly, 22 Poultry Lane; John Francis & Charles Rivington, 62 St. Paul's Churchyard; or Benjamin White, 63 Fleet Street. This amount was more than a month’s pay for a full-time low-wage worker, $1000+ in 2002. James Liddell inscribed his name on (Tuesday) 08-Jan-1788 in London, probably very soon after he obtained it. The large “London” inscription suggests James was a visitor, not a resident. The choice and expense are consistent with a gentry-class English-Scottish family’s parting gift to an adult younger son on the eve of emigration, but many other scenarios are possible.
Valuation: On 22-May-2002 an English 1718 one volume KJV complete in very good condition, all pages clean and leather binding intact, sold for $247 on Ebay online auction. Unless James Liddell’s 1786 Bible is a rare edition, it would doubtless sell for far less.
Physical: Visual examination only. Detached one stray thread from loose inscription page, replaced thread in binding. No samples taken, no physical or chemical tests.
Bound in black leather. All damage and repair appear very old.
Front cover W 100mm x H 168mm. No markings or impressions. Warped concave from water damage. Leather cracked with age. Outside corners broken. Large white scrape-stain on leather surface 25mm x 50mm [paint?] and numerous white-ish [salt or hard water?] droplet stains 5mm and smaller.
Spine W 27mm. Spine leather 85% complete. Faint oval W 14mm x H 10mm impressed on spine, 48 mm from top. Spine fits pages.
Back cover missing.
Printer’s layout 12 pages to a sheet (24 pages front and back.) First page T1. All pages smoothly cut, probably by printer and not owner.
Page edges show age darkening, no markings. All pages worn at edges and corners, some age stains, water stains from bound edge up to 35mm. Pages smooth and supple, even where water-stained, consistent with high-quality English paper of similar age.
Three pages torn but complete, two pages half missing in books I Thessalonians to Hebrews. Appears accidental.
Watermark short vertical lines broken by long horizontal lines repeated down and across page. Vertical lines 30mm by 1.2mm center to center. Separated by single continuous horizontal line 1mm, 31 mm center to center. No other watermark found. Unable to examine bound edge.
Text.
Authorized King James Version, identical to 1965 edition. Text begins middle of Psalms 104:28 “thou openeth thine hand.” Remaining OT books Psalms to Malachi, NT books Matthew to Revelation, addendum Metrical Psalms incomplete, ending Psalms 119:127.
Almost exactly half a KJV complete.
Marbled [linen?] endcloths. One endcloth glued to cover, matching endcloth almost detached from binding. Repaired with white paper and glue. Repair paper irregular, W 25 to 43mm x H 150mm, torn lengthwise when repair failed.
Inside cover, lower left, faint writing in age-brown ink, rotated 90 degrees ccw.
1 - 16
1 - 10
-------
3 - 6
[1 pound 16 shillings plus 1 pound 10 shillings total 3 pounds 6 shillings]
No other markings visible on endcloths.
First inscription page, in bound order.
Blank page (flyleaf) glued to recto of endcloth. Inscribed:
[First entry, Hand A, smooth copperplate]
Cornelia Verplanck Liddell [last word crowded]
Born the 29 May 1794 at
35 minutes past 9 A-M [last two letters slightly embellished]
[Second entry, Hand A, slightly smaller than first entry]
Ebenezer George Liddell
Born the 25 March 1797
at 20 minutes after 7 oClock [last word crowded]
P.M. -- Ba [blank space] by the
[Possible Third entry begins with “Ba” for Baptized]
Rev’d George Wall at my ‘ [“R” almost unreadable]
[?s]on house ’ on monday the [first one or two letters unreadable]
[5] day of June 1797 -- [first digit unreadable, 05-Jun-1797 = Monday]
in presence of John Black,
Book binder + his wife)
of New York. --
[Different hand, very light, bottom right]
JohnJ [second “J” lightly overwritten on “n”]
Second inscription page, in bound order.
Blank page glued to recto of endcloth, presumably once part of missing back cover. Endcloth cut free with a knife, irregular edge, reversed front to back, and rebound at former outside margin. Inscribed:
[First entry, Hand A, smooth copperplate]
James Liddell [“Ja” badly faded, almost unreadable]
London [Tuesday] 8 th Jany [“th” directly above “8”]
1788 [final “8” messy]
[childish scribble]
[Second entry, Hand B, darker ink, jerky not smooth]
Jamison Liddell Bour‘ n [“n” directly above apostrophe]
the 18 day April
1800 [final “0” badly smeared but unmistakable]
Marked pages.
Page dog-eared Isaiah 14:4 to 15:9.
Zigzag ink markings, very light, Jeremiah 52.
Zigzag ink markings, very light, Lamentations 2:15 to 2:18.
Page dog-reared Metrical Psalms 30 and 31.
Every page examined, no other markings found.
New Testament title page follows Old Testament.
THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,
Translated out of the ORIGINAL GREEK: And with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, By His Majesty’s Special Command.
Appointed to be read in CHURCHES.
CAMBRIDGE.
Printed by John Archdeacon, Printer to the University;
and sold by John, Francis, & Charles Rivington, Benjamin
White, and Charles Dilly, in London; and J. & J. Merrill,
in Cambridge. 1786.
CUM PRIVILEGIO. [With Privilege, i.e. permission from the Crown]
Metrical Psalms title page follows New Testament.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID In METRE:
Newly Translated, and diligently Compared with the Original Text, and former Translations. More plain, smooth, and agreeable to the Text, than any heretofore.
Allowed by the Authority of the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, and appointed to be sung in Congregations and Families.
GLASGOW: Printed by J. & M. ROBERTSON, M, DCC, LXXXII. [1782]
London city directories 1788
Charles Dilly, bookseller, 22 Poultry Lane (8 years same location.)
John, Francis & Charles Rivington, booksellers, 62 St. Paul's Churchyard (family of booksellers same location at least 50 years.)
Benjamin White, bookseller, 63 Fleet Street (12 years same location.)
On the map St. Paul’s is in the middle, White about 500m (1/3 mile)
almost due west, Dilly the same distance almost due east.
White 500m Rivingtons 500m Dilly
In 2002 all addresses are London EC,
less than a mile north of the Thames River.
This is the second of a two-volume Authorized King James Version Bible published 1786, OT Psalms to Malachi and NT Matthew to Revelation, with addendum Metrical Psalms. The pages show minor water damage at all edges, extensive stains at bound edge. Cover warped from water damage. Repaired with heavier stitchery. Spine fits remaining pages. Binding has mildewed.
Most pages show age and water stains, but very little wear. Two pages are marked in ink, two dog-eared, and five torn. The ink marks seem to be childish scribbles.
The inscription page beginning “Cornelia” appears to be written by one person, in certainly two and possibly three separate entries. “JohnJ” at the bottom appears to be childish writing practice.
On the inscription page beginning “James,” the first entry appears to be the same hand. The writing in the middle appears to be childish scribbling. The entry beginning “Jamison” is a different hand.
Sometime after the last entry this volume was repaired. The two inscribed pages and the back endcloth were removed, glued to the endcloths, and stitched into the front, both inscriptions recto. The stitchery is a clumsy job with too-heavy thread, and the back endcloth was carelessly cut to an a irregular edge. The white paper reinforcement was simply torn off another sheet. This is all consistent with the work of an elderly person with some loss of motor skills, and lacking proper tools.