The Holy Bible Abridged,

ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S MINIATURE BIBLE NOT IN ESTC

or, The History of the Old and New Testament Illustrated with Notes, and adorned with Cuts. For the Use of Children.

 

32mo (101 x 65mm). vii, [9], 176 pp., with 61 woodcut illustrations in the text. Rather grubby, dusty and stained throughout, edges and corners chipped in places, some ink blotting, clean closed tear across the centre of leaf C4 (not obscuring the text). Original calf-backed paste boards - the covers with a woodcut floral pattern which has been preserved by an old amateur binding fashioned from a piece of buckram (the buckram is now rather stained and grubby but the boards underneath are presumably fairly clean, headcaps worn, corners and edges bumped and rubbed, front endpaper missing, pen trials on the inside of the boards).

 

London: for T. Carnan and F. Newbery Junior...not for F. Newbery, at the Corner of Ludgate-street, who has no Share in the late Mr. John Newbery's Books for Children, 

NOT IN ESTC. Roscoe John Newbery and his successors, 1740-1814 : a bibliography J27 (11). Newbery's illustrated abridged Bible for children was ("probably" - Roscoe) first published in 1757 (UCLA only in ESTC). A seventh edition had appeared by 1768 (although only the third edition is recorded by ESTC - all early editions are very rare). The first edition published in conjunction with Thomas Carnan appeared in 1775 (BL; UCLA, Wayne State University and National Library of Australia only). The present printing is not in ESTC and the next to appear is a Boston printing of 1782.  OCLC records copies of this edition at Cambridge, University of Florida and University of Pennsylvania only.

 

A rare and unsophisticated copy of the famous illustrated Newbery illustrated Bible for children which preserves - beneath a temporary buckram binding - the original printed boards. This Bible was produced amidst the infamous "hostile" fallout in the Newbery family.

 

An abridged Bible designed specifically for children in a small format and with entertaining woodcut illustrations. The work is dedicated "To the Parents, Guardians and Governesses of Great Britain and Ireland" and a note in the preface states that the intention of this edition is,"to give children such a taste of the writings of the Holy Penman, as may engage them earnestly and seriously in the study of the sacred books of the Old and Testament". The preface continues, "To render this little book the more pleasing to children, it is embellished with a great number of cuts; and, that, it may be useful to those more advanced in years, the chronology of the most remarkable Events is preserved...(vii).

 

This miniature Bible was also part of a long-running, bitter feud in the Newbery family following the death of John Newbery in 1767. After Newbery's death his son,Francis Newbery, took over the running of the business, he took on Thomas Cranan as a partner and they continued to operate from 65 St. Paul's Church Yard. Newbery's cousin, also named Francis Newbery, began his own publishing business very close to Francis and Thomas at 20 Ludgate Street and began publishing books resembling those produced by the famous Newbery press. A note in the imprint of this Bible states implicitly that the work is not connected to Francis Newbery at Ludgate Street, "who has no Share in the late Mr. John Newbery's Books for Children".

 

The acrimony between the two sides of the family became "increasingly hostile" (ODNB) and the two sides published numerous attacks on the other in the newspapers arguing that they offered the superior stock and the rights to produce it.

 

A defective copy ("leaves L4-5 replaced from another copy") of this edition appeared at Heritage auctions in 2020. A copy lacking a large number of text leaves appeared at Sotheby's in 1968. All editions (especially complete) are rare at auction.

Stock Code: 246327