18th Century bibles & other literature
Why a 1733 Bible?
Modern reproductions have been made of rare English bibles. Among the most well known are the 1560 Geneva Bible, the 1599 Geneva Bible , and the 1611 King James Bible. However, this particular edition of the King James Version that was printed in 1733 is not a first-edition, nor a last edition, nor an unusually rare edition. And yet that is exactly why we attempted to make this replica. It represents the common Bible of the common family in the American colonies. It reminds us of a generation who was born during the First Great Awakening, who came to adulthood during the French and Indian War, and who became the brave leaders of the American Revolution and the founders of a new American nation.
The last mass printing of a modern facsimile of an 18th century King James Bible was of the 1782 Aitken Bible, printed by The American Bible Society in 1968. This Bible has long been out of print, and regretfully copies are now difficult to find. In this same tradition, we wanted to bring back a good quality reproduction of a 1700s Bible, beginning with the New Testament. However, we wanted more than just a facsimile. We wanted to make a true replica that 18th century re-enactors and living history enthusiasts would be proud to put in their haversacks and read around the campfire.
Our goal is to preserve historical accuracy and to present the great Christian literature of the 1700's to as many living history enthusiasts as possible.
We are reproducing the 1734 edition of the Book of Common Prayer with a similar philosophy to that of our 1733 New Testament. This 1734 edition is not a premier version, a revised version, nor is it an unusually rare edition. It is simply our attempt to replicate the commonly-used common prayer book of the Church of England during the middle 1700's. This book would be very similar to the one used by Charles Wesley and John Wesley when they left England in 1735 to serve as Anglican missionaries to the colony of Georgia . This book would also be very similar to the one used carried by George Whitefield in his tours in the American colonies during the height of the Great Awakening in the 1740's. It would have also been used by many of the early "Methodists" prior to their severance from the Church of England.
Compared with our 1733 New Testament, this 1734 Book of Common Prayer is rather eye-catching from a typographic perspective. There are quite a number of ornaments, headers, footers, fancy capital letters, and a greater number of different font sizes in comparison with the Bible. Nevertheless, as was typical with the Age of Reason, there is order, balance, and simplicity. The result is a beautifully done publication that places the modern reader in the center of the British world of the 18th century.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
We hope that the information on the following pages of this website will assist you in your questions of how we are making our reproduction.