Rare First Edition King James Bible Exhibition @ TMA
TOLEDO, OHIO–To commemorate the 400th anniversary of a publishing milestone, the Toledo Museum of Art will display its own rare early first edition copy of the King James Bible from Sept. 16–Dec. 3 in Gallery 15.
Named for King James I of England, who ordered the translation, the project was started in 1604 and completed in 1611. One of two editions in the Museum’s collection is identified as an “early” first edition because it contains a distinctive woodcut engraving. Few of the rare early first editions survive.
The King James version of the Bible remains one of the most familiar and widely read translations in the world. Considered both a religious and literary classic, the book has been influential throughout its existence. Handel’s Messiah, Negro spirituals, the Gettysburg Address and everyday phrases in English all can be traced to language in the book.
Most copies of the first edition, printed by “Printer to the King” Robert Barker, contain an engraved title page by Cornelis Boel (Flemish, about 1576/80–1621), but Toledo’s folio has an elaborate woodcut border instead. That border was used for only a few of the earliest copies while the Boel engraving was being finished.
This is a rare opportunity to see the Museum’s King James Bible accompanied by information about the book’s importance from differing viewpoints, including those of a collector, an historian and a theologian. Over the course of the exhibition, different pages of the book will be displayed.
Related Programming
FREE Presentation: First Edition Bible: How Do We Know?
Sept. 16: 7 p.m., Gallery 15
Ed Hill, works of art on paper assistant, discusses one of the highlights of TMA’s George W. Stevens Book Collection, a rare first edition of the King James Bible, and clues found in this version that confirm its authenticity.
FREE Presentation: A Tortured, Thrilling Tale: How the King James Bible Came to Be
Oct. 14: 7:30 p.m., Cloister
The Rev. Margaret and the Rev. Gregory Sammons discuss the birth and current popularity of the well-loved and best-known rendering of the Bible, the King James version. Tracing its pre-Reformation antecedents, they describe the political and ecclesiastical forces that shaped it and the process by which it was published and won the loyalty of the English-speaking world within a generation. Both graduates of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., the Sammons are co-rectors of St. Michael’s in the Hills Episcopal Church. Prior to coming to Toledo, they served separate parishes in western Massachusetts, and then began a joint ministry in the Detroit area. Gregory is a graduate of Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.) where he majored in English. Margaret graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, majoring in religion and biblical studies.
FREE Presentation: The King James Bible, the Toledo Rubens, and the Early Modern Culture of Martyrdom
Nov. 6: 2 p.m., Cloister
The magisterial prose of the King James Bible (1611) and the serenity of the virgin martyrs in Rubens's The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1633) contrast sharply with the violence and terror of religious conflict in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Both works emerge out of a culture of contested martyrdom, in which one side's martyrs are the other side's suicidal terrorists. Translating the Bible and depicting saints were political as well as religious activities. Each carried significant penalties and rewards. Through his examination of different English translations of specific biblical texts—leading up to the King James version—and Rubens's complex relationship with the English monarchy, Matthew H. Wikander, a professor of English at the University of Toledo, explains how great art and great literature emerged out of the chaos of religious warfare in the early 1600s. Wikander, who teaches Shakespeare and other courses, writes about early and modern drama. He holds bachelor’s degrees from Williams College and Cambridge University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
FREE Presentation: God and Shakespeare Speak Early Modern English
Dec. 4: 2 p.m., Cloister
The year 1611 saw the publication of two great English works aimed at national and personal reconciliation—the King James version of the Bible and Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. This version of the Bible drew on translations from the preceding millennium and was influenced by the scholarship of contemporary groups hostile to one another. Shakespeare’s language has roots in virtually every area of English life—a life torn by religious tension, political intolerance, and terrorist plots emerging from both. Together, the King James Bible and the plays of Shakespeare could be said to have “created” the English language, and their great harmonies both contain and adjust the discords they wish to quell. Well-known scholar Ralph Williams is professor of English, language and literature at the University of Michigan. He has studied 15 languages, including Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, and uses Italian, French, and Latin, especially frequently. He specializes in Medieval and Renaissance literature, Shakespeare, literary theory, comparative literature and Biblical studies.
Press Release Contact Name: Kelly Garrow
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Organization Name: Toledo Museum of Art