Exquisitely bound early C17th English Bible by the ‘Squirrel Binder’

[Bible] The Booke of Common Prayer and Administrations of the Sacraments: And other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England. London: Bonham Norton and John Bill, 1629 [with] The Genealogies recorded in the Sacred Scriptures, according to every Family and Tribe […] [s.l.; n.d.] [with] The Holy Bible, Containing the Old Testament and the New. Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues, and with the former Translations diligently compared and revised; by His Majesty’s special command. Appointed to be read in Churches. London: Robert Barker, 1631 [published together with] The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Iesus Christ, Newly Translated. London: Robert Barker, 1630 [with] The Whole Book of Psalmes: Collected into English Meter by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and others, conferred with the Hebrew, with apt notes to sing them withal.

London: Printed for the Companie of Stationers, 1630

170mm x 115mm

I: Engraved title within border, printed in two columns, red ruled throughout; unpaginated but A-F8, G4 complete.

II: Title within border, unpaginated but A-B8, C2, D2 complete, includes double-page engraved map of Canaan by John Speed with inset plan of Jerusalem.

III: Both engraved title-pages within borders, red-ruled throughout. Unpaginated but A-Kkk8 complete. New Testament of Our Lord with separate title page and date, but part of the same work,

IV: Title within border, red ruled throughout, signed A-F8, G4; pagination [x], 91, [3]. Four works bound in a single distinguished volume. Anonymous round wood-engraved armorial with the head of a bull and the motto ‘Non Nobis Nati’ (Born not for ourselves) to front pastedown. Upper inner hinge splitting with some surface loss but holding strongly on cords, tips of corners bumped and rubbed, some slight surface cracking of spine, lacking ties. Some marginal looseness, minor flaws including small tears and some pale stains, but overall very good.

A complete and well-preserved example of the early “Wicked Bible,” notable for the correction of the notorious textual error, a rare and illustrative survival of early 17th-century English religious publishing and binding artistry. Binding Contemporary English full black morocco, attributed to the “Squirrel Binder”, sides and spine intricately tooled with gilt foliate, insect, and scroll motifs, gilt inner dentelles, traces of two pairs of silk ties, all edges gilt. The volume exhibits some surface cracking of the spine, minor bumping to corners, and surface wear, characteristic of its age and craftsmanship. The tools of this binding, featuring distinctive scrolls, seven petal floral devices and “yin yang” foliate devices, can be attributed to Nixon’s “Squirrel Binder,” active from 1610–1635 working for English nobles and members of the royal court, including James I and Charles I. He was known for his exquisite French-style bindings in the manner of sixteenth-century fanfare. References I: ESTC 93880, STC 16377, USTC: 3014301; III: ESTC S90518, STC 2292.3; IV: ESTC S181, STC 2621, USTC 3014690 Institutional Copies I: only 4 recorded copies in the UK, none outside; III: only 1 copy in UK (Cambridge University Library), and 1 in USA (Library of Congress); IV: only 2 copies recorded in the USA (New York Public Library, Library of Congress), and 4 in the UK.