The Geneva bible up for auction at Sheppard’s, Durrow
AN extremely rare bible, which is over 400 years old, will be auctioned by Sheppard’s Irish Auction House in Durrow shortly.
The Geneva bible, which is 429 years old, will go on sale on 26 November and will be broadcast on the auction house website sheppards.ie.
The Geneva bible has a strong Laois connection. During the Great Famine, the bible was owned by Revd Elliott Ewes Carr. Rev Carr died in 1906 and is buried in Portarlington. The Geneva bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the bible into the English language, preceding the King James translation by 51 years.
The Geneva bible is otherwise known as the ‘Breeches Bible,’ as Adam and Eve are described as fashioning breeches to cover their nakedness.
This version is significant because, as at its inception, it was for the very first time a mechanically printed, mass-produced bible that was made available directly to the general public. It was the primary bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox and the poet John Donne.
In 1620, it was one of the bibles taken to America by the Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower. In the early 18th-century, Lord Castledurrow of Castle Durrow is known to have borrowed Dean Jonathan Swift’s Geneva bible and later returned it to the deanery.
The bible bears inscriptions from its owners, which add to the story of this particular bible’s extensive history.
A manuscript inscription by a 20th-century owner of the bible, the Rev William Fredric Johnstone of Bansha, Tipperary reads as follows: “22nd August 1945. Japan prepares to surrender. Two atomic bombs are reported as having killed wounded and rendered homeless 500,000 persons. So Japan announced today. England and American opinion divided as to the good or evil of use of bomb. All everywhere are shocked and bewildered as to its effectiveness.”
The bible was owned by a family in Tipperary and a Geneva bible sells for upwards of €2,000.
