XXII.

THE ENGLISH BIBLE PRINTING MONOPOLY:THE "KING'S PRINTER," ETC.

N England the printing of Bibles in English (without Commentaries or Annotations) is strictly limited to three Presses: The King's Printers, The University of Oxford and The University of Cambridge. Even the great British and Foreign Bible Society cannot print its own Bibles. Special arrangements of a similar nature are made for Scotland and for Ireland. A reward of £1.1.0 (about $5.25) is offered by the Bible Presses to anyone who first finds and reports an error. This reward was paid in October, 1903, to a well-known London resident. The error reported was in St. Mark vi. I, where the printed text read, "His disciples followed Him," instead of the correct text, "His disciples follow Him." (Cf. Daily Telegraph, October 22 and 23, 1903.)

If the Bible is printed in any language other than English, or, if there is a Commentary or Notes, or References, then anyone may (in Great Britain or Ireland) print a special edition of the Bible.

John Cawood was appointed by Queen Mary her Printer for life. Queen Elizabeth confirmed the appointment, but joined Richard Jugge along with Cawood, with power to print either separately or together. Cawood died April 1, 1572. Jugge died about 1577. Notwithstanding these arrangements, until about 1577 the printing of Bibles and Testaments was common to all printers who took out a Royal License. The Queen's (or King's) Printer up to this time had no monopoly of Bible printing. Queen Elizabeth granted two patents of privilege; one in 1573 to Francis Flower for the printing of Latin, and the other about 1575 to Thomas Wilkes "as her

Printer of the English Tongue." Wilkes made over to John Jugge (son of Richard) the greater part of his privileges, and claimed under his patent the exclusive printing of Bibles and Testaments. John Jugge soon died, and on September 28, 1577, Christopher Barker purchased the entire English patent and its privileges from Wilkes. These privileges were very extensive, and included the printing of "all Bibles and Testaments in the English language of whatever translation with notes or without them." Barker obtained a new patent dated August 9, 1589, in favour of himself and his son Robert. Christopher Barker died November 29, 1594. Robert lived till 1645. His name first appears as Bible Printer in 1601. In 1612 he obtained from King James I. a patent for his eldest son, Christopher, to run after his own death. Young Christopher died within five years, but his heirs were to hold the patent for four years after the death of his father Robert. Robert (the father) obtained yet another patent from K.ng James to run in favour of his second son, Robert, for thirty years, to commence after the death of Robert, the father, and after the expiration of the four years for which Christopher's heirs had the right. In July, 1627, the Barkers assigned their rights to Norton and Bill, with the consent of King Charles I. Robert Barker, the father, was not yet satisfied, and he obtained, in September, 1635, a continuation of the patent from the expiration of the four years in favour of Christopher's heirs and of the thirty years in favour of Robert, the son, in the names of his two younger sons, Charles and Matthew; so the Barkers held the patent from 1577 to 1709; for the long period of 132 years, or in other words, from the nineteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, through the entire reigns of James I., Charles I., Charles II., James II., and William and Mary, and up to the eighth year of Queen Anne. The patent and its privileges then passed to the Basketts, who held it for sixty years (circ. 1706-1766). It was then sold to John Eyre,

from whom it passed to his son, Charles Eyre. Charles Eyre took William Strahan into partnership, and from the firm of Eyre and Strahan the patent came to the present owners, Eyre and Spottiswoode, who now hold the office of the King's Printers.

See Dore (No. 139), p. 221, and Anderson (No. 144), Vol. 2, pp. 325, 326, 344, et seq.

This is a short summary of the creation and descent of the office of King's (or Queen's) Printer in England. It will be noticed that in 1752 (temp. Georg II.) a Baskett was King's Printer. This is of interest in connection with Section (c) of Chapter XXV. In all probability, another Baskett was at this time printer to the University of Oxford. The two universities hold their Bible printing privileges and rights by charter or prescription, and not by special patent. They use the words "Cum Privilegio," but omit the old conclusion "Ad solum imprimendum," in view of the present rights of the King's Printer.

XXIII.

THE AMERICAN STANDARD EDITION OF THE REVISED BIBLE.

T

HE American revisers had hoped that the English revisers would, sooner or later, adopt many of the

American preferential readings, putting them into the text of the English editions of the Bible, but no step in this direction was taken. Regarding it as not unlikely that an American review of the English revision might be called for, the American revisers continued their organization; from 1885 onwards, and specially from 1897 to 1901, they diligently prepared for such a publication.

There were various considerations that urged them in this direction, such as the following:

1. The appendices attached to the Revised Version of the Old Testament and the New Testament needed revision.

2. They were prepared in haste and under pressure from England; and in the editing the number of preferences was largely reduced, the less important being omitted.

3. The omitted preferences were only comparatively unimportant; and in number largely exceeded those appearing in the appendices.

4. The English revisers were fettered by one of the rules established for their guidance, which provided "that while on the first reading the revisers should decide on changes in the text by simple majorities; yet on the second reading no change in the text should be made or retained unless two-thirds of those present approved of the same.46

46. It is an open secret that many of the changes in the Text which now appear in the margin of the English Revision as alternative readings (including several of the American preferences) obtained the votes of the majority of the Revisers present on the final_reading_in their favour, but failed to secure places in the Text because the majority of voices was not a two-thirds majority.

5. The judgment of scholars, both in England and the United States, has generally approved the American prefer

ences.

Under these circumstances the publication of an American edition of the Revised Scriptures was undertaken. This was a work of great care and time. It was no mere mechanical transference of the American preferences from the appendices to the text, but it involved the careful review of all former discussions and decisions, the taking up of all the preferences that had been dropped, and the careful study of the English revision.

The New American Standard Edition was published in 1901. It comprises the Old Testament and the New Testament. It does not include the Apocrypha. There is little doubt that of all the editions of the Revised Version of the Old and New Testaments, the American Standard Edition is the best, and takes its place for scholarship and other excellencies in the front rank, and in the first place in that rank... It is almost necessarily and naturally so.

The editors had the advantage of having before them the entire English revision, they read and studied the criticism upon it, they were free to adopt whatever true scholarship advanced, they were unfettered and untrammelled by the rules laid down for the English revisers, or by the regulations of the English University Presses; and so, we have in the American Standard Edition of the Sacred Scriptures the most accurate and scholarly of all the editions of the Bible that has yet been published.47

47. I do not enter on the question of the Version of the Bible to be used in the Services of the Church. This is a question of far reaching importance involving many issues.