The "Bible Detective" : I've tracked Bibles that have belonged to Kings, Queens, Popes, Emperors and other famous people

I've been actively pursuing rare Bibles since 1989.  I got the "collecting bug" when I purchased my first Bible--a 1589 "Geneva" Bible for $500.  Since then, I have tracked down over 1,000 rare Bibles. Many of these Bibles and Prayer Books have belonged to famous historical figures, including: J. R. R. Tolkien, Captain Bligh (Mutiny on the Bounty), Joseph Smith, Marie Antoinette, Louis XV,  Pope Pius VII and Napoleon.  The most frequently asked question is, "How do you know this Bible belonged to a particular person?"  Well, that's a good question.  The "provenance" of a Bible is very important--it is the history of ownership.  This can be a combination of the any or all of the following: ownership inscriptions, signatures, auction records, written documentation and armorial bindings.

Here's a recent article about my treasure hunting: https://www.lds.org/church/news/bible-detective-collects-old-bibles-and-rare-mormon-books?lang=eng

I'm in Las Vegas this weekend to give two lectures (firesides) "From Reformation to Restoration". In my lecture  I tell the story William Tyndale and the English Bible, talk about the influence of the Bible on William Shakespeare, and tell little-known stories from the life of Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

Here's a brief snippet on Shakespeare and the Bible: 

 

Shakespeare refers to 36 different books of the Bible over 1,000 times in his plays. For example, he refers to Paul's epistle to the Corinthians in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" "The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen...". In the "Merchant of Venice" when Portia praises the quality of mercy, she declares that mercy, "droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/Upon the place beneath"--referring to Matthew 5:45 where God "sendeth rain to the just and on the unjust". In making these allusions, Shakespeare knows that his audience will be able to interpret them, and by so doing, will add deeper meaning to his plays.  Genius.

 

 

•