The 1611 King James Great “He” Bible


November 2025

Some books shape private lives, very few help to shape an entire language. The 1611 King James Bible belongs firmly in the latter category. Our Maps, Ephemera & Antiquarian Books auction includes an outstanding example of this landmark work: a first edition, first issue Great “He” Bible, printed in London in 1611 by Robert Barker, King’s Printer, and widely regarded as one of the foundation texts of English literary and religious culture.

A Bible for a Kingdom

When James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 he inherited a church divided by competing English Bible translations and liturgical practice. In 1604, at the Hampton Court Conference, he authorised a new translation that would unify worship, draw together scholarship from across the universities and clergy and provide a single version appointed to be read in churches. Around fifty scholars, working in six companies at Oxford, Cambridge and Westminster, spent seven years revising and comparing previous versions, including Tyndale, the Bishops’ Bible and the Geneva Bible. Their aim was not only accuracy, but also clarity and dignity of style. The result, published in 1611, was the Authorised Version or King James Version, a text whose cadences and phrases would become embedded in everyday speech, literature and public life for the next four centuries. Phrases such as “the powers that be”, “labour of love”, “the writing on the wall” and “a man after his own heart” owe their enduring form to this translation, which one modern commentator has called “one of the major literary accomplishments of early modern England”. 

Robert Barker and the Great “He” Bible

The first edition of the King James Bible was printed in London by Robert Barker, whose family held the royal patent for state and religious printing. Barker had inherited the business from his father Christopher, printer to Elizabeth I, and invested heavily in the new Bible, reportedly at great personal cost. The 1611 edition was produced in large folio format for use in churches, with the text set in black letter in double columns, accompanied by woodcut initials and decorative headpieces. It included elaborate engraved titles, genealogies of Holy Scripture and, in many copies, a double page map of the Holy Land. Early printings of such a substantial work were prone to typographical slips, and the first issue of the King James Bible is famous for one in particular. In Ruth 3:15, the 1611 text reads “and he went into the citie”, where later corrected issues read “and she went into the city”. This variant has given rise to the traditional distinction between the Great “He” Bible (the earliest issue) and the subsequent “She” Bible where the passage was amended. Because only certain leaves were reprinted once errors were noticed, complete first issue “He” Bibles are significantly rarer than later states, and are now regarded as the most desirable form of the 1611 edition for collectors and institutions alike. 

Significance for Collectors and Institutions

For collectors of early English printing and theology, a 1611 King James Bible is a cornerstone. It represents the editio princeps of the most influential English Bible version, the work of the royal printers at a defining moment in the history of the English church and monarchy, while also serving as witness to early seventeenth century book production, from black letter type to engraved ornament and large folio format. The added distinction of being a Great “He” Bible, preserving the original Ruth 3:15 reading, gives this copy further bibliographical importance. Many institutions use such issue points to trace the spread and reception of the King James text, and to illustrate how early modern printers corrected and refined their work over time.  Beyond its bibliographical interest, the 1611 King James Bible continues to speak powerfully to readers. Its language has shaped countless sermons, literary works and personal devotions. To own a first edition, first issue is to hold a direct material link with the moment that language first entered the life of the English-speaking world.

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