[ TAYLOR, JOHN, 1580-1653 ] MINIATURE BIBLE. — The Thumb Bible: Verbum Sempiternum.

London: Longman and Co, 1856 . 0. A scarce miniature bible in the original leather binding and with central clasp (in working order). 64mo. 2" x 2" x 0.75" [5.4 cm x 5cm x 2cm] . Dark brown, tooled leather binding ("renaissance style") with the original metal clasp. Edges rubbed and bumped. Marbled endpapers. Owner's details to endpaper, dated 1860. Contains facsimile title-pages of the 3rd edition (London, printed for Thomas James, 1693) with titles: Verbum Sempiternum; and (New Testament), Salvator Mundi. Clean text throughout, ending with the Chiswick, Whitttingham colophon. VG . ** "A reprint from James' edition of c. 1700, '3rd edition with amendments', but no illustrations. An epitome of the Bible in verse, written by John Taylor and commonly known as the Thumb Bible, originally published in 1611." - see British Library - COPAC. *** "The term 'Thumb Bible' was first coined by Longman and Co. of London in the mid-eighteenth century, when they used it on the title page of an edition in 1849, probably as a reference to the midget Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton) who had visited London with P. T. Barnum in 1844. Thumb Bibles continued to be printed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Approximately 300 different editions survive. As well as being published in English, versions were printed in French, German and Dutch." - See Wikipedia .