The first edition of the King James Version was printed in 1611 by Robert Barker in London. The first two printings were large folio Bibles for use in churches, but smaller editions were soon produced for personal use, starting in 1612. With the proliferation of printings, early printer errors crept into the editions. As well, if some printed sheets were left over from one printing, they were incorporated into another. Almost no two existing “original 1611" King James Bibles are exactly the same. Eventually there were various calls for the need to correct and revise the King James Version because of printer errors over the years and the changes in spelling and word usage. Corrected editions were published by the Cambridge University Press, the first being in 1629. Several of the revisers were part of the original group of translators of the KJV. In 1762, the most significant corrections were completed in an edition overseen by Dr. Thomas Paris of Trinity College in Cambridge. The work was refined in 1769; this edition then became the standard King James Bible in use up to today. Almost 1000 editions were printed from 1611 to 1769, all with minor corrections. No comprehensive revision of the King James Version was undertaken again until the middle of the 19th century. Case 4: KJV in Early America Item 1: Aitken Bible Page, 1782 This original page from a King James Bible is from a copy printed in Philadelphia in 1782, Robert Aitken’s only edition of the first English Bible printed in America. The page measures about 6 inches by 4 inches, making the Bible small enough to fit into the pocket of a Continental Army soldier. The text on these two pages is from I Corinthians 7:1-8:7. Item 2: King James Bible, Thompson Hot-Press Edition, 1798 This copy of the King James Bible was printed by John Thompson in Philadelphia in 1798, the first hot-pressed printing of the Bible in the American colonies. This copy was re-bound in leather in 2004 by the artisans at the Ohio Book Store in Cincinnati, Ohio. Item 3: New Testament, 1807 This copy of the King James Bible New Testament, published during the time of the presidency of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), was printed in New York in 1807 by Duyckinck and Mesier.
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