Collins Editions
The New York publisher Collins and Co. produced the first American stereotyped quarto (medium size) Bible in 1816, a milestone in American Bible publishing. Stereotyping, in which reusable, storable forms are created from movable type, was well suited to frequently reprinted books for which accuracy was essential—an excellent description of the Bible.
Collins produced scores of Bible editions from 1816 to the mid 1840s. Purchasers of the 1816 Collins Bible, which came in numerous configurations at different prices, could choose whether to incorporate the Apocrypha, a concordance, and Ostervald’s observations, all of which are included here; it also came with maps and “elegant historical engravings,” tables, an index, and marginal notes.
This 1816 Collins quarto belonged to the literary figure Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose last name appears at the top of the title page. A family Bible, it includes hand-written records related to Holmes’s father Abiel, a minister and historian, and Abiel Holmes’s children.
Bible. English. Authorized. New York: Stereotyped by B. & J. Collins, printed by Collins and Co., and published by E. Johnson, Jr., 1816. Oliver Wendell Holmes family Bible. Library of Congress.
