After working in the printing business for some time, Barker began working with his father's printing company in 1589 and inherited the printing house on 29 November 1599 upon his father's death. Much of his printing work was of an official nature, including prayer books, scriptures, and law books.
King James Bibleedit
Reproduction of part of the title-page of the first edition of the King James Bible highlighting Robert BarkerThe 'Judas' Bible in St Mary's Church, Totnes, Devon, England. This is a copy of the second folio edition of the Authorized Version, printed by Robert Barker in 1613, and given to the church for the use of the Mayor of Totnes. This edition is known as the 'Judas' Bible because in Matthew 26:36 'Judas' appears instead of 'Jesus'. In this copy the mistake (in red circle) has been corrected by a slip of paper pasted over the misprint.[1]
In 1611, Robert Barker printed the first edition of the King James Bible.[citation needed] Although it was called "Authorized" it was not actually "authorized" by the king, who did take some interest in the work; the entire cost of the printing was undertaken by Barker who ultimately gained little financial reward but some fame for the work. The printing itself was substandard with uneven printing lines, the blackletter typeface used was considered of poor quality,[citation needed] and it contained many mistakes which were corrected in subsequent printings.
The Wicked Bibleedit
The Wicked Bible, also known as "The Adulterous Bible" or "The Sinners' Bible" was published in 1631 by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, both royal printers in London, and was intended to be a word-for-word reprint of the King James Bible. However, in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:14) the word "not" in the sentence "Thou shalt not commit adultery" was omitted. About a year later, Barker and Lucas were fined £300 (roughly equivalent to 33,800 pounds today) and were deprived of their printer's licences.[2] The fact that this edition of the Bible contained such a flagrant mistake outraged Charles I of England and George Abbot, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said then:
"I knew the tyme when great care was had about printing, the Bibles especially, good compositors and the best correctors were gotten being grave and learned men, the paper and the letter rare, and faire every way of the beste, but now the paper is nought, the composers boyes, and the correctors unlearned.[3]
— George Abbot
By order of the king, the authors were called to the Star Chamber, where, upon the fact being proved, the whole impression was called in, and they were fined. The majority of copies of the Wicked Bible were immediately cancelled and burned, and it is rumoured that only eleven survive.[citation needed]
Imprisonmentedit
In 1635, Barker was imprisoned. In spite of working on what should have been very lucrative business, Robert was not a good businessman and it may well have been this lack of experience and desperation that led him into trouble with the law, not to mention the controversy surrounding the Wicked Bible and resultant fine. Barker never profited from his history-making enterprise: he died in debtors' prison in 1643.[4]
^Kohlenberger, III, John R (2008). NIV Bible Verse Finder. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan. p. viii. ISBN978-0310292050.
^Ingelbart, Louis Edward, Press Freedoms: a Descriptive Calendar of Concepts, Interpretations, Events, and Courts Actions, from 4000 B.C. to the Present, p. 40, Greenwood Publishing, 1987 ISBN0-313-25636-5
^Corzine, Phyllis (2000). The King James Bible: Christianity's Definitive Text. USA: Lucent Books. p. 43. ISBN1-56006-673-3.
Further readingedit
Plomer, Henry R. A Short History of English Printing 1476–1898. London: Bibliographical Society, 1900
External linksedit
Datchet History Article - several pages on the Barker family's activities, ownership of property in Datchet, and some printed sources of information
November 18, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Robert Barker printer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Robert Barker died 1643 was a printer to James I of England and son of Christopher Barker who had been printer to Queen Elizabeth I He was most notably the printer of the King James Bible one of the most influential and important books ever printed in the English language He and co publisher Martin Lucas published the infamous Wicked Bible which contained a typographical error omitting the word not from the sentence Thou shalt not commit adultery Robert BarkerDied1643NationalityEnglishOccupationPrinterEraUnion of the CrownsEmployerJames I of EnglandKnown forKing James BibleNotable workWicked BibleCriminal chargeControversies surrounding the Wicked BibleParentChristopher Barker father Contents 1 Printing career 1 1 King James Bible 1 2 The Wicked Bible 2 Imprisonment 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksPrinting career editAfter working in the printing business for some time Barker began working with his father s printing company in 1589 and inherited the printing house on 29 November 1599 upon his father s death Much of his printing work was of an official nature including prayer books scriptures and law books King James Bible edit nbsp Reproduction of part of the title page of the first edition of the King James Bible highlighting Robert Barker nbsp The Judas Bible in St Mary s Church Totnes Devon England This is a copy of the second folio edition of the Authorized Version printed by Robert Barker in 1613 and given to the church for the use of the Mayor of Totnes This edition is known as the Judas Bible because in Matthew 26 36 Judas appears instead of Jesus In this copy the mistake in red circle has been corrected by a slip of paper pasted over the misprint 1 In 1611 Robert Barker printed the first edition of the King James Bible citation needed Although it was called Authorized it was not actually authorized by the king who did take some interest in the work the entire cost of the printing was undertaken by Barker who ultimately gained little financial reward but some fame for the work The printing itself was substandard with uneven printing lines the blackletter typeface used was considered of poor quality citation needed and it contained many mistakes which were corrected in subsequent printings The Wicked Bible edit The Wicked Bible also known as The Adulterous Bible or The Sinners Bible was published in 1631 by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas both royal printers in London and was intended to be a word for word reprint of the King James Bible However in the Ten Commandments Exodus 20 14 the word not in the sentence Thou shalt not commit adultery was omitted About a year later Barker and Lucas were fined 300 roughly equivalent to 33 800 pounds today and were deprived of their printer s licences 2 The fact that this edition of the Bible contained such a flagrant mistake outraged Charles I of England and George Abbot the Archbishop of Canterbury who said then I knew the tyme when great care was had about printing the Bibles especially good compositors and the best correctors were gotten being grave and learned men the paper and the letter rare and faire every way of the beste but now the paper is nought the composers boyes and the correctors unlearned 3 George Abbot By order of the king the authors were called to the Star Chamber where upon the fact being proved the whole impression was called in and they were fined The majority of copies of the Wicked Bible were immediately cancelled and burned and it is rumoured that only eleven survive citation needed Imprisonment editIn 1635 Barker was imprisoned In spite of working on what should have been very lucrative business Robert was not a good businessman and it may well have been this lack of experience and desperation that led him into trouble with the law not to mention the controversy surrounding the Wicked Bible and resultant fine Barker never profited from his history making enterprise he died in debtors prison in 1643 4 References edit According to a note in St Mary s Church Totnes Kohlenberger III John R 2008 NIV Bible Verse Finder Grand Rapids MI Zondervan p viii ISBN 978 0310292050 Ingelbart Louis Edward Press Freedoms a Descriptive Calendar of Concepts Interpretations Events and Courts Actions from 4000 B C to the Present p 40 Greenwood Publishing 1987 ISBN 0 313 25636 5 Corzine Phyllis 2000 The King James Bible Christianity s Definitive Text USA Lucent Books p 43 ISBN 1 56006 673 3 Further reading editPlomer Henry R A Short History of English Printing 1476 1898 London Bibliographical Society 1900External links editDatchet History Article several pages on the Barker family s activities ownership of property in Datchet and some printed sources of information Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Barker printer amp oldid 1182756113, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
