William Stukeley's 1730 Bible

William Stukeley's 1730 Bible sold for £6500 today, a bit too rich for me;

"William Stukeley's annotated 1683 edition of the Holy Bible, inscribed by him in 1730 and replete with his marginalia, stands as a seminal artefact in the history of British antiquarianism and the intellectual evolution of ideas surrounding ancient monuments like Stonehenge, offering an unparalleled window into the mind of an 18th-century scholar who seamlessly blended biblical literalism with emerging archaeological speculation; this personal copy, bound in two volumes and featuring handwritten notes, sketches, and explicit references to "Stonehenge" alongside passages such as 1 Kings 18:31—where Elijah rebuilds an altar with twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel—illustrates Stukeley's burgeoning theory that such scriptural altars paralleled the Druidic stone circles he observed at sites like Avebury and Stonehenge, positing them as post-diluvian temples erected by oriental colonies (likely Phoenicians) who brought patriarchal religion to Britain shortly after Noah's Flood; predating his influential 1740 publication Stonehenge, A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids by a decade, these annotations reveal the formative stages of his deluvian framework, where he interpreted prehistoric structures as evidence of a pure, ancient faith inherited from biblical patriarchs like Abraham, thereby challenging classical notions of British origins and contributing to the Romantic revival of Druid mythology that influenced later figures such as William Blake; moreover, the marginalia, including a stone circle illustration in Exodus and notes linking "Romans" and "Britain" in the Book of Joel, underscore Stukeley's role as a pioneering field archaeologist and clergyman whose work bridged theology, geology (as seen in his flood-based interpretations of fossils), and history, making this Bible not merely a religious text but a foundational document in the development of prehistoric studies in Britain."

Description

Stukeley (William).- Bible, English. The Holy Bible Containing the old Testament and the New, 1 vol. bound in 2, each with same engraved general title (dates evidently altered from 1682), divisional title to NT dated 1673, folding engraved map at start vol. 1 (laid down and repaired with some loss, manuscript notes to verso), 2 folding maps tipped-in to NT, woodcut initials, lacking The whole book of Psalms at end, both titles with ownership inscription "W: Stukeley MD. 1730" to verso, that of vol. 1 also with "Stamford" beneath, annotated by Stukeley throughout, including a few marginal illustrations, vol. 1 map and first few leaves repaired at inner-margin and loose, vol. 1 title chipped at edges, vol. 1 2K4 & 3G2 small hole affecting couple letters, trimmed close at head, sometimes into headline, annotations occasionally shaved at fore-edge, occasional light damp-staining, some foxing and light browning, later panelled calf, spines chipped with loss and lacking labels, rubbed and worn, upper covers detached, [ESTC R469361], Cambridge, John Hayes, 1683; and a biography of Stukeley (1985), 4to & 8vo (3)

⁂ William Stukeley (1687-1765), antiquary and natural philosopher. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire. In 1718, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and became the first secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of London. This copy contains a small marginal illustration of a stone circle in Exodus (F8v), "And Moses built an altar". Stukeley also references "Stonehenge" in the Book of Kings (2F3v), and "Romans" and "Britain" at the opening of the Book of Joel (3N1).