When Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I of England — uniting the two kingdoms under a single ruler. Soon after, James authorized a new English translation of the Bible, which was published in 1611. The King James Bible remains one of the most widely printed and influential texts in the English language.
In 17th-century England, books were often bound in velvet or silk. Professional needleworkers embroidered the covers of Bibles, Prayer Books and other religious texts with floral motifs, allegorical figures or scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Ornate textile covers reflected the importance of the sacred text enclosed and could be perceived as an act of piety in itself. Unlike many of its contemporaries, the cover of this 1617 King James Bible is tapestry woven.
This copy belonged to a woman named Anne Hopkins, later wife of John Caygill. The front and back covers depict Adam and Eve plucking fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and show remnants of two red ties that once served to keep the book closed. The Caygills recorded their family history in its pages, from the birth of Thomas Caygill in 1700 to the death of Jane Caygill in 1806.
Also preserved in the Bible is a bookmark composed of 11 strands plaited with verses. The fifth strand reads: “Anne Hopkins, Her Book, August [_] 16[_]6.”
