THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST [Great Primer Royal 8vo]: Translated out of the Original Greek and with the Former Translation Diligently Compared and Revised

[4], 844 pp. Great Primer Royal 8vo 7' x 9.75'. Green Morocco goatskin leather over boards, five raised bands over gilt ruled borders with fleuron decals and 'TESTAMENT' title, boards gilt and blind double-ruled with fleurons at corners of interior panel, all edges gilt with gilt-tooled turn-ins. Rubbing to extremities, small ding to front cover, short tear to front hinge tail edge, front hinge starting, rear hinge just starting 1' from tail, light bowing, aside from a few short tears text?is very clean and square. Original owner's signature 'Alexander Campbell,' with line of succession added by one later hand. Campbell was a Methodist minister (not the Church of Christ founder of Bethany, VA). Very large print with incredibly bold and clear type. Great Primer = 18pt font = 6.350 mm. During the Civil War, the American Bible Society distributed over 1 million Bibles for three consecutive years from 1863-65, a feat not replicated until 1918 (John Fea, The Bible Cause). Most of these Bibles were pocket-sized Testaments distributed to Soldiers, most commonly the cheaply-produced pocket-sized Nonpareil 32mo. The ABS did, however, produce a much smaller number of "Fine Bibles" such as this one to help finance the cause of placing a bible in the hands of every American. Hills 1628, later printing. No. 86 at $4.25 in the price catalog of the ABS Annual Report Vol. 49 (1865) OCLC lists only 1 copy each of the two 1857 ABS Great Primer printings and none of the 1865.