This Bible, along with a companion Book of Common Prayer (RCIN 1142253), was bound for Charles II, and it was used by him in his Chapel Royal or Royal Closet at the Palace of Whitehall.

This is John Ogilby's 1660 reissue of John Field's Bible of 1659. Ogilby added a dedication to the newly restored king, Charles II, and included plates etched by the Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar. This edition is notorious for the textual inaccuracy of John Field, but it was one of John Ogilby's more splendid publications. With its large format and spectacular illustrations this Bible is a luxury volume, but the splendour of this copy has been further enhanced not only by time-consuming decorative red-ruling having been added throughout, but by the astonishingly grand embroidered binding, made using silver and silver-gilt wire as well as coloured silks.

The Bible and its companion Book of Common Prayer were probably bound by the King's Embroiderer Edmund Harrison. The metallic threads were formed by winding thin flexible strips of silver or silver gilt tightly round several strands of silk. To form thicker cords, two or more such threads were twisted together, and the coloured silks were plaited into fine cords. The decoration includes the Stuart arms and the initials CR for Carolus Rex (King Charles), with 2 within the C for Charles II. The embroidery was repaired in about 1930 by the Royal School of Needlework, and again in 1964 by Evelyn Birkill.

The books were most likely bound for Charles II's personal use. The Chapel Royal and Royal Closet at Whitehall were refurnished every few years, with the service books being replaced along with the wall hangings, altar cloths and even the fire shovels. Though many copies of service books were acquired for use in the chapels, the king's own copies could be identified by the royal arms or royal cipher painted on the fore-edge, such as in this instance.

The Bible and Prayer Book were found in a tin bath at St Michael's College, Tenbury, Worcestershire, in 1919, by the Reverend EH Fellowes, a Minor Canon of Windsor, who was cataloguing the books there. He mentioned this surprising find to Queen Mary, who helped purchase the volumes for the Royal Library. They had been in the college's large bequest of books from its founder, Sir Frederick Ouseley (1825-89). He had inherited them from his mother, née Harriet Georgina Whitelocke, wife of Sir Gore Ouseley. The bookplate of her father, John Whitelocke, is in both volumes. They may therefore be the 'coronation bible and prayer-book' reputedly given to Bulstrode Whitelocke, the Parliamentary lawyer, by Charles II in June 1660 (ten months before his coronation).

The embroidered Bible and Book of Common Prayer are amongst the earliest service books bound for Charles II after his Restoration (the Book of Common Prayer was published in 1660, and must have been supplied before 1662, when a newly revised edition was issued and would have been chosen instead). The magnificence of the binding is a mirror to the magnificence reintroduced by Charles on his return to the throne. Its regal splendour announces that not only has monarchy been restored, but so too has the Anglican Church, and Puritan simplicity is cast out of both the court and Charles II's Church.

Binding Information
Contemporary blue velvet binding attributed to Edmund Harrison (1590-1667) with embroidery and stumpwork in silver and silver-gilt wire, with red, yellow, white and green silks. Central panel with royal coat of arms beneath 'C2 R' monogram, with angels carrying a laurel wreath above, thistle and rose symbols in corners, within a decorative border. Back cover the same. Fore-edge painting of the royal coat of arms, with roses and thistles above and below.

2 volumes in 1. 1722 p. with [7] plates : ill.

Adapted from Royal Treasures, A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London 2002 and Charles II: Art & Power, London, 2017