At 03:04 PM 10/14/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Mr. Coates,
>          I'm looking for an authentic reproduction of an 18th century
>Bible, do you know of any resources? I'd prefer one that could be
>carried and used, maybe leather bound? My only criteria is that it be as
>faithful a repro as possible, thank you,
>                                         Mike Smith

According to my understanding, the ordinary, unrevised King James
Version of the Bible available in any bookstore today is as close to "an
authentic reproduction of an 18th century Bible" as you are likely to find,
and there are probably millions of them printed every year.  In fact, the
orthography of the *original* King James "Authorized Version," produced
in 1611, was completely revised in, I believe, the latter part of the 18th
century, and that is the KJV in general use today.  The earlier KJV had
spelling of some of the most common words in the old style, and was
really quite "out of date" by the 18th century.  There is now something
referred to as the KJV "canon," which is the copy generally used by
publishers of the KJV today, and is the copy that was produced in the
18th century.  My own studies have indicated that there are almost
certainly about fifteen *typographical errors* in what is considered the
KJV canon.  Most of these are insignificant things, like "the" instead of
"thy," or the reverse, as in Psalm 127:4, "As arrows are in the hand of a
mighty man; so are children of the youth," which more properly should
be "As arrows are in the hand of a warrior; so are the children of thy
youth."

So, if you wanted an "authentic" reproduction of the 18th century English
Bible, you can find one in any bookstore.  If you wanted a reproduction
of the earlier KJV, I don't think you would find one today.

I hope that information is of use to you.

Best wishes,

Eyler Coates