Famed 'Vinegar Bible,' with its 300-year-old typo, is back in use by Shrewsbury church
After being locked for 100 years in a protective glass case, the splendors of this rare and surprisingly sturdy book are revealed. A celebration takes place Saturday.
Jerry CarinoSHREWSBURY - For a century, one of America’s rarest bibles rested undisturbed under protective glass at Christ Episcopal Church. The book sat open to Luke 20, displaying the typo that made it infamous.
This year, to mark the 300th anniversary of its printing, the church’s leaders decided to turn the page. Literally. They removed the so-called Vinegar Bible from its case for use in Sunday services.
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“I was fearful when we took it out,” Christ Church historian Bob Kelly said. “I didn’t know what kind of condition it was in — what we were going to see.”
What he saw was a worn but remarkably sturdy tome, weighing roughly 40 pounds and decorated with exquisite illustrations. The book’s charms go well beyond one historic error from its 1717 printing — a page heading in which Jesus’ parable of the vineyard is mislabeled “The Parable of the Vinegar."
“It’s remarkable,” Kelly said. “We know all the history of it obviously. But when you actually get to touch and feel it, it’s surprising.”
The church has been using the bible since June. On Saturday there is a formal celebration at 7 p.m., including period music and a talk on its backstory.
And what a story that is. Christ Church, which was founded in 1702, acquired its copy as a gift in 1752. In 1775, when the church was under siege by the Continental Army, a quick-thinking congregant hid it from the revolutionaries (the book’s British origin might have doomed it to destruction). For the better part of 175 years, generations of worshipers leafed through its pages.
“For it being so old and used as much as it was, it’s in good shape,” said Corey Dzenko, an assistant professor of art history at Monmouth University. “It’s great to have an artifact that is still in its complete form. Often (old) books are torn apart, the images torn out.”
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There are 17 known copies in the United States. This is the only one in New Jersey. At 19 inches long and thick as a stack of newspapers, with 783,000 words on its pages, the Vinegar Bible could be worth upwards of $10,000. It’s not for sale, but here’s an idea of how precious this is: In 1976 thieves stole an edition in New Hampshire, only to return it when they couldn’t find a black-market buyer.
Kelly has invited Dzemko and Monmouth art history student Campbell Lee to study the illustrations.
“I’m really impressed by how detailed it is,” Lee said.
Some pages are nicked and taped in spots, and others have frayed edges, but the paper — made from rags and fortified by animal microbes — feels thick and healthy. Kelly said he’s looking into possibly restoring the spine, which is cracking, but any work would be limited before the bible goes back under a glass case at the year’s end.
“I’ve seen the (Vinegar Bible) at the New York Public Library; the ones in libraries weren’t used at all (compared to those in churches), so they’re pristine,” Kelly said. “This of course is showing wear because of its use, but I view that as a badge of honor. I don’t want a pristine bible.”
Saturday’s celebration is free and open to the public. For more information, call 732-741-2220 or visit www.christchurchshrewsbury.org.
Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.