Clavis Bibliorum. The key of the Bible, unlocking the richest treasury of the Holy Scriptures.: Whereby the 1 order, 2 names, 3 times, 4 penmen, 5 occasion, 6 scope, and 7 principal parts, containing the subject-matter of the books of the Old and New Testament, are familiarly and briefly opened: for the help of the weakest capacity in the understand

[8], 18, 913, [1 – book advert], [8] pages.

Pages 592-598 (Alphabetical Table to the Psalms) being unnumbered.

Boards rubbed with some light scratches and indentations. Corners bumped with slight loss to top upper board corner. Binding very slightly bowed. Front end-paper a little soiled. Rear end-paper has been replaced at a later date with the image of another printed work, dated 1814, being legible when held up to the light. Internally pages and text very clean with a few small marks only. Initial dedication leaf has been strengthened at the margins with paper, resulting in loss of the marginal printed notes on the verso.

Francis Roberts (1609–1675) was educated at Trinity College Oxford and by 1635 was established as the resident minister at St. Martin in the Bull Ring, being the parish church of Birmingham, a town noted for its Parliamentarian and puritan support. Whilst in Birmingham he founded the Birmingham Library, one of the first public libraries in England, and developed a reputation as a lecturer.

During the Battle of Birmingham in April 1643, when the city was attacked by royalist forces, Roberts escaped and was subsequently appointed minister of St Augustine Watling Street in the City of London in the same year. Under Roberts, the parish became one of the city's most strongly Presbyterian. In 1650 Roberts was appointed, through the patronage of Arthur Capel first Earl of Essex to whom this edition is dedicated, as rector of Wrington in Somerset where he was to spend the remainder of his life.

Roberts' Clavis Bibliorum was written as an analysis of the contents of the Bible with annotations for students. This 3rd edition is notable as, for the first time, Roberts included a metrical version of the book of Psalms.

This is a heavy volume and, as consequence, the shipping cost will be higher than the average quoted in my store listings.