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Mr. KIopsch was born March 7, 1852, in Germany. In 1853 his mother died. The next year his father, Osmar KIopsch, M.D., brought him to the United States. Louis studied journalism at what is now Columbia University. He graduated with high honors. He rose from stock boy to editor with religious publishers, and by about 1889 he was the owner-editor of the American edition of the Christian Herald Magazine.
He and his father worshiped at Brooklyn Temple, where T. DeWitt Talmadge was the minister. June 19, 1899, Dr. KIopseh was writing an editorial for the Christian Herald when his eyes fell upon Luke 22:20 and the words:
"This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
Dr. KIopsch realized that these were the words of our Savior when he instituted the Lord's Supper. Reasoning that all blood was red, he asked himself, Why not a red letter Bible with the red words to be those of our Lord? Dr. Talmadge, his preacher, encouraged him greatly by saying: "It could do no harm, and it most certainly could do much good."
The editor besought Bible scholars in America and Europe to submit passages they regarded as spoken by Christ while on earth. (Some publishers have since expanded this feature to include all words in red spoken by Christ.)
The first printing of a red letter Bible [Copyright 1899&1900(?) by Louis Klopsch] numbered sixty thousand copies. They were printed on presses owned by Dr. KIopsch. The edition sold quickly. Presses were run day and night to supply the demand. The King of Sweden sent a congratulatory cablegram. The telegram that thrilled publisher KIopsch the most, perhaps, was one from President Theodore Roosevelt. There followed a letter on White House stationery inviting him to dine with the chief executive. He accepted.
Dr. KIopsch died March 28, 1910, and was buried at Mont Lawn near Tonawanda, New York, where he had established an orphanage. The New York Tribune said:
"He will not be easily replaced. He lived and died by his own motto:
Do All the Good You Can for All the People You Can.
This, he truly did."
NOTE: The above article on the history of the red letter edition Bible may or may not be entirely accurate. There is a red letter edition of the Bible believed to have possibly been printed prior to 1899 or 1900, maybe as early as 1885. Additional inquiry is recommended.