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 S^^^IS^Si^MSS^I'Ml^i^MIIMMH^fil^ 
 
 — /S^t>»- 
 
 THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE: 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 AND THE N E W. 
 
 Tranflated into the 
 
 INDIAN LANGUAGE- 
 
 AND 
 
 Ordered to be Printed by ths Commiffionerf of the Vnited Colama 
 
 -n I^EW'ENGLANB, 
 
 At thr Charge, and with tbcConfcotof the 
 
 CORPORATION IN ENGLAND 
 
 For the Trop/tgatton of the Cjofpd amcngH tlx Indians 
 in New-En Jjnd. 
 
 € A M B R I DG M: 
 
 Printed by Samuel green and ^JHarmaekkf Mi>foi% 
 
 MDCLXIir. 
 
 Fac-simile of the English title page of the Eliot Bible of 1663. Reduced size. 
 
<Bar% (§iMtB 
 
 of ^mmca 
 
 BY- 
 
 REV. JOHN WRIGHT, D.D. 
 
 Rector of St. Paul's Churcli, St. PjiiI. Miiui. 
 
 OCT 1 1892 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER, 2 and 3 BIBLE HOUSE 
 1892 
 
Copyright, 1892, by 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER 
 
 Z7-77/ 
 
 t-^t Conxion (precfi 
 
 171, 173 Macdougal Street, New York 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The title " Early Bibles of America " must 
 be understood in a restricted sense. I have 
 written of Bibles that were printed during 
 the existence of the British- American colonies, 
 and of others that appeared after the colonies 
 became the United States. I have not carried 
 the subject into Canada, or other parts of North 
 America. As the versions or editions were, in 
 most cases, associated with certain translators 
 or publishers, the accounts are not only biblio- 
 graphic, but to some extent biographic. 
 
 J. W. 
 
 St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 1, 1892. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Eliot Bible 1 
 
 The Sauk Bible 28 
 
 The AiTKEN Bible 55 
 
 The Fibst Douay Yeesios 69 
 
 The Thomas Bible 74 
 
 The Collins Bible 86 
 
 The Fibst Tkanslation fkom the Septuagint . 91 
 
 The Fibst Tbanslation feom the Peshito 
 
 Sybiac Vebsion . 97 
 
 CuBious Veesions 103 
 
 Eably Editions of the Gbeek Testament . 112 
 
 Vaeious Editions 119 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Dedication in the Eliot New Testament 
 
 OF 1661 143 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Dedication in the Eliot Bible op 1663 . 149 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 Dedication to Hon. Kobeet Boyle in Eliot 
 
 Bible of 1685 156 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 FAOB 
 
 List of Owners of Eliot New Testaments 
 AND Bibles as fab as known . . . 158 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 Some of the Prices paid for Eliot New 
 Testaments and Bibles .... 162 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 List of Owners of the Saue Bibles as far 
 AS KNOWN 163 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 List of Owners of the Aitken Bible as 
 fab as known 165 
 
 INDEX 167 
 
EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 THE ELIOT BIBLE. 
 
 The history of the first Bible printed in 
 America is the history of the devotion and per- 
 sistence chiefly of one man. John Eliot was 
 drawn to New England by the desire to relieve 
 the minds of the Indian races from their spirit- 
 ual darkness. He came when his mental fac- 
 ulties were keen and active, and lived to see 
 the happy consummation of his hopes and plans, 
 even to an honored old age. Eliot arrived in 
 New England in the autumn of the year 1631. 
 After a short time devoted to teaching, he be- 
 came the pastor of the Roxbury Church. From 
 the first his interest in the Indians had mani- 
 fested itself, and he early took steps toward 
 1 
 
2 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 giving them the Word of God. He was well 
 fitted for the work, both by heart and intellect. 
 His scholastic advantages had been ample, for 
 he had received his education at Jesus College, 
 Cambridge, from which institution he was grad- 
 uated in 1623. He was well acquainted with 
 the original languages of the Bible, and set 
 about his work with confidence and enthusiasm. 
 His first efforts at learning the language of the 
 Indian tribes of Massachusetts were made 
 through the assistance of an Indian who had 
 been taken a prisoner in the Pequot Wars, who 
 was employed in the neighborhood as a house 
 servant. " He was," says Eliot, " the first that 
 I made use of to teach me words, and to be my 
 interpreter." Eliot made such progress in his 
 knowledge of the language that in 1646 he was 
 able to preach to the Indians in their native 
 tongue. But, before he could place into the 
 hands of these converts books of instruction, 
 financial help was requisite. 
 
 In 1643 the colonies of Massachusetts, Plym- 
 outh, Connecticut, and New Haven entered 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 3 
 
 into articles of confederation to aid the Indians, 
 and each colony was represented by two com- 
 missioners. This move received the approval 
 of the mother-country, for in July, 1649, the 
 Corporation for the Promoting and Propagating 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in New England 
 was formed by act of Parliament ; and commis- 
 sioners of the united colonies were appointed 
 to receive and distribute the necessary funds 
 for the education of the Indians. In 1653 
 Eliot wrote : " I have had a great longing de- 
 sire, if it were the will of God, that our Indian 
 language might be sanctified by the translation 
 of the Holy Scriptures into it." The Lord's 
 Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and a few 
 passages of the Bible, were first attempted. A 
 primer, or catechism, appeared about 1654. 
 The Book of Genesis and the Gospel of St. Mat- 
 thew were in print in 1655, and a few Psalms 
 in metre were added in 1658. The printing 
 of these early productions was executed by 
 Samuel Green at Cambridge. The first press 
 used in this place was set up in 1639, and was 
 
4 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 the property of the president of Harvard Col- 
 lege, the Rev. Henry Dunster. It was worked 
 by Stephen Daye until 1649, when the manage- 
 ment of it was turned over to Samuel Green. 
 A new press and new type were received in 
 1659, and in 1660 Green was joined by Marma- 
 duke Johnson, who had been sent from Eng- 
 land to aid him in his work. With these 
 increased facilities Mr. Eliot became more and 
 more anxious that the Indian tribes might have 
 the Bible in their own tongue. He said: "I 
 look at it as a sacred and holy work, to be re- 
 garded with much fear, care, and reverence." 
 Under the stimulus of such exalted motives as 
 these the translation went on day by day, until 
 under date of Dec. 28, 1658, Mr. Eliot with 
 evident joy writes : " Bless the Lord, that the 
 whole book of God is translated into their own 
 language ; it wanteth but revising, transcribing, 
 and printing. Oh that the Lord would so 
 move that by some means or other it might be 
 printed ! " His appeal was not in vain, for the 
 funds were provided by the Corporation in 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 5 
 
 Eno-land. The New Testament in the Indian 
 language appeared in 1661. The edition was 
 about fifteen hundred copies. There are two 
 title-pages, the first in English and the second 
 in Indian. The English title-page reads — 
 
 THE NEW 
 
 TESTAMENT 
 
 of our 
 LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 Translated into the 
 
 INDIAN LANGUAGE, 
 
 and 
 Ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies 
 
 IN NEW ENGLAND, ^ 
 
 AT THE CHAEGE, AND "WITH THE CONSEKT OF THE 
 
 CORPORATION IN ENGLAND 
 
 For the propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians 
 IN NEW ENGLAND. 
 
 CAMBRIDG : 
 
 PRINTED BY SAMUEL GREEN AND MAEMADXJKE JOHNSON. 
 
 MDCLXL 
 
6 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 The Indian title-page reads as follows ; — 
 
 WUSKU 
 WUTTESTAMENTUM 
 
 NUL-LOEDUMUN 
 
 JESUS CHRIST 
 
 NUPPOQUOHWUSSUAENEUMUN. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE : 
 
 PRINTED BY SAMUEL GKEEN AND MAKMADUKE JOHNSON. 
 MDCLXI. 
 
 The translation of the Indian reads — 
 
 NEW 
 
 HIS-TESTAMENT 
 
 OUR-LOKD 
 
 JESUS CHRIST 
 OUR-DELIVERER. 
 
 The book in size is a small quarto of 130 
 printed leaves without pagination. By exact 
 measurement the leaves are 7f inches by 5f 
 inches, while the printed pages are 6§ inches by 
 4| inches. The text is in double columns with 
 marginal references. The Indian language 
 from St. Matthew to Revelation covers 126 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 7 
 
 pages. Between the two title-pages there is a 
 dedication in English to Charles the Second.^ 
 This is found only in a limited number of 
 copies intended for presentation. There is a 
 diamond-shaped figure of thirty-two printers' 
 flowers on the Indian title-page, and this famil- 
 iar ornamentation is common to nearly all the 
 Eliot Testaments. Forty copies of the New 
 Testament with the English title-page and 
 kingly dedication were sent to Hon. Robert 
 Boyle, the governor of the Corporation in 
 England. The first twenty were sent in 1661, 
 and the remaining twenty in 1662. The first 
 copy was presented to Charles the Second. 
 The second was given to Lord High Chancellor 
 Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon ; the third, to 
 Rev. Edward Reynolds, D.D., the Bishop of 
 Norwich ; the fourth, to the Rev. Joseph Caryl ; 
 the fifth, to the Rev. Richard Baxter ; and the 
 sixth and seventh, to the Vice Chancellors of 
 the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. 
 The thirteen copies that remained, and the 
 second lot of twenty, were left to the disposal 
 
 1 Appendix A. 
 
8 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 of Mr. William Ashurst and Mr. Richard 
 Hutchinson, officers of the English Corporation. 
 
 Copies of the New Testament of 1661, solely 
 in Indian and without the English title-page, 
 were bound up, but the exact number is not 
 known. The Eliot New Testament of 1661 is 
 now an exceedingly rare book, as only nine- 
 teen copies have been located. Two copies are 
 in the British Museum, and two in the Lenox 
 Library, New York. Trinity College (Dublin), 
 Glasgow University, Edinburgh University, 
 Bodleian Library (Oxford), the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society (London), Town Library, 
 Leicester, Eng., Harvard University, and the 
 Boston Athenaeum, each possesses a copy. The 
 remaining seven are in private libraries. 
 
 The hopeful work accomplished among the 
 Indians encouraged Mr. Eliot in placing the 
 whole Bible in their hands. The printing of 
 the Old Testament began in September, 1660, 
 and by the same month in the following year 
 the five books of Moses were completed. The 
 commissioners in September, 1662, wrote to Mr. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 9 
 
 Boyle fiom Boston, saying, " The Bible is now 
 about half done ; and constant progress therein 
 is made ; the other half is like to be finished in 
 a year." 
 
 In 1663 the completed Bible appeared. It 
 contains four title-pages. The first is in Eng- 
 lish and reads thus : — 
 
 THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE: 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 AND THE NEW. 
 Translated into the 
 
 INDIAN LANGUAGE, 
 
 and 
 
 Ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies 
 
 in NEW-ENGLAND, 
 
 At the Charge, and with the Consent of the 
 
 CORPORATION IN ENGLAND 
 
 For the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians 
 
 in New-England. 
 
 CAMBBIBGE : 
 
 Printed by Samuel Green and MarmaduJce Johnson. 
 
 MDCLXIII. 
 
10 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 The second title, which is in Indian, is as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 MAMUSSE 
 WUNNEETUPANATAMWE 
 
 UP-BIBLUM GOD 
 
 NANEESWE 
 
 NUKKONE TESTAMENT 
 
 KAH WONK 
 
 WUSKU TESTAMENT. 
 
 Ne quoshkinnumuk nashpe Wuttinneumoh CHRIST 
 noh asoowesit 
 
 JOHN ELIOT. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 Printeuoop nashpe Samuel Green kah Marmaduke Johnson. 
 
 1663. 
 
 Literally translated, these words read — ■ 
 
 THE WHOLE 
 
 HOLY HIS BIBLE GOD 
 
 both 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 and also 
 NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 THIS TUKNED BY THE SERVANT OF CHBI8T 
 WHO IS CALLED 
 
 JOHN ELIOT. 
 
«fe€ " ~— , S«»t 
 
 M A M V S S E U' 
 
 WUNNEETUPANATAMWE ;|S} 
 
 «}€ 
 «>€ 
 «>^ 
 
 •as 
 
 •^ 
 
 *»« 
 ^»^ 
 
 sInukkone testaments 
 
 UP-BIBLUM GOD |s 
 
 NANEESWE i ?^: 
 
 «»« 
 «^ 
 
 KAH WONK 112 
 
 WUSKU TESTAMENT, fe 
 
 . — , — - — - &o» 
 
 Ne c^uofhkinnumuic nafhpe 'Wuttinncumob ^H RI$7 i U 
 DOb afooweiit j:fC» 
 
 • ^«» 
 
 JOHN ELIOT- l|s 
 
 — ^ : — IIS. 
 
 I^ PrwteuQop nafhpe S*iOT«f/ Cr«« kah Ai-rw«M* F*^"/*** ! |S! 
 
 X ^ tf 3« jS^ 
 
 Fac-simile of the Indian title page of the Eliot Bible of 16G3. Reduced size. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 11 
 
 The third and fourth title-pages are contained 
 in the New Testament; and, as they are the 
 same as in the edition of 1661, the description 
 need not be repeated. At the end of the Old 
 Testament are the words " Wohkukquohsinwog 
 Quoshodtumwaenuog ; " that is, " The Prophets 
 are ended." The New Testament is followed 
 by a metrical version of the Psalms. There is 
 no title-page to the Psalms, but this head- 
 ing : " Wame Ketoohomae Uketoohomaongash 
 David ; " meaning, " All the Singing Songs of 
 David." At the close, on one leaf, are rules 
 for Christian living, consisting of two ques- 
 tions, — " How can I walk all day long with 
 God ? " and " What should a Christian do to 
 keep perfectly holy the Sabbath Day ? " ; — with 
 the answers. 
 
 The book is a quarto in size and printed 
 upon excellent paper. The pages measure 6| 
 inches by 4f inches. Genesis and the other 
 books to the end of the Old Testament cover 
 414 leaves ; and St. Matthew to the end of the 
 New Testament, 126 leaves. The Psalms in 
 
12 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 metre fill 50 leaves, and the total number of 
 printed pages in the Bible is 600. There is a 
 dedication 1 to Charles the Second covering two 
 pages. This differs in wording from the first 
 that appeared in the edition of 1661, as it is a 
 dedication of the whole Bible to His Majesty. 
 As in the case of the New Testament, presenta- 
 tion copies of the Bible of 1663 were sent to the 
 English Corporation, to be disposed of as that 
 body should elect. The number thus sent was 
 twenty, in an unbound condition. In England 
 they were substantially bound in dark-blue 
 morocco. What disposition was made of these 
 twenty volumes, and who became their recipi- 
 ents, is not known, except that one copy was 
 presented Charles the Second. 
 
 A portion of the edition of 1663 was bound 
 up for the use of the Indians, and contained no 
 English title-pages and dedication, for it was 
 wholly in the Indian tongue. The copies pre- 
 viously spoken of as having the English title- 
 pages and dedication are marked by certain 
 variations. Mr. Wilberforce Eames, in his 
 
 1 Appendix B. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 13 
 
 "Bibliographic Notes on Eliot's Indian Bible 
 and his other Translations and Works in the 
 Indian Language of Massachusetts," printed at 
 "Washington by the Government in 1890, makes 
 a classification of seven varieties. He says : ^ 
 " These differ in the number of certain prelimi- 
 nary leaves : namely, the dedication of the 
 whole Bible, the Indian general title, the leaf 
 of contents, the English New Testament title, 
 and the dedication of the New Testament, one 
 or more of which are generally omitted; also 
 in the Indian New Testament title, which 
 sometimes does not contain the diamond-shaped 
 figure." Those persons who desire to study 
 these differences critically are referred to Mr. 
 Eames's valuable work. 
 
 Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan, in his " List of Bibles 
 printed in America," points out sixty errors in 
 the printing of the Eliot Bible of 1663, and 
 most of these were caused by the omission of 
 certain words and sentences from the trans- 
 lation. A ludicrous mistake was made in the 
 rendering of the twenty-third verse of the 
 
 1 Bibliographic Notes, p. 16. 
 
14 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 second chapter of the 2 Kings, — " Go up, thou 
 bald head," — to which Dr. Trumbull has called 
 attention. He says : ^ "In the Indian, the last 
 word literally is ' ball-head ' (' pompasuhkonkan- 
 ontup ' ). Either the interpreter mistook the 
 word as pronounced by Eliot, or he thought it 
 well to aggravate the insult by likening Elisha's 
 smooth head to a foot-ball ; for 'pompasuhkonk' 
 denotes a ball to play with." 
 
 Considering the difficulties that had to be 
 encountered in printing the first Bible in Amer- 
 ica, it is a matter of surprise that the errors 
 were not more numerous. Presses, type, ink, 
 and paper had to be imported, coming long 
 distances, and by slow means of conveyance. 
 Workmen were few, and the sources of instruc- 
 tion limited. The Algonkin was a harsh lan- 
 guage, and it had no equivalents for certain 
 English words. Salt was unknown to the 
 Indians, and hence the word had to be inserted 
 without translation. The same was true of 
 " Amen " and some other terms. The words 
 of the language were so extremely long that 
 
 1 Memorial History of Boston, p. 473. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 15 
 
 Cotton Mather thought they must have been 
 stretching themselves out from the time of the 
 confusion of tongues at Babel. Rev. Dr. Ellis 
 playfully says : ^ "To us it seems as if an Indian 
 root-word started little and compact, like one of 
 their own pappooses, and then grew at either 
 extremity, thickened in the middle, extended in 
 shape and proportion in each limb, member, and 
 feature, and was completed with a feathered 
 head-knot." Some impression of the appearance 
 of the language may be had by the following 
 version of the Lord's Prayer : — 
 
 Nooshun kesukqut, quttianatamunach koowesuonk. Pe- 
 yaumooutch kukketassootamoonk, kuttenantamoonk ne n 
 nach ohkeit neane kesukqut. Nummeetsuongash asekesu- 
 kokish assamainnean yeuyeu kesukok. Kah ahquoantam- 
 aiinnean nuinmatcheseongash, neane matchenehukqweagig 
 nutahquontamounnonog. Ahque sagkompagunaiinnean en 
 qutchhuaouganit, webe pohquohwussinnean wutch matchi- 
 tut. Newutche kutahtaunn ketassootamoonk, kah menuh- 
 kesuonk, kah sohsumoonk micheme. Amen. 
 
 The completion of the Bible of 1663 brought 
 great joy to the heart of Mr. Eliot, not only 
 because it was a great event in the art of print- 
 1 Memorial History of Boston, vol. i. p. 270. 
 
16 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 ing, but chiefly for the reason that it facilitated 
 his work among the Indians. Cotton Mather 
 could hardly contain himself in his enthusiasm 
 of thanksgiving. In his "Magnalia" he thus 
 writes: "Behold, ye Americans, the greatest 
 honor that ever you were partakers of. The 
 Bible was printed here at our Cambridge, and 
 is the only Bible that ever was printed in all 
 America, from the very foundation of the 
 world. The whole translation he writ with 
 but one pen ; which pen, if it had not been lost, 
 would have certainly deserved a richer case 
 than was bestowed upon that pen with which 
 Holland writ his translation of Plutarch." 
 Francis, in his " Life of John Eliot," doubts the 
 statement about the translation being written 
 with but one pen, and says Mather's "story 
 seems more precise than credible." ^ 
 
 In 1680 a second edition of the New Testa- 
 ment appeared. The upper part of the title- 
 page is in Indian, while the lower contains the 
 words, " Cambridge, Printed for the Right Hon- 
 
 1 Francis. Life of Eliot, p. 227. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 17 
 
 ourable Corporation in London for the propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel among the Indians in New 
 England. 1680." No mention is made of the 
 printer or printers. 
 
 Mr. Eliot was desirous of seeing a new im- 
 pression of the whole Bible, as many copies of 
 the edition of 1663 had been lost or destroyed 
 during the score of years since it was printed. 
 The Indian war of 1675-76 had contributed also 
 to this result. Mr. Eliot began the new version 
 in 1677, and desired the work to be accelerated, 
 for he said, " My age makes me importunate." 
 That great spiritual good had been accomplished 
 is evident, for in the earliest years of his work 
 Eliot wrote of the Indians : " It hath pleased 
 God to stir up the hearts of many of them this 
 winter to learn to read and write, wherein they 
 do much profit with a very little help, especially 
 some of them, for they are very ingenious." In 
 1680 Mr. Eliot wrote : " I shall depart joyfully, 
 may I but have the Bible among them, for it is 
 the word of life." This desire for a fresh sup- 
 ply of Bibles was not alone Eliot's wish, for he 
 
18 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 says under date of November 4, 1680 : " Our 
 praying Indians both in the islands and on the 
 main, are considered together, numerous ; thou- 
 sands of souls, of whom some true believers, some 
 learners, and some still infants, and all of them, 
 beg, cry, entreat for Bibles, having already en- 
 joyed that blessing, but now are in great want." 
 The press-work on the Old Testament began in 
 1682, but the progress was slow, for Mr. Eliot 
 writes : " We have but few hands, one English- 
 man, a boy, and one Indian." 
 
 The Indian referred to was a man known as 
 James Printer, who had worked on the first 
 edition. He seems to have been well fitted for 
 his task, for Eliot in 1682 writes of him: 
 " We have but one man, the Indian printer, that 
 is able to compose the sheets and correct the 
 press with understanding." Mr. Eliot also re- 
 cords his indebtedness to Rev. John Cotton of 
 Plymouth, " who helped me much in the second 
 edition of the Bible." 
 
 In the autumn of 1685 the second and last 
 version of the Indian Bible appeared. Extant 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 19 
 
 copies show that this is in leading particulars 
 a reproduction of the first edition. This is im- 
 plied on the title-page, where the Indian sen- 
 tence occurs, " Nahoht8eu ontchetQe Printeuoo- 
 muk ; " which, translated, means " Second-time 
 amended impression." The name only of Samuel 
 Green appears as printer. Like the previous 
 Bible, the contents consist of the Old and New 
 Testaments, the Psalms in metre, and the 
 rules for Christian living. It is similar to it 
 also in being printed in double columns with 
 headings and side references. The whole 
 book is printed on 608 leaves without pagi- 
 nation; that is, a few more leaves than the 
 Bible of 1663, which is accounted for by the 
 addition of summaries at the head of the chap- 
 ters. It contains no English title-pages, as 
 they are solely in Indian. A few of the copies 
 had a ^ dedication in English to Hon. Robert 
 Boyle, the head of the Corporation in Eng- 
 land. Mr. Boyle had been a most substan- 
 tial helper in advancing the welfare of the 
 Indians in New England. He had not only in- 
 
 1 Appendix C. 
 
20 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 fluenced the English Corporation to sustain the 
 work financially, but had given out of his per- 
 sonal means £300 toward it, and also provided 
 for an additional gift of £100 in his will. Mr. 
 Eliot was profoundly grateful for the solid 
 interest Mr. Boyle had taken in his plans, and in 
 his letters addressed him as " Right honourable 
 nursing father." Copies of the Bible of 1685 
 with the Boyle dedication are now extremely 
 scarce, as only twelve are known to exist, and 
 nine of these are in public libraries. 
 
 The errors in printing the Bible of 1663 were 
 corrected in the second edition. While the lat- 
 ter is not without errors, they are chiefly, as Dr. 
 O'Callaghan has shown, mistakes in the spelling 
 of words. Dr. Trumbull has called attention to 
 the omission of the sentence, " but deceivethhis 
 own heart," in St. James 1 : 26. In the second 
 edition the error is corrected in a foot-note. 
 The improved condition of the Bible of 1685 
 over the first edition makes the second edition 
 a more desirable book to those who wish to 
 know something of the Indian language. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 21 
 
 A recent writer very justly says : " While the 
 first edition of Eliot's Bible is the more attrac- 
 tive to collectors of rare Americana, and de- 
 serves the pre-eminence that is accorded to it, 
 as a monument of early typography, and as the 
 first version of the Bible printed in the New 
 World, it should not be forgotten that to the 
 student of the American languages, and to the 
 general philologist, the second is the more valu- 
 able ; and that all critical references to Eliot's 
 version are or should be made to this revised 
 and corrected edition." 
 
 To collectors of rare books the Eliot Bibles 
 are coveted treasures. As the years roll away 
 the price of these rarities steadily rises. ^ At the 
 sale of the Brinley library in New York, March, 
 1879, an Eliot New Testament of 1661 brought 
 $700. At the same sale a Bible of 1663 was 
 knocked down at $1,000. At an auction in 
 1884 a Bible of 1685 brought $950. In Lon- 
 don, at a sale held July 2, 1882, Mr. Quaritch, 
 the eminent bibliophile, bought for the late Mr. 
 
 1 Appendix E. 
 
22 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Kalbfleisch of New York an Eliot Bible of 
 1663, containing the English title-pages, and 
 dedication to Charles the Second, for £580 ; that 
 is, about $2,900. Eighteen years ago Mr. Na- 
 thaniel Paine of Worcester, Mass., made a list 
 of the Eliot Bibles. By his count the total 
 reached fifty-four. Since then several copies, 
 especially those owned privately, have changed 
 hands, and others have come to light. The 
 writer has found twelve copies that have not 
 been previously noticed or included in any list. 
 There are more Eliot Bibles in the great libra- 
 ries of Europe than was at first supposed. The 
 total number of Indian New Testaments and 
 Bibles now known to exist is more than one 
 hundred.^ 
 
 There are many interesting associations con- 
 nected with copies of the Eliot Bibles, as they 
 have been in the possession of kings, princes, 
 statesmen, prelates, and great schools of learn- 
 ing. There is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 
 an Eliot Bible of 1661, which was given by 
 
 1 Appendix D. 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 23 
 
 Ralph Freke in 1668. The year before he had 
 received it from Harvard College. It contains 
 the following inscription : — 
 
 " By order of the overseers of Harvard CoUeg in Cam- 
 bridg in New Eng><J, To the Right worshipp' Ralph Freke, 
 Esq., a noble benefactor" to the aforesayd Colleg. 1667." 
 
 Mr. Freke was one of the subscribers who 
 gave Harvard College its first font of type. 
 It may be that this Bible was printed from the 
 type thus presented. 
 
 The University of Virginia has a copy of the 
 first edition of the Eliot Bible that was once 
 the property of Dr. C. D. Ebeling, the German 
 historian. At his death his library was pur- 
 chased by Mr. Israel Thorndike of Boston, who 
 presented it to Harvard University in 1818. 
 As the University had another copy of Eliot, 
 the corporation, at a meeting held June 22, 
 1819, directed the treasurer to dispose of the 
 Ebeling Bible. By some train of circumstances 
 it came into the possession of the University of 
 Virginia, where it has been since 1828, as the 
 book catalogue of the institution shows. It 
 
24 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 contains Dr. Ebeling's autograph, and this in- 
 scription on the fly-leaf: "Biblia Sacra in lin- 
 guam Indorum Americanse gentis Twv Natick 
 translata a Johanne Eliot Missionario Angli- 
 cano. Impressa Cantabrigiae Novae Angliae 
 oppido. Liber summae raritatis. V. Clement. 
 Bibl. cur. T. iv. Freytag Anacleta." 
 
 Increase Mather, while president of Harvard 
 College, presented the universities at Utrecht 
 and Leyden, Holland, with Eliot Bibles of 
 1685, which are still preserved in the libra- 
 ries of those institutions. The Eliot of 1663, 
 in the library of the British Museum, was 
 once the property of Hon. Edward Everett, 
 United States minister to Great Britain. He 
 presented it to Hon. Thomas Grenville, who 
 bequeathed his library to the Museum. Hon. 
 Rufus King, minister to England in 1796, was 
 the owner of an Eliot Bible of 1685, which is 
 now in the hands of his descendants in this 
 country. Hon. Thomas Aspinwall, United 
 States consul in England in 1815, possessed 
 an Eliot New Testament of 1661. Brown Uni- 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 25 
 
 versity, Providence, R.I., has a copy of the 
 same year, which belonged to Koger Williams, 
 and has notes in the margin in his own hand- 
 writing. The Bible in the library of Yale Col- 
 lege has the signature of John Winthrop, doubt- 
 less the Winthrop who was governor of Con- 
 necticut in 1698. Mr. Morgan of New York 
 owns a first edition of Eliot that has the signa- 
 ture of White Kennett, who was the Bishop of 
 Peterborough in 1718. One of the finest and 
 most desirable of the Eliot Bibles of 1663 is 
 known to collectors as " the Allan copy," from 
 its having belonged to John Allan, the antiqua- 
 rian. It is one of the " Royal " copies, contain- 
 ing the dedication to Charles the Second. It 
 contains the autograph of William Ashurst, 
 who was an active member of the Corporation 
 for Propagating the Gospel in New England, 
 and who became eventually its Governor. This 
 gives this Bible peculiar interest. It was sold 
 at the Brinley sale for $900, and is now the 
 property of Mrs. Laura Eliot Cutter of Brook- 
 lyn, N.Y., who is a lineal descendant of John 
 
26 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Eliot by the sixth generation. The Eliot that 
 originally belonged to the Marquis of Hast- 
 ings is in the library of the late John Carter 
 Brown, Providence, R.I. As might be ex- 
 pected, there are several Bibles that contain the 
 signatures of their former Indian owners, and 
 these books in most cases give evidence in 
 blackened and well-thumbed pages of the con- 
 stant use they had in their day. 
 
 John Eliot died at the advanced age of eighty- 
 six, after a life replete with usefulness. His 
 unselfishness, his devotion to duty, his broad 
 sympathies, his strength and gentleness of char- 
 acter, all made him a central figure in the history 
 of colonial times in America. De Ponseau called 
 him " The Augustine of New England." But 
 the title " The Apostle to the Indians " has for 
 generations been associated with his name wher- 
 ever mentioned. In literature it appeared early, 
 for Dr. Leuden, who was professor of Hebrew 
 at Utrecht, Holland, dedicated in 1661 his Eng- 
 lish and Hebrew Psalter to Eliot, " the venera- 
 ble Apostle to the Indians in America." The 
 
THE ELIOT BIBLE. 27 
 
 first use of the appellation is attributed to Rev. 
 Thomas Thorowgood, who first used it in 1660. 
 It was well applied ; for Eliot had the apostolic 
 spirit, as indicated in a life-long consecration. 
 Evidently the thought that guided him at all 
 times was that which he once wrote on the blank 
 leaf of his Indian grammar in these words : 
 " Prayers and pains, through Christ Jesus, will 
 do anything." 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 
 
 During the early days of the American col- 
 onies many Germans settled in Pennsylvania. 
 They were as a class frugal and peaceable. 
 They preferred, for the most part, the agri- 
 cultural districts, where, by their industry, they 
 acquired homes, and earned a generous living. 
 Among these settlers was Christopher Saur,^ a 
 man who rose to a position of commanding 
 influence among his countrymen. He was born 
 at Laasphe in Witgenstein, Germany, in 1693. 
 He received his education at the University of 
 Halle, where he studied medicine. He came to 
 this country in 1724, and settled at German- 
 
 1 Mr. Saur changed the spelling of his name when writing 
 in English to Sower, and his descendants follow the same 
 spelling. For the sake of uniformity, the German way of 
 spelling the word, as found on the titlepage of the Saur 
 Bible, has been retained in this article. 
 28 
 
BIBLIA 
 
 it 
 
 ((^e* 
 
 mtnu 
 
 » Bum ^m^mit 
 
 t le&e^ EapittB fiitfrn ©ummatieii/ 
 
 mtmmmm 
 
 &(itMtkt) ^m9ovf> %Mt) 1743- 
 
 Fac-simile of the title-page of the Saur Bible of 1743. Kedueed size. 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 29 
 
 town, but in tlie same year went to Lancaster 
 County and engaged in farming. In 1731 lie 
 returned to Germantown, and followed the 
 practice of medicine. As he was a man of 
 decided convictions in matters of morality and 
 religion, he became interested in bettering the 
 temporal and spiritual condition of the Ger- 
 mans about him. He found them destitute to a 
 great extent of reading matter in their own 
 tongue. He at once began to import Bibles 
 and various religious books for their use. As 
 many of them were poor, he induced several 
 Bible societies in Germany to donate copies of 
 the Scriptures, and especially the publishing 
 houses at Halle and Biidingen. As time went 
 on, and the intellectual wants of the German 
 people became more evident, he urged the pub- 
 lication of books and papers in America. He 
 knew nothing of printing; but an emergency 
 arose which drew him into the business, which 
 he followed the remainder of his life with devo- 
 tion and enthusiasm. Thomas says, " The Bap- 
 tists, or Tunkers, in Germany raised by sub- 
 
30 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 scription a sum of money, in order to purchase 
 religious books and disperse them among their 
 poor friends in Pennsylvania, and to establish a 
 press there to print for the same purpose. 
 Accordingly a press and types, with a quantity 
 of books, were sent out and intrusted to the 
 management of a German Baptist by the name 
 of Jacob Gaus. He was to have the use of, 
 and the emolument arising from, the press, on 
 condition that he should distribute a certain 
 number of copies of each of the religious books . 
 he should print among the poor Germans. 
 This person did not possess the ability necessary 
 for the undertaking, and no other person who 
 was thought to have sufficient ability for the 
 purpose was found to take his place. The busi- 
 ness was suspended, and the press and type 
 viewed as useless lumber." ^ It was at this 
 point that Mr. Saur came into possession of the 
 property. He set up his press, imported work- 
 men from Germany, and launched his publish- 
 ing enterprise. 
 
 In 1738 he began the printing of an almanac, 
 
 1 Thomas's History of Printing in America, vol. i. p. 271. 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 31 
 
 which was the first one in German printed in 
 this country. It was very small at first, con- 
 sisting of only twelve pages. It was enlarged 
 in 1743 to sixteen pages, but by 1750 it had 
 increased to forty-eight pages. Its publication 
 was continued for forty years. 
 
 So great was the faith of the Germans in the 
 integrity of Mr. Saur that in seriousness they 
 consulted his almanac for weather predictions. 
 A farmer, about to make a journey, referred to 
 his almanac and found the day marked " fair." 
 He went in an open wagon, but ere long a 
 shower drenched him through and through. In 
 great anger he called upon Mr. Saur for an 
 explanation. The sturdy German quietly re- 
 plied, "My friend, I made the almanac, but 
 the Almighty made the weather." Mr. Saur 
 printed the first number of a religious news- 
 paper on August 20, 1789, and also began the 
 publication of a religious quarterly, in German, 
 in 1746. These publications had a large circu- 
 lation among the German population. The 
 newspaper was the first religious newspaper 
 
32 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 issued in this country. It is said to have 
 reached a circulation of ten thousand copies, 
 which was large for that time. 
 
 Through this almanac and newspaper Mr. 
 Saur urged the publication of a German Bible, 
 and pleaded for help. In 1739 he issued his 
 Proposal. It is in several respects unique, and 
 worth quoting nearly in full. He writes, — 
 
 " Therefore, as we think we have some abilities to meet 
 this great desideratum, we are also willing to contribute all 
 that is in our power thereto. But as the publishing of such 
 a work requires a much greater outlay than our means are 
 adequate to, we deem it necessary that all the subscribers, 
 or, to speak plainly, all those who desire a copy of the Bible 
 shall notify us, and pay half a crown which is necessary: 
 First, that we may know a little how many we may venture 
 to print. Second, to assist us in our payments, as the paper 
 for one Bible alone costs 7s. 6d. Thirdly, that if we should 
 be necessitated to involve ourselves by loans in getting it up, 
 we may have something to depend on to relieve us again 
 from our embarrassments; and lastly, as the covmtry is so 
 new yet that we have no example of the kind to pattern 
 after. 
 
 " The form shall be long quarto; that is, the height and 
 breadth like this page, and with the same type, which we 
 think sufficiently readable to old and young. In thickness, 
 it shall be about the breadth of a hand, for we are willing to 
 take good paper to it. 
 
 "Notes or comments we will add none, as we hope that 
 all those who read the Holy Scriptures with a sincere heart, 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 33 
 
 will, through the teachings of the fear of God, which is the 
 beginning of all wisdom, become sufficiently acquainted 
 with the sinfulness and depravity of his heart, to seek for 
 an interest in the Saviour, through whose redeeming power 
 he will be taught to love Him and keep His words; then the 
 Father will love him and come unto him, and they will 
 make their abode with him. And if the Godhead thus 
 dwells in him, then the Holy Ghost will be the best com- 
 mentator of His own words ; as Moses, the Prophets, and 
 Christ, the Apostles, and Evangelists have spoken and re- 
 corded them; and that, then, will be the correctest and 
 most reliable commentary." 
 
 "Concerning the price, we cannot say precisely: First, 
 because we do not know yet how many we shall print, for 
 the smaller the number, the higher the price will be, and 
 the larger the number, the lower the price will be. Second, 
 because several friends of the Truth have, out of love to 
 God, and for the good of their needy neighbors, already con- 
 tributed toward it, and others have offered to do so. Partly, 
 that its price may be so low that the parsimonious and 
 avaricious may have no excuse, and those of lesser means, 
 no burden. Therefore, in proportion to the number of such 
 benefactors, and as our own means will enable us to do, the 
 price will be. But this much we may say, that all unbound, 
 none shall cost over fourteen shillings, which we hope will 
 not be thought dear, especially when we consider that the 
 paper alone is at least four times as high here as it is in 
 Germany." 
 
 To print a Bible at that day was an immense 
 undertaking, for type was not as yet manufac- 
 tured in the new country. Workmen were few, 
 and financial aid slow in coming. But Mr. 
 
34 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Saur persisted in his appeals, and believed in 
 the ultimate success of his plans. He appealed 
 to Germany for assistance, as well as to friends 
 in America. His plea was not in vain. Mr. 
 Heinrich Ehrenfried Luther, a type-founder of 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main, presented him with a 
 font of type, asking no other compensation than 
 to receive a copy of the Bible when completed. 
 
 Mr. Luther was not only a prominent type- 
 founder, but a man of literary attainments who 
 received university honors. As a lawyer of 
 ability, he filled the position of Court Coun- 
 sellor of Wiirtemberg. At that time, Frank- 
 fort-on-the-Main was one of the four free cities 
 of Germany. He was born in the above city in 
 the year 1700, and died in 1770. 
 
 As soon as the type was received, work upon 
 the Bible began. The book was three years in 
 going through the press, and the last sheet was 
 finished in August, 1743. Considering the 
 early day at which the Saur Bible was printed, 
 it is an admirable example of workmanship. 
 
 It was the first Bible printed in America in 
 a European language. 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 35 
 
 The Title-Page: — 
 
 SBiblia, I ©as ifl: | bie | §eUlge ©d^rift | Slltes unb 9?eue3 | 
 Sefiaments, | nad) bet ©eutfc^en Ueberfe^ung | 2)r. SKattin 
 Sutlers, I Wilt jcbes SopitelS ^ur^en ©ummarien, au(^ | 
 bc^gefugten oielen unb rit^tigen *ParafleIen; | ncbft einem 2[n« 
 bang | Ses britten unb Dierten 33uc^8 gjra unb bes | britteu 
 Sud^S ber liJiaccabaer. | 
 ©ermantottjn: 
 I @ebrucftbe9(S^ri{}ot)^@aur,1743. 
 
 Translation: The Bible, That is the Holy 
 Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, 
 after the German translation of Dr. Martin 
 Luther, with short summaries to every chapter, 
 also many and correct parallel references, be- 
 sides an Appendix of the Third and Fourth 
 Books of Ezra, and the Third Book of Macca- 
 bees. Germantown: Printed by Christopher 
 Saur. 1743. 
 
 Collation : Title, one leaf ; verso, blank. Pre- 
 face, one page. Order of Books of Old Testament, 
 one page. Text, pp. 1-805. Apocrypha, pp. 
 806-949. Appendix, pp. 950-995. New Testa- 
 ment title, one leaf. Preface, one leaf. Order 
 of Books, one page. Text, pp. 3-277. Register 
 of Epistles and Gospels for Sundays of Christian 
 
36 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Year, two pages. Register of Epistles and Gos- 
 pels for certain Saints' Days, one leaf. Short 
 history of translations of the Bible, four pages. 
 
 Preface : — 
 
 " While all books require a preface by means 
 of which the use and peculiarity of the book is 
 briefly described, the Bible is in itself suffi- 
 ciently known, and itself brings all that can only 
 be written about ; above all It and every Scripture 
 given of God is useful, for doctrine, for reproof, 
 for improvement, for instruction in righteousness, 
 that a man of God may be perfect, equipped for 
 all good works, etc. (2 Tim. iii. 15, 16, 17). The 
 moving causes for printing this present Bible, 
 have been chiefly, as may be perceived : Firstly, 
 that so many poor Germans come to the country 
 who do not all bring Bibles. Secondly, that so 
 many are born and bred in the land, who also 
 do not all know how to obtain Bibles, and it is 
 noticed that the well-to-do usually care for 
 themselves and theirs. 
 
 Luther's translation has been selected, be- 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 37 
 
 cause most in keeping with the usual German 
 idiom, and though excellent translations, word 
 for word, have all been discriminated in admi- 
 rable passages, yet his simply expresses but a 
 single idea. It is sure that he who reads those 
 Scriptures with honest heart, which are clear 
 and plain and require no explanation, will, 
 through Christ's power, attain to practice, and 
 will remain true to the selfsame One, who is to 
 be placed over so many of God's mysteries as 
 are needful to his eternal salvation ; and he who 
 will be a doer of the Word and not merely a 
 hearer or reader, deceive neither himself nor 
 another. To whomsoever aught appears incom- 
 prehensible in reading, and he lacks true wis- 
 dom, let him ask it of God, who gives it richly 
 to him who asks in faith (James i. 5). And 
 if somewhat be not granted unto him for a sea- 
 son, he will recognize it as clear as the sun at 
 another time, when he reaches the same stand- 
 point where the Scripture is. 
 
 The Halle Bible, in fact its 34th edition, has 
 been taken ; Firstly, because it is very rich in 
 
38 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 parallels. Secondly, because it is believed that 
 it contains the fewest printing mistakes, because 
 the type-setting remains standing. The accusa- 
 tion that one has mixed his own with it, and 
 not followed Luther's translation, is regarded 
 as unworthy of contradiction. It is before our 
 eyes, and whoever compares our printing with 
 the aforesaid edition, will find that not only has 
 it been adhered to, but that more than a hun- 
 dred printer's errors have been removed. The 
 latter are remembered, not to censure that work, 
 but that, should any one find that mistakes have 
 again crept in without our knowledge, it may 
 be forgiven us as unto other men. 
 
 Moreover, no explanations have been made, 
 a procedure in which we are as much at liberty 
 as others ; Firstly, because by means of Scrip- 
 ture parallelisms, one phrase frequently illumi- 
 nates another in the Spiritual sense. Secondly, 
 because it is certain that to him who reads the 
 Scriptures with an upright heart, the Holy 
 Spirit in the heart reveals His true meaning 
 by the reading itself ; and according as every 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 39 
 
 believer himself undergoes such an experience 
 in himself, individually, so one believes assuredly 
 that the time nears when the whole earth shall 
 be full of the knowledge of the Lord (Isa. ii. 9), 
 and there shall be no need that brother teach 
 brother and admonish him to know the Lord 
 (Jer. xxxi. 34). But they shall all be taught of 
 God, both small and great, when He shall pour 
 out His Spirit on all flesh, that sons and daugh- 
 ters prophesy, young men see visions, and the 
 old men dream dreams, and His Spirit shall 
 flow upon His servants and handmaids (Joel 
 ii. 28-32). So will He himself make clear His 
 meaning, and show His might, yea, verily, be 
 the Word itself. Flee hither, who can; come 
 soon, Lord Jesus." 
 
 The Saur Bible is a quarto, bound in bevelled 
 boards, covered with strong leather, with the 
 covers held together with clasps. It is printed 
 in double columns, with parallel references, and 
 there are short summaries at the head of each 
 chapter. There is an ornamented headpiece at 
 the beginning of Genesis, and another before 
 
40 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 the Gospel of St. Matthew. The general title- 
 page is printed in black and red. The edition 
 consisted of twelve hundred copies, and the 
 price was eighteen shillings ; that is, about two 
 dollars and a half. 
 
 Mr. Saur did not forget his obligation to Mr. 
 H. E. Luther, for he had twelve copies of his 
 Bible substantially bound, and sent them on 
 the 5th of December, 1743, to Germany, by the 
 ship "Queen of Hungary." The vessel, when 
 near St. Malmo, was attacked by French and 
 Spanish pirates, and all the cargo was captured. 
 At the expiration of two years, through some 
 unknown events, the Bibles reached their des- 
 tination, and came into the possession of Mr. 
 Luther. There are persons who regard this 
 account as highly romantic, and quite improba- 
 ble, but there can be no doubt of its truthful- 
 ness. Mr. Luther gave one copy to the Royal 
 Library at Frankfort-on-the-Main, where it is 
 now preserved. From the presentation inscrip- 
 tion in Latin we learn that the Bible was given 
 to the library in the year 1745 ; that is, two 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 41 
 
 years after its publication. Here we have in- 
 direct testimony that it was two years in reach- 
 ing Germany. But the truth of the account is 
 placed beyond all question by the direct confir- 
 mation of it by Mr. Luther in his own hand- 
 writing. He presented one of the twelve copies 
 of the Saur Bible to the Duchess Elizabeth 
 Sophie Marie von Braunschweig, who had a col- 
 lection of several thousand rare editions of the 
 Holy Scriptures. At her death she bequeathed 
 the collection to the Ducal Library at Wolfen- 
 biittel, Germany. The librarian of this institu- 
 tion, Dr. O. von Heinemann, in a letter bearing 
 date February 8th, 1892, speaks of the presenta- 
 tion volume as "well preserved and well bound." 
 In regard to the story of the Bibles falling into 
 the hands of pirates, he says, — 
 
 "All this is stated in a note, written in Latin and 
 signed by Luther with his own hand, attached to the inside 
 of the front cover of our copy; as well as in a German 
 translation of the same, entirely in Luther's handwriting, 
 inserted in the book." 
 
 But the most interesting evidence of all is that 
 written in the copy which Mr. Luther retained 
 
42 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 for his own library. This book is now in the 
 possession of Dr. J. Haeberlin, of Frankfort-on- 
 the-Main, who is Mr. Luther's great-great- 
 grandson, and the inheritor of his possessions. 
 In a letter dated March 6, 1892, Dr. Haeberlin 
 has given some very important information con- 
 cerning Luther's copy of the Saur Bible, He 
 states that it contains the following dedication : — 
 
 THIS HOLY BOOK, 
 By the Aid of God 
 recently published in the German language in 
 The Western World, 
 with types from the Luther Printing House, which has 
 flourished in Frankfort since the invention of printing, 
 under the widely known name of 
 EGENOLF, 
 and still continues to prosper, 
 WAS the very first 
 preceded by none in the English, Dutch, or any other lan- 
 guage, and was sent with eleven other copies on account of 
 its being a novel and rare production, by the publisher, 
 Christopher Saur, 
 to Europe : 
 But, 
 
 "the queen of HUNGARY" 
 
 — so the ship was called, — under the command of the 
 Englishman Faulkner, after having successfully completed 
 the greater portion of the journey, not far from the head- 
 land of the Isle Maclovius, known under the name of 
 ST. MALMO, 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 43 
 
 fell into the hands of 
 French and Spanish Pirates, 
 who offered the ship with its cargo of wares and these 
 12 copies, 
 the Apostles of the Western World, as it were, 
 at public sale, 
 until they all finally, through a wonderful dispensation of 
 Providence, after a lapse of two years, were released from 
 the bands of robbers, and delivered uninjured to the Luther 
 Printing House, to whom they owed their existence. De- 
 part, then, my Book, and become in consideration of thy 
 marvellous fortunes, under the name of 
 " Apostle," 
 together with thy similarly delivered companion volumes, a 
 permanent ornament of the most noted libraries, in fulfil- 
 ment of the well considered wish and will of the donor, 
 whose written, not printed name follows. 
 
 LUTHEK, DR. 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main, January 1, 1747. 
 
 It is evident that Mr. Luther was not aware 
 of the fact that the Eliot Bible had been printed 
 in America nearly a hundred years before, or he 
 would not have said that the Saur Bible, " was 
 the very first, preceded by none in the English, 
 Dutch, or any other language." 
 
 Mr. Luther presented a third copy of the 
 original twelve Bibles to Count Keyserlingk. 
 This volume is now in the Royal Library at 
 
44 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Stuttgart. Dr. T. Schott, the librarian, in a 
 letter of February 8tli, 1892, writes : — 
 
 " The copy is evidently in its original binding of English 
 leather. The sections of the back are ornamented with 
 small gold toolings, and the front and back covers have 
 prettily shaped designs in the leather. There is a middle 
 field, or centre-piece. On the inside of the front cover is a 
 printed dedication from E. H. Luther to Count Hermann 
 Karl Keyserlingk, Counsellor of the Empress Elizabeth of 
 Russia. According to the Latin inscription, the Count 
 lived for several years in Luthers hous'e. The same is 
 dated Frankfort, Dec, 1745. 
 
 " Over the dedication is a coat-of-arms, most likely that of 
 Luther. It consists of a shield parted diagonally from 
 upper right-hand corner to lower left, on which is a gallop- 
 ing winged horse. In the upper left-hand corner is a small 
 division representing three mountain tops, on the middle 
 one of which is a cross. The crest is also decorated with 
 these three mountain tops and cross. 
 
 " The last owner before the copy came into the posses- 
 sion of the Royal Library of Stuttgart was the well-known 
 collector of Bibles, Pastor J. Lorck of Copenhagen. The 
 copy is in every respect splendidly preserved." 
 
 A fourtb presentation copy is now preserved 
 in the Prince Stolberg Library at Wernigerode. 
 A fifth copy was given by Mr. Luther to Dr. 
 Ruppersburg of Marburg. Members of his 
 family came to this country in 1843 and 
 brought the Bible with them, but just where 
 it is in the United States is not known. 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 45 
 
 A sixth copy was given to the Landes Biblio- 
 thek at Cassel, and the seventh to the Ducal 
 Library at Gotha, where they are preserved. 
 
 An eighth copy was presented by Mr. Luther 
 to Count Heinrich de Bunan, and this is now 
 in the possession of the Royal Library at 
 Dresden, Germany. 
 
 It contains a presentation inscription in these 
 words : — 
 
 THIS HOLY BOOK 
 
 NEVER BEFORE PRINTED IN THE WESTERN WORLD 
 
 in either English, Dutch, or any other language, but now 
 under Divine protection, for the first time in German, and 
 by tjrpes from his own foundry, is presented with the hope 
 that it will give pleasure as a rarity, and on account of its 
 coming from a remote land, to the Library of 
 
 THE ILLUSTRIOUS HEINRICH DE BUNAN, 
 
 COUNT OP 
 
 THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, 
 
 PRIVY COUNCILLOR 
 
 OF HIS CHRISTIAN MAJESTY, 
 
 and of 
 
 THE IMPERIAL COURT, 
 
 and 
 
 AMBASSADOR OF THE SAME TO THE 
 
 ORDERS OF THE CIRCLE OF THE RHINE 
 
 AND LOWER SAXONY, 
 
 By 
 HEINRICH EHRENFRIED LUTHER, J.N.D. & C.W.A. 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main; July, 1747. 
 
46 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Dr. Haeberlin states that in Luther's copy, 
 which he retained for himself, there is a 
 memorandum in his own hand-writing of the 
 disposition he made of the remaining eleven 
 copies. The list is as follows : " St. Petersburg, 
 Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hanover, Dres- 
 den, Gotha, Weimar, Braunschweig, Cassel, 
 and Stuttgart." It will be observed that no 
 mention is made in this list of the copy 
 presented to the Royal Library at Frankfort- 
 on-the-Main, or of the copy given to Dr. 
 Ruppersburg. Whether these were additional 
 copies received from Mr. Saur, or whether they 
 belonged to the original twelve, and had 
 changed hands, is not at present known. Of 
 the Bibles that were sent to individuals or 
 public libraries at St. Petersburg, Stockholm, 
 Copenhagen, Berlin, Hanover, and Weimar, 
 no information has been received, though it 
 has been solicited. It will be seen that we 
 have located nine of the presentation copies, 
 and it is to be hoped that in time the remain- 
 ing three may be traced. 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 47 
 
 The encouragement and support that Mr. 
 Luther gave Saur, in publishing the Bible 
 in this country, not only called out the grati- 
 tude of the German residents, but of all who 
 were interested in the advancement of morals 
 and religion. Dr. Haeberlin says, " In later 
 years, when Franklin visited Europe, he per- 
 sonally thanked Luther." He also writes, " Mr. 
 Luther was given a large land grant, which he, 
 however, never claimed, as he scorned to receive 
 any material compensation. I do not know 
 what became of the deed of the property." 
 
 Notwithstanding the energy and enterprise of 
 Mr. Saur in giving his countrymen the Bible in 
 their own language, he did not receive the sup- 
 port and gratitude he deserved. He was 
 accused of selfish and mercenary motives. 
 Those who differed from him in his religious 
 opinions denounced his Bible even before it 
 appeared. Booksellers tried to undersell him 
 by offering imported Bibles at low rates. 
 Another class raised opposition by declar- 
 ing that his Bible was not a genuine ren- 
 
48 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 dering of the Lutheran translation. Relative 
 to this last charge he wrote, "All that our 
 adversaries can possibly say against us is con- 
 cerning our appendix of the 3rd and 4th Books 
 of Esdras, and the 3rd Book of the Maccabees, 
 which is not Luther's. The Halle edition of 
 1708 contained it, but our 34th edition did not, 
 or we should have followed it. Hence, there- 
 fore, we added it from the Berlinberger edition, 
 which we think every child that has the least 
 spark of godliness in him must love and revere. 
 But whoever does not like it can inform us, 
 and we will omit it in the binding. So, also, 
 our addenda of the various translations." 
 
 Mr. Saur made every effort to promote the 
 reading of the Scriptures by bringing his Bible 
 within the reach of all who desired it. Just 
 before it was completed he wrote, — 
 
 " The price of our now nearly finished Bible 
 in plain binding with a clasp will be eighteen 
 shillings, but to the poor and needy we have 
 no price." 
 
 Mr. Saur was a many-sided man, and had 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 49 
 
 much ingenuity and versatility. He erected a 
 mill for manufacturing his own paper and ink. 
 He also did his own binding, and contrived to 
 cast the type he needed. The remarkable 
 statement has been made of him that he was 
 familiar with sixteen trades. The business, 
 now so extensive, of making cast-iron stoves is 
 said to have originated with him. The profes- 
 sion of medicine he never abandoned. 
 
 Mr. Saur died in 1758, at the age of sixty- 
 five, and was buried in the rear of his dwelling 
 at Gerniantown. 
 
 He was succeeded in business by his only 
 son of the same name. He, like his father, was 
 a man of pronounced executive ability. He 
 enlarged the business and continued the publi- 
 cation of the newspaper and almanac. In addi- 
 tion he printed and bound over two hundred 
 books. Several mills were engaged in manu- 
 facturing his paper, and he had workmen to 
 engrave his woodcuts. He built a type foun- 
 dry, which was the first of its kind in this coun- 
 try. This gave him all the type he needed, and 
 
50 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 enabled him to supply otlier printers. This 
 foundry expanded as the years went on, and is 
 now represented by the firm of L. Johnson & 
 Co. of Philadelphia, who are at the head of 
 the largest type establishment in the United 
 States. 
 
 In 1763 Christopher Saur printed the second 
 edition of the German Bible. It is a quarto, 
 and resembles the first edition in its general 
 appearance, but differs from it in some respects. 
 Both the title-pages are printed in black, and 
 the type throughout the book is set closer. A 
 portion of the last chapter of the Fourth Book 
 of Ezra, and the whole of the Third Book of 
 Maccabees, are printed in smaller type than the 
 other parts of the book. The letters of the gen- 
 eral title also differ in size from those of the 
 first edition. The preface is a new one, and is 
 entirely unlike that of the Bible of 1743. The 
 opening sentence reads : — 
 
 " Herewith appear, in tliis American part of the world, 
 the Holy Scriptures — called the Bible — publicly printed 
 for the second time in the High German language, to the 
 honor of the German nation, — inasmuch as no other 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 51 
 
 nation can claim to have printed the Bible, in this part of 
 the world, in its own language." 
 
 This second issue of the Bible consisted of 
 an edition of two thousand copies. 
 
 Thirteen years later Mr. Saur was prepared 
 to send out the third edition of the German 
 Bible, — that of 1776, — which was also the last. 
 The printing of the three thousand copies — 
 the extent of the edition — had been completed, 
 and the leaves had been stitched together and 
 awaited the finishing touches of the binder in 
 applying the covers ; but the war between the 
 colonies and Great Britain interrupted the 
 work. 
 
 At the invasion of Germantown Mr. Saur 
 fled from the place, and the British troops 
 destroyed nearly all the copies of the Bible, bj 
 converting the leaves into litter for their horses, 
 and by using the paper for their cartridges. 
 Catharine Saur, the daughter of the pub- 
 lisher, secured ten copies, and after they were 
 bound presented them to her children. 
 
 The preface is the same as that of the edition 
 
52 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 of 1763. It is signed, but not dated. The second 
 edition is dated " Germantown, December 8th, 
 1763." The title-pages are the same, and a 
 similar reduction of the type in the middle of 
 the book. Substantially, the editions of 1763 
 and 1776 are one and the same. 
 
 Saur died in 1784, leaving five sons and three 
 daughters. His business, though sadly dis- 
 turbed by the war, descended to his son, Chris- 
 topher Saur the third. Generations of printers 
 sprang from this stock, and the publishing 
 house in Philadelphia still bearing the name of 
 Saur can point back to an honorable record 
 extending over one hundred and fifty years. 
 There were but three issues of the Saur Bibles, 
 but a number of editions of the New Testa- 
 ment in German. These publications bear the 
 dates of 1745, 1755, 1760, 1761, 1763, 1764, 
 1769, and 1775. The editions of 1761 and 1764 
 are extremely rare. O'Callaghan does not men- 
 tion them, and evidently was not aware of their 
 existence. The first edition of the Saur Bible 
 — that of 1743 — is a scarce book, and commands 
 
THE SAUR BIBLE. 63 
 
 a high price. A copy offered at the Brinley sale 
 a few years ago brought |350. The editions of 
 1763 and 1776 are not considered as valuable. 
 Nearly all the copies of the Saur Bible are 
 owned in the United States and Germany.^ No 
 library making a specialty of Americana can be 
 considered complete without possessing this 
 Bible, the first printed in this country in a Eu- 
 ropean language. 
 
 The New Testament in German was pub- 
 lished in several places in the United States 
 after the Saur Bible of 1776, but no issue of 
 the entire Bible in German was undertaken for 
 thirty years. Then, in 1805, Gottlob Yung- 
 mann published at Reading, Pa., a German 
 Bible in quarto. In typography and general 
 appearance it resembles the Saur Bible, and 
 may be considered a continuation of it, and evi- 
 dently the publisher so intended it to be. In 
 the preface he says, — 
 
 " In this part of the world, which is called the American 
 United States, there appear once more, after a lapse of 
 thirty years, the Holy Scriptures (which are also called the 
 1 Appendix F. 
 
54 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Bible), publicly printed in the High German language, to 
 the honor of the descendants of the old German nation. 
 Whether a Bible in the language mentioned will again 
 make its appearance in these United States, is open to 
 much and great doubt, more especially as the German lan- 
 guage is declining in them with such extraordinary rapid- 
 ity, and is suffering English, as the established and gener- 
 ally used, and, indeed, preferable language, to make aston- 
 ishing progress. Whether this is to be ascribed more to 
 the industrious reading of the Holy Scriptures by the 
 English descendants in this part of the world, or to some- 
 thing else, whatever it may be, I will not here inquire, but 
 recommend it to every individual German descendant him- 
 self, for investigation and alteration." 
 
 After speaking of the value of the Word of 
 God to "apostate human creatures," he refers 
 to Christopher Saur, and ends by quoting 
 nearly the whole of the preface of the Saur 
 Bible of 1776. This publication by Yungmann 
 never reached a second edition. 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 
 
 Me. Isaiah Thomas, in his "History of 
 Printing in America," when referring to the 
 booksellers of Boston, says, ^ " Kneeland and 
 Green printed, principally for Daniel Hench- 
 man, an edition of the Bible in small 4to. This 
 was the first Bible printed in America, in the 
 English language. It was carried through the 
 press as privately as possible, and has the Lon- 
 don imprint of the copy from which it was re- 
 printed, — viz., ' London : Printed by Mark Bas- 
 kett. Printer to the King's Most Excellent Ma- 
 jesty,' — in order to prevent a prosecution from 
 those in England and Scotland, who published 
 the Bible by a patent from the crown, or cum 
 privilegio, as did the English universities of Ox- 
 ford and Cambridge. When I was an ap- 
 
 1 Thomas's History of Printing, vol. i., pp. 107, 108. 
 
56 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 prentice, I often heard those who had assisted at 
 the case and press in printing this Bible make 
 mention of the fact. The late Governor Han- 
 cock was related to Henchman, and knew the 
 particulars of the transaction. He possessed a 
 copy of this impression. As it has a London 
 imprint, at this day it can be distinguished from 
 an English edition of the same date only by 
 those who are acquainted with the niceties of 
 typography. This Bible issued from the press 
 about the time that the partnership of Kneeland 
 and Green expired. The edition was not large ; 
 I have been informed that it did not exceed 
 seven or eight hundred copies." 
 
 The correctness of this statement has been 
 assailed by Mr. Bancroft, who, in his " History 
 of the United States," ^ says that Thomas " re- 
 peats only what he heard. Himself a collector, 
 he does not profess ever to have seen a copy of 
 the alleged American edition of the English 
 Bible. Search has repeatedly been made for a 
 copy and always without success. Six or eight 
 
 1 Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. v., p. 266. 
 
iHOLY BIBLE,! 
 
 f ' ^ ' 
 
 ! Containing the Old ana Nevt • ^ I 
 
 I TEST AM E N T Si i 
 
 I * Newly tranflatcd out of the 
 
 I Original Tongues; 
 
 i 
 
 And with the fornricr 
 
 TRANSLATIONS 
 
 -\ 
 
 ^ Diligfiltly compared and rcvifed. 
 
 iP H I L A D E L P n I A: - 
 
 I Printeii AND Soto BT R. AITKEKV^T PorK's i 
 
 t HbAD, 'i"HRF.E DooRt. AHOVi: lllECoiVKC * 
 
 jj V liou<-.K, IN Makkii- ST#£BT. a 
 
 ■Jt X M.JJCC.f. X X Sll. * 
 
 i»«(«r 
 
 Fac-simile of the title page of the Aitken Bible, 17S2. Exact size. 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 57 
 
 hundred Bibles in quarto could hardly have 
 been printed, bound, and sold in Boston, then a 
 small town, undiscovered. Nor would they all 
 have disappeared. The most complete cata- 
 logues of English Bibles enumerate no one with 
 the imprint which was said to have been copied. 
 Till a copy of the pretended American edition 
 is produced no credit can be given to the sec- 
 ond-hand story." 
 
 As no copy of this supposed Bible has ever 
 been identified, Mr. O'Callaghan omits it from 
 his " List of Bibles printed in America." Any 
 testimony in the handwriting of Mr. Aitken 
 that his Bible published in 1782 was the first 
 Bible printed in America in the English lan- 
 guage would be of great value, for he could not 
 make this claim, if in his day some other edition 
 had already claimed it. Fortunately, we have 
 this testimony in Mr. Aitken's own words, writ- 
 ten with his own hand. In the British Museum 
 there is to be seen a copy of the Aitken Bible 
 in two volumes. The following note is on the 
 back of the title-page of the first volume, in the 
 
58 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 ■writing of Mr. Aitken : " This first copy of the 
 first edition of the Bible ever printed in Amer- 
 ica in the English language, is presented to 
 Ebenezar Hazard, Esq., by the Editor." In- 
 serted at the beginning of the second volume is 
 a letter as follows : — 
 
 Philadelphia, July 6, 1844. 
 Deae Sir, — I send you herewith the copy of the Bible 
 published in this city in 1782 by Robert Aitken, which you 
 may be assured I part with, with great regret, as well be- 
 cause it was presented by the publisher to my father, as 
 because it is, according to the certificate on the fly-leaf in 
 Mr. Aitken' s own handwriting, "the first copy of the first 
 edition ever printed in America in the English language," 
 the first sheets having been carefully laid aside for my father 
 — who was very intimate with the publisher — until the 
 whole work was completed. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Sam Hazabd. 
 Chas. Marshall, Esq. 
 
 This Bible was formerly in the collection of 
 Mr. Lea Wilson, and was bought by the British 
 Museum in 1849. The books are in the original 
 binding of olive-green leather. The two volumes 
 are divided at the end of Ecclesiastes, a division 
 peculiar to this set, as in other copies the sec- 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 59 
 
 ond volume begins with the Gospel of St. 
 Matthew. In some cases the volumes were 
 bound in one. 
 
 Robert Aitken was a native of Dalkeith, 
 Scotland, and emigrated to America in 1769, 
 and settled at Philadelphia as a bookseller. In 
 1771 he added bookbinding to his business, hav- 
 ing learned that art in Edinburgh. Later, in 
 1774, he became a publisher. The war of the 
 colonies with Great Britain interrupted com- 
 merce, and books were difficult to procure, and 
 especially Bibles. The urgency in this direc- 
 tion was so great that a memorial was presented 
 to Congress suggesting and urging the printing 
 of Bibles in America. The committee to whom 
 the memorial was referred reported in the 
 autumn of 1777 that the difficulty of procuring 
 type and paper was so great that they recom- 
 mended Congress to advance the money for pub- 
 lishing an edition of the Bible, or, if this was not 
 expedient, to order the importation of a number 
 sufficient to meet the demand. Congress re- 
 solved upon the latter course, and directed the 
 
60 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 committee to import twenty thousand copies of 
 the Bible. During the agitation of this subject 
 Mr. Aitken was encouraged to issue an edition 
 of the New Testament, which appeared from his 
 press in Philadelphia in 1777. A copy pre- 
 served in the Lenox Library, New York, enables 
 us to see how humble this effort was, for the 
 book is but a small duodecimo. The title-page 
 is as follows : — 
 
 The New 
 TESTAMENT 
 
 OP OUE LOKD AND SAVIOUE JESUS CHKIST; 
 
 Newly Translated out of the Original Greek ; 
 And with the former Translations 
 
 DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. 
 
 Appointed to be read in Churches. 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY 
 R. AITKEN, 
 
 Printer and Bookseller, 
 Front Street. 
 
 1777. 
 
 Spectamur agendo. 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 61 
 
 These last words form a motto and are placed 
 in a scroll. The letters of the imprint are sup- 
 ported by two children, and the crest is a bird 
 with an olive-branch in its mouth. On the back 
 of the title-page are the words, " The Order of 
 the Books of the New Testament with their 
 Names, and the Numbers of their Chapters." 
 The printed matter of the text runs from page 3 
 to page 353, and there are no headings. On the 
 verso of page 353 are these words : " Books 
 Printed and Sold at R. Aitken's Printing Office 
 opposite the London Coffee-House Front- 
 Street." 
 
 Second and third editions of the New Testa- 
 ment appeared in 1778 and 1779, and fourth and 
 fifth in 1780 and 1781. Encouraged by the re- 
 ception which had been given the publication of 
 the New Testament, Mr. Aitken announced his 
 purpose of printing an edition of the entire 
 Bible, and in 1781 presented a petition to Con- 
 gress, seeking support and sanction. His peti- 
 tion was referred to a committee consisting 
 of Messrs. Duane, McKean, and Witherspoon. 
 
62 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 They reported in 1782 that they had watched 
 with interest the work of Mr. Aitken, and 
 recommended, in order that a safe opinion might 
 be obtained of the correctness with which his 
 Bible had been prepared for publication, that it 
 should be submitted to the two chaplains of 
 Congress for their examination. The chaplains 
 were the Rev. William White, D.D., afterward 
 the Bishop of Pennsylvania, and the Rev. George 
 Duffield, D.D. September 10, 1782, they re- 
 ported to the committee as follows : — 
 
 " Agreeably to your desire we have paid at- 
 tention to Mr. Robert Aitken's impression of 
 the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
 ment. Having selected and examined a variety 
 of passages throughout the work, we are of the, 
 opinion that it is executed with great accuracy 
 as to the sense, and with as few grammatical and 
 typographical errors as could be expected in an 
 undertaking of such magnitude. Being our- 
 selves witnesses of the demand for this invalu- 
 able book, we rejoice in the present prospect of 
 a supply, hoping that it will prove as advan- 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 63 
 
 tageous as it is honorable to the gentleman who 
 has exerted himself to furnish it at the evident 
 risk of his private fortune." 
 
 In agreement with this recommendation Con- 
 gress in 1782 "Resolved, that the United States, 
 in Congress assembled, highly approve the 
 pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken 
 as subservient to the interests of religion as 
 well as an instance of the progress of arts in 
 this country ; and being satisfied from the above 
 report of his care and accuracy in the execution 
 of the work, they recommend this edition of the 
 Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, 
 and hereby authorize him to publish this recom- 
 mendation in the manner he shall think 
 proper." 
 
 Mr. Aitken's Bible was issued from his press 
 in Philadelphia in 1782. It was usually bound 
 in two volumes, though in some cases copies 
 have been found that are bound in one volume. 
 It is in size a small duodecimo, printed in brevier 
 type. The whole page measures 6 inches long 
 by 3i inches wide. The printed paper is 5| 
 
64 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 inches long and 3i inches wide. The title-page 
 reads — 
 
 THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE, 
 
 CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW 
 
 TESTAMENTS: 
 
 NEWLY TBANSLATED OUT OF THE 
 
 ORIGINAL TONGUES, 
 
 AND WITH THE FOKMEB 
 
 TRANSLATIONS 
 
 DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY E. AITKEN, AT POPE'S 
 
 Head, Three doors above the Coffee House, in Market Street. 
 MDCCLXXXIL 
 
 The title-page also contains the State arms of 
 Pennsylvania, which consist of an escutcheon 
 with representations of ship, plough, and 
 sheaves of wheat. The crest is an eagle, and 
 the supporters, rampant horses. The motto is 
 " Virtue, Liberty, and Independence." The back 
 of the title-page is blank. Then follow the 
 "Resolutions of Congress," occupying one and 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 65 
 
 a half pages. The next half-page contains 
 " Names and Order of all the Books of the O. & 
 N. Test." The Bible throughout has no paging. 
 The New Testament title-page is the same as 
 that of the edition of the previous year, 1781. 
 It reads as follows : — 
 
 THE NEW 
 
 TESTAMENT 
 
 OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR 
 JESUS CHRIST; 
 
 NEWLY TRANSLATED OUT OF THE 
 
 ORIGINAL GREEK; 
 
 AND WITH THE FOEMEE 
 
 TRANSLATIONS 
 Diligently compared and revised. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 FEINTED AND SOLD BY E. AITKEN, BOOKSELLEB 
 
 Opposite the Coffee House, Front Street. 
 MDCCLXXXI. 
 
 The title-page also contains a wood-cut of a 
 hat and flute. On the back of the same page 
 is this line : — 
 
 Names and Oedee of the Books of the N.T. 
 
6Q EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Below, in large letters, are found tlie initials 
 "R. A." 
 
 The publication of this Bible was not a finan- 
 cial success. It had to compete with imported 
 Bibles that could be sold cheaper, because the 
 cost of printing was less. Moreover, the book 
 was a small one and did not compare with larger 
 Bibles as a specimen of the printer's art. Mr. 
 Aitken seems to have been seriously embar- 
 rassed by his undertaking, and had the sympa- 
 thy of good people, who regretted the loss to 
 which he was subjected. At a Synod of Pres- 
 byterians, held in Philadelphia on the 24th of 
 May, 1783, it was " Resolved, As Mr. Aitken, 
 from laudable motives, and with great expense, 
 hath undertaken and executed an elegant 
 impression of the Holy Scriptures, which, on 
 account of the importation of Bibles from Eng- 
 land, will be very injurious to his temporal cir- 
 cumstances, the Synod agree that the committee 
 to purchase Bibles for distribution among the 
 poor purchase Aitken's Bible and no other, and 
 earnestly recommend it to all to purchase such 
 
THE AITKEN BIBLE. 67 
 
 in preference to any other." The Aitken Bible 
 is now the rarest of all early Bibles printed in 
 America. It can be safely said that at the out- 
 side there are not more than twenty-five copies 
 in existence, and the number actually located 
 .falls below this statement. The list of owners 
 is a very short one.^ It is only about once in a 
 generation that a copy is offered for sale, and 
 consequently it commands a high price. A few 
 years ago, at the Washington sale, held in Phil- 
 adelphia, the two volumes of this Bible brought 
 
 The Aitken Bible should animate the inter- 
 est of Americans, inasmuch as it was the first 
 Bible printed in the English language in Amer- 
 ica, and also because of the association of Con- 
 gress with it. It is a part of our national his- 
 tory, for which we should be grateful, because 
 it sets forth the fact that the founders of this 
 Republic were men who were not ashamed of 
 the revealed Truth. The term "Bible Con- 
 gress," applied to our law-makers in that day, 
 whether intended in derision or otherwise, was 
 1 Appendix G. 
 
68 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 an epithet of honor. Whatever in power, 
 progress, and grandeur we have attained as a 
 nation, we owe largelj'' to the respect and rever- 
 ence which our fathers paid to the precious 
 Word of God. 
 
THE FIRST DOUAY VERSION. 
 
 Tbde first quarto edition of the Bible in Eng- 
 lish printed in America was published in Phil- 
 adelphia in 1790. It was the Douay version 
 made from the Latin Vulgate. Proposals for 
 printing this Bible by subscription were sent 
 out in 1789 by Matthew Carey, a native of Ire- 
 land, located at Philadelphia as printer. It was 
 proposed to issue the book in forty-eight num- 
 bers, delivered weekly at a cost of " six Spanish 
 milled dollars " for the entire volume of 984 
 pages. Only about three of the numbers were 
 delivered, when certain changes were made. 
 The plan of issuing the Bible in numbers was 
 given up, and it was announced that it would be 
 published in two volumes. The firm was also 
 changed to Carey, Stewart & Co. As an induce- 
 
 69 
 
70 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 ment, it was stated that, if the number of sub- 
 scribers could be enlarged, the price would be 
 reduced. At the head of the subscribers stood 
 the name of Rt. Rev. John Carroll of Balti- 
 more. The new firm made an appeal not only 
 to the Roman Catholics of the United States, 
 but to other bodies of Christians. The latter 
 appeal is here quoted in full. It is addressed 
 " To the Protestants in the United States." 
 
 " We venture with some degree of confidence to solicit 
 your patronage as well as that of the Eoman Catholics for 
 the first edition of the Douay translation of the Vulgate 
 Bible. 
 
 Many of the most learned Protestant divines have pro- 
 duced weighty objections to particular passages in the Com- 
 mon Church of England translations of the Scriptures. That 
 there are various important errors in it, is too well known 
 to admit of controversy. The frequent demands for a new 
 translation bear the strongest testimony to the truth of this 
 observation ; it is therefore worthy the attention of every 
 candid Protestant to consider whether a comparison of the 
 present translation with his own would not enable him to 
 detect most, if not all of them — and thus to remove from 
 his mind those doubts and difficulties which are fatal to true 
 religion. 
 
 Liberal minded Protestants who glory in the influence of 
 the benign sun of toleration will probably be happy in an 
 opportunity of uniting their names with those of the Eoman 
 
THE FIRST DOUAY VERSION. 71 
 
 Catholics who have supported this work — and thus evin- 
 cing that they are superior to that wretched, that contempti- 
 ble prejudice which confines its benevolence within the nar- 
 row pale of one religious denomination, as is the case with 
 bigots of every persuasion. From persons of the latter class 
 we expect no patronage. To encourage a Popish Bible 
 would in their eyes be an heinous offence. But we fondly 
 hope, that there are few of this description here — that 
 persons of the former character abound — and that our sub- 
 scription list, by uniting together the names of members of 
 various and hitherto hostile denominations of Christians, 
 will afford one proof — among many that might be pro- 
 duced — of the rapid advances that America has made in 
 the divine principle of toleration. 
 
 We are the public's devoted servants, 
 
 Carey, Stewabt & Co. 
 
 Philadelphia, Sept. 24, 1790." 
 
 Towards the close of the year in which this 
 appeal was issued the Douay Bible appeared; 
 that is, December 1, 1790. The two volumes 
 were bound in one. The type that was used 
 was made especially for it, and was cast by the 
 firm of Baine & Co. of Philadelphia. The books 
 of third and fourth Maccabees, the third and 
 fourth of Esdras, and the Prayer of Manasses, 
 are omitted on the ground that "they have 
 never been received by the Church." 
 
72 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 The Title-Page : — 
 
 THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE, 
 
 TEANSLATED FROM THE 
 LATIN VTTLGATE : 
 
 Diligently compared with the 
 
 HEBBEW, GREEK, AND OTHER EDITIONS, 
 
 In divers languages ; 
 
 And first published by 
 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE AT DOWAT,i ANNO 1609. 
 
 Newly revised, and corrected according to 
 THE CLEMENTINE EDITION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 •WITH ANNOTATIONS FOR ELUCIDATING 
 
 The principal difficulties of Holy Writ. 
 
 Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris. Isaiae 
 XII. 3. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 Printed and sold by Carey, Stewart and Co. 
 
 M.DCC.XC. 
 
 The annotations are printed at the bottom of 
 the pages. The list of subscribers is given, and 
 
 1 This word is usually spelled "Douay," or "Douai," but 
 the above spelling occurs on the title-pages of early American 
 Bibles. 
 
THE FIRST DOUAY VERSION. 73 
 
 extends from page 5 to 8. The New Testa- 
 ment has no title-page. The end of the vol- 
 ume is supplied with various tables; namely, 
 " Table of References," " Chronological Table," 
 " Order and Distribution of the Psalms," and a 
 " Table of the Epistles and Gospels." 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 
 
 The first folio Bible and also the first royal 
 quarto Bible in English published in America 
 came from the press of Isaiah Thomas of 
 "Worcester, Mass. The history of this publisher 
 was that of a poor boy, starting in life with few 
 advantages and a scanty education, but, by 
 dint of industry, perseverance, and self-educa- 
 tion, advancing step by step until he became 
 one of the foremost citizens of the land. 
 
 At six years of age young Thomas was 
 apprenticed to Zechariah Fowle, a printer of 
 Boston. The occupation was congenial to the 
 lad, and he followed his calling through many 
 years with enthusiasm. At eighteen years of 
 age he left his employer, and worked at print- 
 ing in Nova Scotia, New Hampshire, and South 
 Carolina. In 1770 he returned to Boston, and, 
 
 74 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 75 
 
 in partnership with his former master, started a 
 newspaper known as The Massachusetts Spy. 
 Three months later he became the sole proprie- 
 tor of the paper, which he edited with ability 
 and success. From a humble beginning with a 
 few subscribers it grew to the largest circulation 
 of any paper in Boston, and its influence was 
 known and felt throughout the land. It had to 
 take part in the conflict which was then raging 
 between Great Britain and the colonies. At 
 first it was independent; but later Thomas 
 threw all his sympathies, energies, and influ- 
 ence into the cause of the colonies. Just 
 before the battle of Lexington the type and 
 presses of The Spy were removed by night 
 from Boston and taken to Worcester. There 
 the publication of the paper was resumed, 
 and the Provincial Government assisted Mr. 
 Thomas by giving him the public printing. 
 Worcester became the scene of his greatest 
 activities ; for he engaged in printing, publish- 
 ing, manufacturing, and editing. Paper for his 
 publications was made in a mill that he oper- 
 
76 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 ated, and he also did his own binding. He 
 entered largely into the importation of books, 
 and at one time had nine book-stores in differ- 
 ent cities. 
 
 In 1786 he imported type for the printing of 
 music, which was the first font of this kind to 
 come to America. He did an extensive busi- 
 ness in Boston under the firm name of Thomas 
 & Andrews. In 1791 Mr. Thomas published 
 two editions of the Bible at "Worcester, the one 
 in folio and the other in royal quarto. A pros- 
 pectus was sent out, detailing the advantages 
 to subscribers. The Bible was to be printed in 
 new type, " large, beautiful, and suited for the 
 accommodation of the eyes of all, especially 
 those of the aged and infirm." It promised 
 that the paper " shall be fully equal in good- 
 ness, if not a superior quality, to the" various 
 English editions. 
 
 The subscription price is named as "only 
 seven dollars." As an indication of the scar- 
 city of money at that time, the following from 
 the prospectus is interesting : — 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 11 
 
 " To make payment easy to those who wish to be en- 
 couragers of this laudable undertaking, and to be in posses- 
 sion of so valuable property as a royal quarto Bible, and 
 who are not able to pay for one all in cash, from such the 
 publisher will receive one-half of the sum, or twenty-one 
 shillings, in the following articles, viz., wheat, rye, Indian 
 corn, butter, or pork, if delivered at his store in Worcester, 
 or at the store of himself and company in Boston, by the 
 twentieth day of December, 1790, the remaining sum of 
 twenty-one shillings to be paid in cash, as soon as the books 
 are ready for delivery. This proposal is made to accommo- 
 date all, notwithstanding the sum of twenty-one shillings 
 will by no means be the proportion of cash that each Bible 
 bound will cost the pxiblisher." 
 
 The booksellers of the United States are in- 
 formed that, if they subscribe " for twelve or 
 more copies in sheets," they " shall have them 
 on full as generous terms as " English publish- 
 ers supply books to the trade. " The reverend 
 clergy " are also informed that " all who sub- 
 scribe for twelve copies, or procure twelve 
 copies to be subscribed for, and will be answer- 
 able, and make payment for them agreeably to 
 this proposal, shall be entitled to, and receive a 
 thirteenth copy, handsomely bound, for their 
 trouble." 
 
 The two editions of the Thomas Bible 
 
78 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 appeared in December, 1791. The title-page 
 of the folio reads — 
 
 THE 
 HOLY BIBLE, 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: 
 
 with the 
 
 APOCRYPHA. 
 
 TBANSLATED 
 OUT OF THE OBIGINAL, TONGUES, 
 
 and 
 
 WITH THE FORMER TRANSLATIONS DILIGENTLY 
 
 COMPARED AND REVISED, 
 
 BY THE SPECIAL COMMAND OF KING JAMES I. OF 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 trith an 
 INDEX. 
 
 APPOINTED TO BE READ IN CHURCHES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 PRINTED AT THE PRESS IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 BY ISAIAH THOMAS. 
 
 SOLD BY HIM IN WORCESTER; AND BY HIM AND COMPANY 
 
 AT FAUST's STATUE, NO. 45, NEWBURY STREET, BOSTON 
 
 M.DCC.XCI. 
 
 The first and second pages are covered with 
 " The printer's Address, To Christians of Every 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 79 
 
 Denomination." The third and part of the 
 fourth pages, " To the Publick," and "Address 
 of the Translators to King James." Then fol- 
 low "Names and Order of Books." The text 
 extends from Genesis to end of Proverbs, from 
 page 5 to page 460, which closes the first vol- 
 ume. The second begins with Ecclesiastes. 
 The New Testament title-page reads — 
 
 THE NEW 
 
 TESTAMENT 
 
 of 
 
 OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR 
 
 JESUS CHRIST, 
 
 TRANSLATED 
 
 OUT OF THE ORIGINAL GREEK, 
 
 AND 
 
 With the former Translations diligently compared and 
 revised, 
 
 BY THE SPECIAL COMMAND OF KING JAMES I. OF 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Together with an 
 
 INDEX 
 
 to the 
 
 HOLY BIBLE. 
 
 APPOINTED TO BE READ IN CHURCHES. 
 
80 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 The second volume ends with " Tables of 
 Weights, Measures, Coins, &c.," " Tables of 
 Time, Offices, and Conditions," and " Table of 
 Kindred." The two volumes cover 1,012 pages 
 of printed matter. The Thomas Bible is illus- 
 trated with fifty copper-plate engravings, which 
 doubtless gave it additional value in the eyes of 
 many. The frontispiece of the first volume 
 illustrates the Triumph of the Gospel through- 
 out the world. The frontispiece to the Apocry- 
 pha is an emblematical representation of the 
 Old and New Dispensations. The fifty copper- 
 plates were executed by four artists and are 
 signed. There are three woodcuts, — one be- 
 fore the Book of Genesis, representing Adam and 
 Eve ; a second before the Apocrypha, of Judith 
 and Holofernes ; and the third before the New 
 Testament, of the Crucifixion. This edition 
 was usually bound in two volumes, though it is 
 occasionally seen in one. 
 
 The general title-page of the royal quarto 
 Bible is worded the same way as the folio, with 
 the addition of these words : — 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 81 
 
 WITH 
 
 MAKGINAL NOTES AND EEFERENCES. 
 
 To -which are added an 
 INDEX 
 and an 
 
 ALPHABETICAL TABLE 
 OF ALL THE NAMES IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, 
 
 with their significations. 
 
 It differs in the body of the work from the 
 folio in having parallel lines dividing the col- 
 umns of the text. It lacks the three wood-cuts 
 found in the other edition, and, as the title- 
 page indicates, has notes, references, and index. 
 Some copies were supplied with a Concordance. 
 According to the publisher's announcement, it 
 could be supplied to subscribers in three forms. 
 The first was with forty-eight copper-plates and 
 Concordance ; the second, without plates or Con- 
 cordance ; and the third, with the Concordance. 
 The book was published in two volumes. 
 
 The two Thomas Bibles of 1791 were with- 
 out doubt far in advance of any other publica- 
 tions of the same kind that had appeared in 
 America in point of typography, excellence of 
 
82 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 paper, binding, and general execution. Benja- 
 min Franklin, an expert in printing, paid a high 
 compliment to Thomas when he said, " He is 
 the Baskerville of America." 
 
 The Thomas Bible appeared fifteen years 
 after the Declaration of Independence. What 
 the publisher says in the preface, or Address, 
 of the prospects and hopes of the young Repub- 
 lic is worth reading. He writes, — 
 
 " The general state of our country must afford satisfac- 
 tion to every benevolent mind. Evidences of increasing 
 prosperity present themselves on every side to our view. 
 Abroad, our national character is rising to dignity and emi- 
 nence; at home, confidence is established in our government, 
 the spirit of patriotism appears to be the actuating principle 
 with the distinguished characters of our age, and the great- 
 est exertions are making for the public good. The civil and 
 religious rights of men are generally understood, and by all 
 enjoyed. The sciences which open to the minds of men a 
 view of the works and ways of God, and the arts which 
 tend to the support, the convenience, and the ornament of 
 society, begin to receive proper encouragement from the ad- 
 ministration of state and national governments, and by the 
 application and enterprise of individuals are approaching to 
 excellence and perfection. The means of a good education 
 are daily becoming more general ; and the present spirit of 
 industry and economy, which pervades all classes of men, 
 furnishes the brightest prospects of future prosperity and 
 welfare. While a general solicitude prevails to encourage 
 the arts and to promote national honor, dignity, and happi- 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 83 
 
 ness, can any be indifferent to those improvements which, 
 are necessary to secure to all the free and independent exer- 
 cise of the Rights of Conscience? The civil authority hath 
 set an example of moderation and candor to all Christians, 
 by securing equal privileges to all; and it must be their ar- 
 dent and united wish, independently of foreign aid, to be 
 supplied with copies of the Sacred Scriptures — the founda- 
 tion of their religion — a religion which furnishes motives 
 to the faithful performance of every patriotic, civil, and 
 social duty, superior to the temptations of ambition, avarice, 
 and selfishness; which opens prospects to the human mind 
 that will be realized when the relation to civil govern- 
 ment shall be dissolved, and which will raise its real disciples 
 to their highest glory and happiness when the monuments 
 of human genius, art, and enterprise shall be lost in the 
 general dissolution of nature." 
 
 An octavo edition of the Bible was published 
 by Mr. Thomas in 1790, and another in 1802. 
 The duodecimo, or Thomas "standing," edition 
 was issued in 1797. On the title-page our coun- 
 try is spoken of as " The United States of 
 Columbia." The same book reappeared with 
 fresh dates in 1798 and 1799. 
 
 In 1802 Mr. Thomas retired from active busi- 
 ness and left his printing and publishing inter- 
 ests in the hands of his son. The remainder 
 of his life was devoted mainly to literary pur- 
 suits and to collecting a library. There was 
 
84 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 published in 1810 his " History of Printing in 
 America," in two volumes. It is a carefully 
 prepared work, and preserves many interesting 
 facts that marked the early history of this land. 
 In 1812 he and a few others founded the 
 American Antiquarian Society of Worcester. 
 He was elected president, and continued to be 
 re-elected each year until his death. He donated 
 eight thousand books to the library of the soci- 
 ety, and gave ten thousand dollars to building 
 a hall. His entire benefactions in this one 
 direction reached fifty thousand dollars. As a 
 recogiiition of his services to his country, and his 
 advancement of literature, the degree of M.A. 
 was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College 
 and that of LL.D. by Allegheny College. The 
 biographer of the eminent publisher says that 
 when Washington visited Worcester in 1789 
 he said to a nephew of Mr. Thomas : " Young 
 man, your uncle has set you a bright example 
 of patriotism ; and never forget that, next to our 
 God, we owe our highest duty to our country." ^ 
 
 1 B. F. Thomas's Memoir of Isaiah Thomas, p. 78. 
 
THE THOMAS BIBLE. 85 
 
 The American Antiquarian Society, which was 
 the object of so much interest to Dr. Thomas, 
 has become one of the strongest institutions of 
 the land. It has a new building with a library 
 of ninety thousand volumes. It contains the 
 noted Mather collection, and other Americana. 
 
 The Society has a full set of the Thomas 
 publications elegantly bound, and containing 
 the library plate of the eminent editor and 
 publisher. Harvard University has a copy of 
 the folio Bible, which was presented by the 
 printer. It contains in front a printed slip 
 in an ornamented border, reading, " This Book, 
 being one of the First edition of the Folio 
 Bible printed in America, is the gift of the prin- 
 ter, Isaiah Thomas, to Harvard College." 
 
 The Thomas Bibles are not rare, and copies 
 are found in nearly all of our older libraries. 
 
THE COLLINS BIBLE. 
 
 The first Bible printed in the State of New 
 Jersey came from the press of Isaac Collins at 
 Trenton. He was born in New Castle County, 
 Del., in 1746. He learned the printing trade, 
 part of the time with James Adams of Wil- 
 mington, Del., and completed it at Williams- 
 burg, Va. When he was of age he went to 
 Philadelphia and worked with several firms, 
 and was regarded as an expert and superior 
 workman. He removed to Burlington, N. J., 
 in 1770, when his business ability secured him 
 the position of public printer. In 1777 he 
 became editor of a weekly paper known as 
 The New Jersey Crazette. It was said of him 
 that " he carefully avoided publishing any- 
 thing which tended to injure the religious, civil, 
 86 
 
THE COLLINS BIBLE. 87. 
 
 or political interests of his fellow-citizens." 
 Later he removed his business to Trenton, 
 where in 1788 he published an edition of the 
 New Testament. He issued in 1789 proposals 
 for publishing a quarto Bible " with the Apoc- 
 rypha and marginal notes." The book was to 
 be " in one large volume of nine hundred and 
 eighty-four pages." The price named to sub- 
 scribers was " four Spanish dollars." As one 
 of the inducements, it was stated that " Down- 
 ame's Concordance, which is annexed to Eyre 
 and Strahan's London quarto edition of 1772, 
 will be added, without further expense to the 
 subscribers." 
 
 Mr. Collins presented his proposals to the 
 various bodies of Christians, and solicited their 
 encouragement and support. The first to take 
 action were the Friends. The minutes of a 
 meeting held in Philadelphia in 1789 show that 
 the proposed Bible was indorsed in these 
 words : — 
 
 " This undertaking being a matter of very interesting 
 concernment, and such an edition as therein proposed ap- 
 
88 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 pearing likely to be useful and much wanted, on a deliberate 
 and weighty attention to these considerations, it is the 
 united sense of the meeting, that it be recommended to the 
 quarterly and monthly meetings of Friends to encourage 
 the work, by appointing committees to procure subscriptions 
 agreeably to the tenor of said proposals, and forwarding to 
 this meeting lists of the subscriptions obtained as early as 
 may be, in order that a suitable appointment may be made 
 for the assistance of the printer in attending to the correct- 
 ness of the work." 
 
 Mr. Collins was a member of the Society of 
 Friends. "He received," says Thomas, "much 
 assistance from the Quakers in printing the 
 Bible, particularly from those in Philadelphia, 
 New Jersey, and New York." 
 
 At a meeting of the Presbyterian General 
 Assembly, held in Philadelphia, May 25, 1789, 
 a resolution was passed "that a person or per- 
 sons be appointed in every congregation, vacant 
 or supplied, to procure subscriptions " for Col- 
 lins's Bible. Rev. John Witherspoon, D.D., 
 and two others were appointed to help " revise 
 and correct the proof-sheets." It was also 
 recommended that " Gstervald's Notes " be 
 added to the Bible. 
 
THE COLLINS BIBLE. 89 
 
 At a meeting of the Baptist Association, held 
 in the same year and city, the proposals were 
 indorsed, but with a condition. The members 
 of the committee appointed to assist in correct- 
 ing the proof-sheets were " ordered to use their 
 influence to prevent the Apocrypha or any 
 notes of any kind being printed and included 
 in said edition, as having a dangerous tendency 
 to corrupt the simplicity and truth of the 
 sacred Scriptures, by being thus intimately 
 associated with them." 
 
 At the Convention of the Protestant Episco- 
 pal Church in May, 1789, held at Philadelphia, 
 it was resolved " that the members of this Con- 
 vention will assist Mr. Collins in the procuring 
 of subscriptions." 
 
 The work having received the requisite sup- 
 port, the Bible was issued from the Collins 
 press in Trenton in the year 1791. The edition 
 consisted of five thousand copies. 
 
 The title-page reads — 
 
90 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE, 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: 
 
 TRANSLATED OUT OF THE 
 
 ORIGINAL TONGUES : 
 and with the former translations 
 
 DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. 
 
 TRENTON : 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY ISAAC COLLINS. 
 
 M.DCC.XCL 
 
 In deference to the Baptists some copies 
 were printed without the Apocrypha and 
 " Ostervald's Notes." An address to the 
 readers by Rev. Dr. Witherspoon was substi- 
 tuted for the dedication to King James. The 
 Bible was printed with great care, as the proof- 
 sheets were read over eleven times before the 
 final impression was made. In 1793 Mr. Col- 
 lins printed a Bible in octavo. He removed his 
 business in 1796 to New York City. 
 
THE FIRST TRANSLATION FROM THE 
 SEPTUAGINT. 
 
 In the year 1808, the press of Jane Aitken of 
 Philadelphia gave to the world a version of the 
 Bible that indicated a high order of scholarship. 
 It came from the pen of Charles Thomson, and 
 was the first translation in America of the 
 Septuagint into English. It was issued in four 
 octavo volumes. Watson, in his " Annals of 
 Philadelphia," says of Thomson : ^ " He told me 
 that he was first induced to study Greek from 
 having bought a part of the Septuagint at an 
 auction in this city. He had bought it for a 
 mere trifle, and without knowing what it was, 
 save that the crier said it was outlandish letters. 
 When he had mastered it enough to understand 
 it, his anxiety became great to see the whole ; 
 but he could find no copy. Strange to tell, in 
 the interval of two years, passing the same store, 
 
 1 "Watson's " Annals of Philadelphia," 1850, vol. i., p. 568. 
 91 
 
92 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 and chancing to look in, lie then saw the re- 
 mainder actually crying off for a few pence, and 
 he bought it. I used to tell him that the trans- 
 lation which he afterwards made should have 
 had these facts set at the front of the work as a 
 preface ; for that great work, the first of the 
 kind in the English language, strangely enough, 
 was ushered into the world without any preface." 
 The title-page reads : — 
 
 THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 THE OLD AND NEW COVENANT, 
 
 commonly called 
 
 The Old and New Testament: 
 
 translated 
 
 feom the greek 
 
 BY CHAELES THOMSON, 
 
 Late Secretary to the Congress of the United States. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 FEINTED BY JANE AITKEN, 
 
 NO. 71 NORTH THIRD 8TBEET. 
 1808. 
 
 4 vols. 
 
TRANSLATION FROM SEPTUAGINT. 93 
 
 This version received the enthusiastic ap- 
 proval of scholars at the time it was published, 
 and has continued to be valued for its vigor and 
 perspicuity. Orme speaks of it in commendable 
 terms in his " Bibliotheca Bibliac " of 1824, and 
 Home follows in like terms in his "Manual 
 of Biblical Bibliography," published in 1839. 
 As the years have gone by Thomson's transla- 
 tion has not lost its place in the minds of criti- 
 cal Biblical students. As one evidence of this, 
 it need only be stated that it was consulted 
 by the Revision Committee in their version of 
 1881. 
 
 Charles Thomson was born at Maghera, Ire- 
 land, on Nov. 29, 1729. He and his father 
 sailed for America in 1741, but the father died 
 at sea, and the son landed at New Castle, Dela- 
 ware. In the war with Great Britain, Thom- 
 son gave his sympathy and influence to the 
 side of the colonies. At the organization of the 
 Continental Congress at Philadelphia, in 1774, 
 Thomson was elected Secretary by a unaminous 
 vote. He declined to receive pay for his first 
 
94 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 year of service to Congress, and that body, in 
 recognition of his patriotism, presented a silver 
 urn to his wife, who was a sister of Benjamin 
 Harrison of Virginia, one of the signers of the 
 Declaration of Independence. Thomson filled 
 other positions of honor and responsibility, and 
 was appointed to announce to Washington his 
 election as President of the United States. 
 Each year Thomson was re-elected as Secretary, 
 up to 1789, when he retired for the purpose 
 of devoting himself to Biblical study. Such 
 cases are rare, of men giving up honorable pub- 
 lic positions for the sake of mental pursuits. 
 His retirement was regretted by Washington and 
 his associates. Thomson was greatly esteemed 
 for his nobility of character, and especially for 
 his veracity. The Delaware Indians, with whom 
 he was commissioned to treat, called him " The 
 Man of Truth." He died in 1824, at Lower 
 Merion, Montgomery County, Penn. His resi- 
 dence for many years was at Bryn Mawr, in the 
 same State. His house is still standing, and the 
 room is shown which was used as his library 
 
TRANSLATION FROM SEPTUAGINT 95 
 
 when he wrote his translation of the Bible. 
 The original manuscript is in the possession of 
 Allegheny College, and three note-books in 
 Thomson's handwriting, containing suggestions 
 and alterations concerning his translations, are 
 in the library of the Pennsylvania Historical 
 Society. His own copy of the Bible, with the 
 manuscript notes in the margins, is the prop- 
 erty of the Library Company of Philadelphia. 
 
 The strong translation that Thomson gave us 
 was the result of long years of patient investi- 
 gation, persistent study, and an intense love for 
 his work. 
 
 Mr. Albert J. Edwards says, " Thomson's trans- 
 lation is notable for its sound erudition and 
 scholarly care, but also for its singular freedom 
 from traditional renderings. Wherever it was 
 possible to translate a theological term with 
 breadth and freshness it was done, but only 
 where an honest latitude was allowed by the 
 original." He also adds, " It seems to me that 
 a version of such sterling worth ought not to be 
 left languishing on the shelves of old book- 
 
96 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 stores, to be bought as a bibliographical curi- 
 osity, as it now has too long been, but should 
 be taken up by a good publisher and re-edited 
 with care. Neither Roman nor Genevan, 
 neither High Church nor Low, of no sect and 
 of no prejudice, whether of unbelief or of over- 
 belief, this American patriot of the Continental 
 Congress, who lived to be ninety-four and 
 spent a glorious old age in his home near Bryn 
 Mawr, translating the records of our faith, 
 ought to stand among us once more in the form 
 of a newer and more accessible edition of his 
 great work, the Old and New Covenants." ^ 
 
 In 1815 Mr. Thomson published at Philadel- 
 phia a work bearing the title of " A Synopsis 
 of the Four Evangelists, or a Regular History 
 of the Conception, Birth, Doctrine, Miracles, 
 Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus 
 Christ in the Words of the Evangelists." Wil- 
 liam McCullogh was the printer. 
 
 1 Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Octo- 
 ber number, 1891, p. 335. 
 
THE FIRST TRANSLATION FROM THE 
 PESHITO SYRIAC VERSION. 
 
 Among the oldest versions of the Old and 
 New Testaments is the Peshito Syriac, the word 
 Peshito meaning "simple," probably in refer- 
 ence to its simplicity of style. There is no 
 doubt concerning the antiquity of this version, 
 but there is a wide range of opinion as to its 
 exact date. Home, in his Introduction, says, 
 " Bishop Walton, Carpzov, Leusden, Bishop 
 Lowth, and Dr. Kennicott fix its date to the 
 first century ; Bauer and some other German 
 writers, to the second or third century; Jahn 
 fixes it, at the least, to the second century ; De 
 Rossi pronounces it to be very ancient, but does 
 not specify any precise date. The most prob- 
 able opinion is that of Michaelis, who ascribes 
 97 
 
98 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 the Syriac version of both Testaments to the 
 close of the first, or to the earlier part of 
 the second century, at which time the Syrian 
 churches flourished most, and the Christians 
 at Edessa had a temple for divine worship 
 erected after the model of that at Jerusalem, 
 and it is not to be supposed that they would be 
 without a version of the Old Testament, the 
 reading of which had been introduced by the 
 Apostles." ^ 
 
 While the date has not been fixed, it can be said 
 that the Peshito was an old version even in the 
 time of Ephraim the Syrian, who died in 373. Of 
 the authorship of the version nothing is known, 
 though it is evident that it came from many 
 hands. From certain resemblances to the Sep- 
 tuagint, it is thought that Jewish converts had 
 much to do with this version. Of the place where 
 it was written nothing can be said definitely, 
 though it has been conjectured that it may have 
 been written at Antioch or Edessa. The ver- 
 sions known as the Philoxenian and Hierosoly- 
 
 1 Home's Introduction, vol. i., p. 270. 
 
PESHITO SYRIA C VERSION. 99 
 
 mitian are of later date and of little value com- 
 pared with the Peshito New Testament. The 
 latter holds a high place among scholars, as it 
 helps to clear up some passages of the Greek 
 Testament. 
 
 The first edition of the Peshito New Testa- 
 ment was printed in Vienna in 1555, under the 
 patronage of the Emperor of Austria, and was 
 designed for the use of the Jacobite Christians 
 of the East. In later years other editions were 
 printed in Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, and 
 England. In some cases the Testaments were 
 printed in Syriac and Latin, or in Syriac and 
 Hebrew. In 1816 the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society published an edition in the Syriac 
 alone, which was intended for missionary use in 
 India. 
 
 The first translation in Great Britain, of the 
 Peshito New Testament into English, was made 
 in 1846, by J. W. Etheridge, who published 
 the Four Gospels. The first translation of the 
 Peshito New Testament in the United States 
 came from the pen of the Rev. James Murdock, 
 
100 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 D.D., in 1851. The title-page of the book is as 
 follows : — 
 
 THE 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT ; 
 
 OK, 
 
 THE BOOK OF THE HOLY GOSPEL 
 
 OF OUR LORD AND OUR GOD, 
 JESUS THE MESSIAH. 
 
 A LITERAL TRANSLATION FROM THE SYRIAC PESHITO 
 VERSION. 
 
 BY JAMES MUKDOCK, D.D. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY STANFORD AND SWORDS, 
 
 NO. 137 BROADWAY. 
 1851. 
 
 Dr. Murdock says in the Preface : " In this 
 translation the Books of the New Testament are 
 divided into Paragraphs, according to the sense ; 
 just as in Campbell's translation of the Four Gos- 
 pels, and in the Greek Testaments of Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Knapp, and others. The common 
 divisions into Chapters and Verses are noted 
 in the margin, and the Verses are also put in 
 parentheses in the middle of the lines. For the 
 
PESHITO SYRIAC VERSION. 101 
 
 benefit of those who have some knowledge of the 
 Syriac language, the more important words are 
 frequently placed in the side margin, with refer- 
 ences to the corresponding words in the transla- 
 tion. Deviations of the Syriac text from the 
 Greek, and also the susceptibilities of the Syriac 
 words, or phrases, of a different rendering from 
 that in the text, are likewise indicated in the side 
 margin. The foot margin is reserved for occa- 
 sional comments and critical observations." 
 
 The book is an octavo, and the text covers 471 
 pages. The author tells us he " commenced his 
 translation early in August, 1845, and completed 
 it on the 16th of June, 1846." 
 
 Dr. Murdock was born in Westbrook, Conn., 
 Feb. 16, 1776. He was graduated at Yale Col- 
 lege in 1797. In 1815 he was made Professor 
 of Ancient Languages in the University of Ver- 
 mont, and four years later was called to the 
 chair of Sacred Rhetoric and Ecclesiastical His- 
 tory in Andover Theological Seminary. In 1829 
 he made New Haven his home, and engaged in 
 literary work. He died at Columbus, Miss., in 
 
102 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 1856. He translated a n-umber of works from 
 the German, and was well known as a linguistic 
 scholar. His translation of the Peshito New 
 Testament is considered a faithful rendering 
 from the Syriac. 
 
CURIOUS VERSIONS. 
 
 The crank has invaded every department of 
 literature, and has even tried his hand at the 
 Biblical. Men of strong prejudices, narrow- or 
 broad-gauge views, and possessed with a hobby, 
 have sought to color Scripture according to 
 their own opinions, and with little deference to 
 the original sense of the languages of Holy 
 Writ. Some scholars who have been strong in 
 other directions, have exhibited their weakness 
 when dealing with the words of Inspiration. 
 As a result, they have brought upon themselves 
 confusion and ridicule. Franklin was in many 
 ways a great man, but he published his own 
 foolishness when he attempted to improve the 
 meaning of the Bible. Among his " Baga- 
 telles," which Mr. William Temple Franklin 
 
 103 
 
104 
 
 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 says " were chiefly written by Dr. Franklin for 
 the amusement of his intimate society in Lon- 
 don and Paris, and were actually collected in a 
 small portfolio endorsed as above," appears the 
 following letter : — 
 
 PROPOSED NEW VERSION OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 To the Printer of 
 
 Sir, — It is now more than one hundred and seventy 
 years since the translation of our common English Bible. 
 The language in that time is much changed, and the style, 
 being obsolete, and thence less agreeable, is perhaps one 
 reason why the reading of that excellent book is of late so 
 much neglected. I have therefore thought it would be well 
 to procure a new version, in which, preserving the sense, 
 the turn of phrase and manner of expression should be 
 modern. I do not pretend to have the necessary abilities 
 for such a work myself : I throw out the hint for the con- 
 sideration of the learned ; and only venture to send you a 
 few verses of the first chapter of Job, which may serve as 
 the sample of the kind of version I would recommend. 
 
 A. B. 
 
 Old Text. 
 
 Verse 6. Now there was a day 
 when the sons of God came to pre- 
 sent themselves before the Lord, 
 and Satan came also among them. 
 
 New Version. 
 
 Verse 6. And it being levee 
 day in Heaven, all God's nobility 
 came to court to present them- 
 selves before htm; and Satan also 
 appeared in the circle as one of 
 the ministry. 
 
CURIOUS VERSIONS. 
 
 105 
 
 Old Text. 
 
 7. And the Lord said unto 
 Satan, Whence comest thou? 
 Then Satan answered the Lord 
 and said, From going to and fro 
 in the earth, and from walking up 
 and down in it. 
 
 8. And the Lord said unto 
 Satan, Hast thou considered my 
 servant Job, that there is none 
 like him in the earth, a perfect 
 and an upright man, one thatfear- 
 eth God and escheweth evil? 
 
 9. Then Satan answered the 
 Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God 
 for nought? 
 
 10. Hast not thou made an 
 hedge about him, and about his 
 house, and about all that he hath 
 on every side? Thou hast blessed 
 the work of his hands, and his 
 substance is increased in the land. 
 
 11. But put forth thine hand 
 now, and touch all that he hath, 
 and he will curse thee to thy face. 
 
 New Version. 
 
 7. And God said unto Satan, 
 You have been some time absent; 
 where were you? And Satan an- 
 swered, I have been at my country 
 seat, and in different places visit- 
 ing my friends. 
 
 8. And God said, Well, what 
 think you of Lord Job? You see 
 he is my best friend, a perfectly 
 honest man, fuU of respect for 
 me, and avoiding everything that 
 might offend me. 
 
 9. And Satan answered. Does 
 your majesty imagine that his 
 good conduct is the effect of per- 
 sonal attachment and affection? 
 
 10. Have you not protected 
 him and heaped your benefits 
 upon him, till he is grown enor- 
 mously rich? 
 
 11. Try him; — only withdraw 
 your favor, turn him out of his 
 places, and withhold his pensions, 
 and you wiU soon find him in the 
 opposition. 
 
 Mr. McMasters, in his recent life of Franklin 
 as a man of letters, says,^ — 
 
 " In uo book, it is safe to say, are the force and beauty of 
 the English tongue so finely shown as in King James's 
 Bible. But on Franklin that force and beauty were wholly 
 lost. The language he pronounced obsolete. The style he 
 thought not agreeable, and he was for a new rendering, in 
 
 1 McMasters, Benjamin Franklin : American Men of Letters 
 Series, pp. 87, 88. 
 
106 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 which the turn of phrase and manner of expression should 
 be modern. That there might be no mistake as to his 
 meaning, he gave a sample of how the work should be done; 
 took some verses from the first chapter of Job, stripped 
 them of every particle of grace, beauty, imagery, terseness, 
 and strength, and wrote a paraphrase, which of all para- 
 phrases of the Bible is surely the worst. 
 
 " The plan is beneath criticism. Were such a piece of 
 folly ever begun there would remain but one other depth 
 of folly to which it would be possible to go down. Franklin 
 proposed to fit out the Kingdom of Heaven with lords, 
 nobles, a ministry, and levee days. It would, on the same 
 principle, be proper to make another version suitable for 
 republics; a version from which every term and expression 
 peculiar to a monarchy should be carefully kept out, and 
 only such as are applicable to a republic be put in." 
 
 In 1776 Kneeland & Adams of Boston 
 printed a translation of the Gospel of St. Mat- 
 thew, made by the Rev. Samuel Mather, in 
 which the Lord's Prayer has this curious 
 rendering : — 
 
 " Our Father, who art in the Heavens, sanctified be Thy 
 Xame ; Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, as in Heaven, 
 so upon the Earth ; Give us to-day that our bread, the super- 
 substantial ; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive them 
 who are our debtors; and introduce us not into afflictive 
 trial, but deliver us from the Wicked One, because thine is 
 the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for the ages. 
 Amen." 
 
CURIOUS VERSIONS. 107 
 
 Lilly, Wait, Coleman, & Holden of Boston 
 printed in 1833 what claimed to be " A New 
 and Corrected Version of the New Testament." 
 It was edited by Rev. Rodolphus Dickinson, 
 "Rector of St. Paul's Parish, District of Pendle- 
 ton, South Carolina." The American Monthly 
 Review for March, 1833, says, "Apart from 
 its literary execution, this professed translation 
 has no distinctive character; and as the author 
 — in his preface — places his chief reliance on 
 the rhetorical embellishments with which he has 
 adorned the sacred text, we are constrained to 
 award a verdict of unqualified condemnation." 
 
 The reckless and freehanded nature of the 
 translation may be judged by the quotations 
 that follow : — 
 
 John iil. 3. " Except a man be reproduced, he cannot 
 realize the reign of God. 
 
 4. Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be pro- 
 duced when he is matured ? Can he again pass into a state 
 of embryo and be produced ? " 
 
 Acts i. 18. " And (Judas) falling prostrate, a violent 
 internal spasm ensued, and all his viscera were emitted." 
 
 xxvi. 24. " Festus declared with a loud voice, Paul, you 
 are insane ! Multiplied research drives you to distraction." 
 
108 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 In 1852 Henry Olipliant, of Auburn, New 
 York, printed a portion of the New Testament 
 for Hezekiah Woodruff, who desired to render 
 the words of Scripture after the language of 
 our day. Here are a few examples of his 
 efforts, with the original spellings : — 
 
 St. Matthew iii. 4. " His food was small animals aud 
 vegitable honey. 
 
 6. Happy are they who hunger and thirst for correct- 
 ness. 
 
 20. Unless your correctness should exceed the correct- 
 ness of the clergy." 
 
 xxvi. 24. " The Son-of-man maketh his exit. 
 
 49. Immediately he [Judas] came to the Saviour and 
 said, Your most obedient, Preceptor." 
 
 It is a relief to know that this book ended 
 with the Gospel of St. Matthew. 
 
 At various times editions of the New Testa- 
 ment have appeared which were translated in 
 the interests of certain sectarian bodies. In 
 1849 Joshua V. Himes of Boston published a 
 " Millerite " New Testament. In 1850 a New 
 Testament was printed by a New York firm, in 
 which these words were placed upon the title- 
 
CURIOUS VERSIONS. 109 
 
 page, " Dictated by the Spirit." The editor 
 was a Spiritualist. 
 
 A version of the New Testament was printed 
 in Boston by Thomas D. Wait & Co., in 1809, 
 to advance the views of Socinianism. The 
 title-page contains this remarkable specimen of 
 the English language : " No offence can justly be 
 taken for this new labor ; nothing prejudicing 
 any other man's judgment by this doing ; nor 
 yet professing this so absolute a translation, as 
 that hereafter might follow no other who might 
 see that which as yet was not understood." 
 
 The title-pages of some early American Bibles 
 contain curious expressions. What were known 
 as " Hieroglyphical Bibles " were common in 
 those days. On the title-pages of several editions 
 are these words, " For the instruction and amuse- 
 ment of children." John C. Ricker of New 
 York printed in 1833 an edition of the New 
 Testament containing this line on the title-page, 
 " With numerous engravings, and the sterling 
 currency reduced to dollars and cents." 
 
 The editor of a Bible printed in Philadelphia 
 
110 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 in 1825 speaks on the title-page of the work, 
 liberally supplied with notes, as " A Complete 
 Library of Divinity." 
 
 Serious errors in the printing of American 
 Bibles are not very numerous, considering the 
 large editions of the Scriptures that have been 
 issued. There is a curious mistake in Eliot's 
 Indian Bible in the account of the ten virgins. 
 Dr. Trumbull says, " Among the Indians chas- 
 tity was a masculine virtue, and Eliot's Natick 
 interpreter did not understand that the noun 
 wanted was feminine. Subsequent instruction 
 doubtless made the matter clear, but in the 
 Indian Bible the parable in Matthew xxv. 1-12 is 
 of ' the ten chaste young men ' (piukqussuogpen- 
 ompaog, — the syllable omp marking the mascu- 
 line gender), and so in every place in which 
 ' virgin ' occurs in the English version, though 
 in most cases the context clearly establishes the 
 true gender. The right word was keegsquau, 
 which is to be found (though seldom used) in 
 every Algonkin language." 
 
 An edition of the New Testament published 
 
CURIOUS VERSIONS. Ill 
 
 at Utica, N.Y., in 1829, rendered James v. 17, 
 " Elias was a man possible like unto us." 
 
 A Bible published at Hartford in 1837 printed 
 2 Timothy iii. 16 in this way, " All Scripture is 
 given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 
 for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
 destruction in righteousness." 
 
 An edition of the Bible printed by the Ameri- 
 can Bible Society in 1855 has this reading of St. 
 Mark v. 3, " Who had his dwelling among the 
 lambs," in place of " tombs." 
 
 In one of the early editions of the Bible 
 printed by Harding of Philadelphia a singular 
 mistake was made in 1 Kings i. 21, where the 
 words "the king shall f sleep with his fathers," 
 was rendered in print, " the king shall dagger 
 sleep with his fathers." This is certainly the 
 most literal following of " copy " on record. 
 
EARLY EDITIONS OF THE GREEK 
 TESTAMENT. 
 
 The first edition of the New Testament in 
 Greek, published in the United States, came from 
 the press of Isaiah Thomas, Jr., at Worcester, 
 Mass., in the year 1800. It is in size a 12mo and 
 bound in calf. It contains on the second page a 
 chronological list of the books of the New Tes- 
 tament, and at the end this note : " The above 
 Table has been carefully and faithfully collected 
 from the writings of the famous Rev. Nathaniel 
 Lardner, D.D." This note is followed by the 
 name of " Caleb Alexander " as editor. Al- 
 though the title-page states that the book fol- 
 lows the reading of Mill, it is apparent that the 
 editor draws freely from other editions, and 
 especially the Elzevir text of 1678. 
 
 An edition of the New Testament in Greek 
 and Latin arranged in parallel columns appeared 
 
 112 
 
H K AIM M 
 
 NOV U 
 
 TESTAMENTUM. 
 
 JUXTA EXEMPLAR JOANNIS MILLIl AC^ 
 CURATISSIME IMPRESSUM, 
 
 EDJTIO PRIMA AUmiCAm, 
 
 WIGORNI^il, Massachvsettenji ? 
 
 Exciidebat ISAIAS THOMAS, Ju>?, 
 
 Fac-simile of the title page of the first Greek Testament printed in America. 
 Exact size. 
 
EDITIONS OF GREEK TESTAMENT. 113 
 
 in Philadelphia in 1806. It was edited by 
 John Watts, and printed by S. F. Bradford. 
 Another edition by the same printer was issued 
 under like date, wholly in Greek. 
 
 Two volumes of the Greek Testament in 
 octavo, covering in all 890 pages, were pub- 
 lished in 1809, at Cambridge, dedicated to the 
 President and Fellows of Harvard College. 
 The text is after Griesbach, though a selection 
 is given of various readings. There are also 
 observations by W. Wells and W. Hilliard. 
 
 Isaiah Thomas, Jr., issued another edition of 
 the Greek Testament in 1814, but the place of 
 printing was Boston, not Worcester. 
 
 The title-page differed from that of 1800 in 
 the central ornament, which consists of two 
 reclining figures supporting an open Bible, with 
 a Greek motto from 1 Cor. xv. 22. The text 
 is the same as in the first edition. 
 
 George Long, 71 Pearl Street, New York, 
 published in 1821 a 12mo New Testament in 
 Greek which followed the rendering of Leus- 
 den, covering 699 pages. 
 
114 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Rev. Abner Kneeland, a Universalist minister, 
 edited the New Testament in Greek and Eng- 
 lish in 1822, William Fry of Philadelphia being 
 the printer. In the same year the Testament 
 solely in Greek was issued by the same editor. 
 Kneeland went through varied experiences in 
 his religious opinions. Beginning as a Baptist 
 minister, he then became a Universalist, and 
 ended as a Deist. While editor of the Investi- 
 gator he was tried by the Supreme Court of 
 Massachusetts for blasphemy. 
 
 In 1822 Oliver D. Cooke & Sons of Hart- 
 ford, Conn., published a 12mo Greek Testament 
 which was edited by Dr. P. Wilson of Columbia 
 College, other issues appearing in 1825, 1827, 
 and 1829. After this date various editions of 
 Wilson's Testament were published in Phila- 
 delphia for a number of years. 
 
 In 1837 an important and since widely known 
 edition of the Greek Testament in two volumes 
 was issued in the United States, with the im- 
 print of the following publishers : Boston : 
 Perkins & Marvin; Philadelphia: Henry Per- 
 
EDITIONS OF GREEK TESTAMENT. 115 
 
 kins. 1837. This Testament was edited by 
 Rev. Dr. Bloomfield, and is a reprint of tlie 
 second London edition. The scope and scholar- 
 ship of the work are indicated by the title-page, 
 where it is stated that the book contains " Eng- 
 lish notes, critical, philological, and exegetical, 
 partly selected and arranged from the best com- 
 mentators, ancient and modern, but chiefly ori- 
 ginal. The whole being specially adapted to 
 the use of academical students, candidates for 
 the sacred office, and Ministers, though also 
 intended as a manual edition for the use of 
 theological readers in general." In the preface 
 Dr. Bloomfield says, " The text has been formed 
 after long and repeated examinations of the 
 whole of the New Testament for that purpose 
 solely, on the basis of the last edition of R. 
 Stephens, adopted by Mill, whose text differs 
 very slightly from, but is admitted to be prefer- 
 able to, the common text, which originated in 
 the Elzevir edition of 1624. From this there 
 has been no deviation, except on the most 
 preponderating evidence, critical conjecture 
 
116 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 being wholly excluded, and sucli alterations 
 only introduced as rest on the united authority 
 of MSS., ancient versions and Fathers, and the 
 early printed editions, but especially upon the 
 invaluable Editio Princeps ; and which had 
 been already adopted in one or more of the 
 critical editions of Bengel, Wetstein, Gries- 
 bach, Matthoei, and Scholz." The American 
 edition of Dr. Bloomfield's work also contains 
 a preface by Professor Stuart of Andover 
 Theological Seminary, dated Oct. 1, 1836. 
 The two volumes include 1261 pages of printed 
 matter. 
 
 This book went through many editions, some 
 claiming as high as fourteen, but was finally 
 superseded by other and better texts, especially 
 those of Ellicott and Alford. 
 
 In 1838 an American reprint of the Poly- 
 micrian Greek Testament was issued in Phila- 
 delphia by Henry Perkins, Joseph P. Engles, 
 A.M., being the editor. On one of the first 
 pages of this book the words " The New Testa- 
 ment" are printed in forty-eight different Ian- 
 
EDITIONS OF GREEK TESTAMENT. 117 
 
 guages, and on another page is the significant 
 line, " Earth speaks with many tongues, 
 Heaven knows but one." The honored and 
 saintly Dr. W. A. Muhlenberg has said that 
 he owed to Engles, the editor of this work, 
 more of his success in life than to any other 
 man. The Polymicrian Greek Testament was 
 first published in England in 1829, with a 
 lexicon prepared by William Greenfield. This 
 lexicon was published in America in the year 
 1839, revised by Engles, and after that date was 
 usually bound with the American reprint of the 
 Polymicrian. Its editor, William Greenfield, 
 began his business life in a bindery, and early 
 displayed a marvellous aptitude for the acquisi- 
 tion of languages. His attainments were so 
 great that he was employed by the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society in editing the books they 
 published in many tongues. Mr. Greenfield 
 also edited Bagster's Comprehensive Bible, 
 which was printed in England in 1827, and 
 reprinted in Philadelphia in 1854, his brilliant 
 career being cut short by death at the age of 
 thirty-two. 
 
118 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 In 1842 Dr. Edward Robinson edited a Greek 
 Testament in which he follows the text and 
 annotations of Professor Hahn. The book is 
 a 12mo, issued by Leavitt & Trow, New York, 
 other editions appearing in 1845. 
 
 In later years many editions of the Greek 
 Testament have been issued by leading publish- 
 ers in the United States, but it does not fall 
 within the province of this book to speak of 
 these recent volumes. Suffice it to say, that 
 fifty-two editions of the whole New Testament 
 in Greek were printed during the first half of 
 this century, some in Greek alone, some in 
 both Greek and English, or Greek and Latin, 
 besides several editions of parts of the New 
 Testament. The first copy of the New Testa- 
 ment in modern Greek, printed in America, 
 was published by the American Bible Society 
 in 1833. 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 
 
 The first proposal to print the Bible in 
 English in America was made in 1688 by 
 William Bradford of Philadelphia. The pub- 
 lication that announced this intention was 
 worded as follows : — 
 
 " These are to give Notice, that it is proposed for a large 
 house-Bible to be Printed by way of Subscriptions, [a 
 method usual in England for the Printing of large Volumns, 
 because Printing is very chargeable] therefore to all that are 
 willing to forward so good (and great) a Work, as the 
 Printing of the holy Bible, are offered these Proposals, viz. : 
 1. That It shall be printed in a fair Character, on good Paper, 
 and well bound. 2. That it shall contain the Old and New 
 Testament, with the Apocraphy, and all to have laseful 
 Marginal Notes. 3. That it shall be allowed (to them that 
 subscribe) for Twenty Shillings per Bible : [A Price which 
 one of the same volumn in England would cost]. 4. That 
 the pay shall be half Silver Money, and half Country Pro- 
 duce at Money price. One half down now, and the other 
 half on the delivery of the Bibles. . . . Also, this may further 
 give notice that Samuell Richardson and Samuell Carpenter 
 
 119 
 
120 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 of Philadelphia, are appointed to take care and be assistant 
 in the laying out of the Subscription Money, and to see that 
 it be imploy'd to the use intended, and consequently 
 that the whole Work be expedited. Which is promised by 
 
 "William Bradford. 
 " Philadelphia, the 14th of 
 the 1st Month, 1688." 
 
 Although this early effort began and ended 
 with the Proposal, Philadelphia has been for 
 many years a centre of activity and enterprise 
 in the publication of many important editions 
 of the Bible. 
 
 After great persistence, Robert Aitken suc- 
 ceeded in publishing his Bible of 1782, the 
 first bearing an American imprint. After his 
 death in 1802, his business was continued by 
 his daughter, Jane Aitken, who seems to have 
 inherited the energy of her father. She sus- 
 tained the printing art through a number of 
 years, and with acknowledged success. Thomas 
 says, " She obtained much reputation by the 
 productions which issued from her press." 
 
 One of the most familiar names seen upon 
 the title-pages of Philadelphia Bibles is that of 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 121 
 
 Matthew Carey. He published not only editions 
 of the Bible after the Latin Vulgate, but many 
 quarto and duodecimo Bibles according to the 
 King James translation. In the early days of 
 his publishing career his work was attended 
 with numerous risks and responsibilities. In 
 the Preface to his Bible of 1801, he says : — 
 
 " I present this edition of the Bible to the public, with a 
 degree of solicitude proportioned to the magnitude of the 
 undertaking. Having embarked therein a large property, 
 and devoted my utmost care and attention to it, from its 
 commencement to its completion, I find it impossible to 
 assume that degree of stoicism necessary to regard with 
 indifference its reception by my fellow-citizens." 
 
 As the years rolled on his business prospered, 
 and ultimately assumed extensive proportions. 
 Bible after Bible issued from his presses, and 
 many of the editions were embellished with 
 engravings executed in the best style of the 
 day. . 
 
 Another name well known in the same locality 
 was that of William Young. His first Bible 
 was published in 1790 and was a 12mo in size. 
 It was advertised as a school edition, and the 
 
122 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 price was named as " five-eighths of a dollar." 
 It had this imprint : " Printed by W. Young, 
 Bookseller and Stationer, the corner of Second 
 and Chestnut Streets." He published another 
 edition of the Bible in 1791, and a tljird in 1792. 
 Copies of the New Testament appeared from his 
 press in 1791, 1792, 1802, and 1808. 
 
 Berriman & Co. were early publishers in 
 Philadelphia. They issued a folio Bible in 
 1796. It was supplied with marginal references, 
 and had a list of subscribers. It contained eigh- 
 teen engravings. Some time later they pub- 
 lished another folio, but no date was placed 
 upon the title-page. The later book was with- 
 out engravings. 
 
 The first hot-pressed edition of the Bible in 
 America was published in 1798. It contained 
 a patriotic device on the title-page, in which 
 the Bible is encircled with fifteen stars, and 
 supported by the American eagle. The imprint 
 is as follows : " Printed for John Thompson and 
 Abraham Small, from the Hot-press of John 
 Thompson." This Bible follows the text of 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 123 
 
 the Cambridge edition of Baskerville. The 
 book was published by subscription, and went 
 through forty numbers before it was completed. 
 It contained the Apocrypha, which is printed 
 throughout in italics. The price to sub- 
 scribers, counting each number at fifty cents, 
 was twenty dollars. The book in size is a 
 folio. 
 
 Kimber, Conrad & Co. 93 Market Street, 
 later Kimber & Sharpless, were extensive pub- 
 lishers of Bibles. Their first Bible was printed 
 in 1807, and was liberally supplied with Canne's 
 notes. In 1823 a quarto Bible was published, 
 which they continued to reissue for twenty-one 
 years, when the plates were sold to Jasper 
 Harding. Their first edition of the Bible in 
 German appeared in 1827, and its publication 
 was continued through nearly a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 Solomon Wiatt, 368 North Second Street, 
 published in 1809 a 12mo New Testament, 
 which was paid for by the gift of $1,000 left 
 in the will of Mr. John Hancock of Burlington, 
 
12 J: EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 New Jersey. The book was designed for free 
 distribution among the poor. 
 
 The first Hebrew Bible published in the 
 United States came from the press of Thomas 
 Dobson of Philadelphia in 1814. 
 
 Eugene Cummiskey, in the same city, was a 
 diligent publisher of editions of the Bible trans- 
 lated from the Latin Vulgate. His first publica- 
 tion was a Bible in folio in 1825. - It was well 
 printed and illustrated, and commanded a high 
 price. In the same year he published a Bible 
 in quarto. He was in business for over thirty 
 years, and many editions of Bibles and Testa- 
 ments issued from his busy presses. 
 
 Hall & Sellers published in 1815 an edition 
 of the New Testament. This is a very rare 
 book, and only three or four copies are known 
 to be extant. This firm were also the printers 
 in 1786 of the " Proposed Book of Common 
 Prayer." Bishop Perry says, " Few persons 
 have seen this remarkable liturgical production ; 
 and without any discussions of the principles 
 involved in its publication, the bibliographical 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 125 
 
 fact may be stated, that a rarer book connected 
 with American church history can hardly be 
 named." ^ 
 
 The Collateral Bible, in which the parallel 
 passages were printed in full, appeared in 1826, 
 Harding being the printer. The Bible was 
 edited by Rev. Dr. Ely, a Presbyterian minister, 
 and Rev. G. T. Bedell, afterwards the Bishop 
 of Ohio. The book did not get beyond one 
 edition. 
 
 A Bible bearing the following imprint: 
 " Philadelphia : Published and sold by Isaac M. 
 Moss, No. 12 South Fourth Street," is of in- 
 terest to collectors, as it contains twenty full- 
 page illustrations by Dr. Alexander Anderson, 
 the first wood engraver of the United States. 
 No date is on either of the title-pages. It has 
 been conjectured that the year of publication 
 was about 1844. Strangely enough, the pub- 
 lisher was a Jew. O'CaUaghan does not men- 
 tion this Bible. 
 
 1 Joumsd of General Convention by Et. Rev. William 
 Stevens Perry, D.D., vol. iii., p. 125. 
 
126 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 New York has also contributed through its 
 publishers many and valuable editions of the 
 Holy Scriptures. The first copy of the New 
 Testament came from the press of Hugh Gaine, 
 in 1790. Proposals for printing the Bible were 
 circulated the same year. It was designated as 
 " Brown's Self-instructing Folio Family Bible." 
 It was to be printed " on fine paper, American 
 manufacture, and on an excellent, large new 
 type, cast on purpose for this work." It was 
 to be issued in forty numbers, and a number 
 was to be delivered every two weeks at twenty- 
 five cents each. The first number was to be 
 offered for examination, and it was agreed " if 
 it should not meet with the approbation of the 
 reader, the money shall be immediately re- 
 turned." It was also agreed that those who se- 
 cured subscriptions to the Bible " shall receive 
 one copy gratis for every twelve they may ob- 
 tain." The numbers appeared from time to 
 time through two years, until the Bible was 
 completed in 1792. The publishers were Hodge 
 & Campbell. As the title-page indicates, the 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 127 
 
 book is supplied with explanatory notes and re- 
 flections "by the late Reverend John Brown, 
 Minister of the Gospel at Haddington." There 
 is a frontispiece at the head of the volume, 
 and another before the New Testament. There 
 are also eighteen copper-plate engravings of 
 scenes from Scripture. Heading the printed list 
 of subscribers is the name of George Washing- 
 ton. 
 
 The same year Hodge & Campbell printed 
 a quarto edition of the Bible which received 
 the indorsement of the State Legislature by a 
 vote passed March 18, 1790. 
 
 Ezra Sargent, 86 Broadway, published in 1811 
 a quarto edition of the Bible, " with a Commen- 
 tary and critical Notes, designed as a help to 
 the better understanding of the Sacred Writ- 
 ings, by Adam Clarke, LL.D." Bibles with 
 Clarke's notes multiplied in later years, but 
 this was the first edition that appeared in the 
 United States. 
 
 The first Bible printed in this country from 
 stereotjrpe plates cast in the United States, 
 
128 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 came from the press of D. & G. Bruce, No. 27 
 Williams Street, in 1815. 
 
 Isaac Collins was succeeded in his business 
 in New York by Collins & Co. They printed 
 a Bible in quarto in 1814, and their first 
 stereotyped edition in 1816. During many 
 years various impressions of the Bible and 
 New Testament have been printed, and the 
 Collins family are still in the publishing busi- 
 ness after the lapse of more than a hundred 
 years. 
 
 The New York Bible and Common Prayer 
 Book Society was organized in 1809, and 
 was the first institution in this country, with 
 the exception of the Bible Society of Phila- 
 delphia, for the free distribution of the Scrip- 
 tures. Many missionary fields and destitute 
 parishes have received the benefit of its pub- 
 lications. 
 
 The American Bible Society was founded 
 in 1816, and has branches in nearly all the 
 States. It has gathered a valuable Biblical 
 library of over 3,500 volumes in more than 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 129 
 
 one hundred and fifty different languages and 
 dialects. Since the beginning of the century- 
 it has published more than forty millions of 
 copies of the New Testament, the Bible and 
 portions of it. 
 
 The American and Foreign Bible Society 
 was organized in 1837, by members of the 
 Baptist denomination. In 1838 it issued an 
 octavo edition of the Bible. It was a reprint 
 of an Oxford Bible of 1833. The New Testa- 
 ment in duodecimo was also printed in 1838. 
 This society for a number of years issued edi- 
 tions of the Scriptures, and assisted the Rev. 
 Dr. Jndson of India in publishing a Bible in 
 the Burmese language. 
 
 In 1865 the American Bible Union, also a 
 Baptist organization, published a revised edition 
 of the New Testament. While there are several 
 hundred emendations, they refer mostly to small 
 words, such as the use of "says" for "saith." 
 The principal and most decided changes in 
 the translation consist in the substitution of 
 " immerse " for baptize," and " immersing " for 
 
130 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 " washing." The following quotations will show 
 the nature of the revision : — 
 
 St. Mark vii. 3. "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, 
 unless they wash their hands diligently, do not eat, holding 
 the tradition of the elders ; 
 
 4. And coming from the market, unless they immerse 
 themselves they do not eat; and there are many other things 
 which they received to hold, immersions of cups, and pots, 
 and brazen vessels, and couches." 
 
 St. John, i. 25. " And they asked him, and said to him, 
 Why then dost thou immerse, if thou art not the Christ, 
 nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? 
 
 26. John answered them, saying, I immerse in water. 
 
 28. These things took place in Bethany beyond the 
 Jordan, where John was immersing. 
 
 32. And John testified, saying, I have beheld the Spirit 
 descending as a dove out of heaven, and it abode upon 
 him. 
 
 33. And I knew him not ; but he who sent me to im- 
 merse in water, he said to me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt 
 see the Spirit descending, and abiding on him, this is he who 
 immerses in the Holy Spirit." 
 
 St. John iii. 22. " After these things came Jesus and his 
 disciples into the land of Judea; and there he remained 
 with them and immersed. 
 
 23. And John also was immersing in ^non near Salim 
 because there was much water there ; and they came and 
 were immersed." 
 
 This version of the New Testament is not as 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 131 
 
 a rule read in public services, but is used as 
 a book of reference. There is a difference of 
 opinion among Baptists regarding it, and one 
 edition is printed with the word " immerse," 
 and another with the word "baptize." 
 
 The first Bible printed in the United States 
 from electrotyped plates came from the publish- 
 ing-house of Harper & Brothers in 1846. It 
 contained 1,600 illustrations, and was called the 
 Illuminated Bible. 
 
 Boston also contributed early issues of the 
 Bible. B. Green published the Gospel of St. 
 John in Indian and English in 1707 and 1709. 
 Portions of the Old and New Testaments were 
 printed by S. Kneeland in 1718. "The New 
 Hieroglyphical Bible for the amusement and 
 instruction of children" came from the press 
 of "W. Norman, Book and Chart Seller," in 
 1794. 
 
 An edition of the New Testament appeared 
 in the same year by Alexander Young and 
 Thomas Minns. Thomas & Andrews issued a 
 12mo Bible in 1801, and repeated it a number 
 of times in after years. 
 
132 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 The first copy of the New Testament in 
 French, published in the United States, came 
 from the house of J. T. Buckingham of Boston 
 in 1810. 
 
 In 1834, in the same city, Rufus Davenport 
 printed a Bible which has these words on the 
 title-page : — 
 
 "The Eight- Aim School Bible; comprising the Holy 
 Bible of the Old and New Testaments, and an Annexment 
 containing the Free-Debt-Eule Petitions, addressed, the 
 first to the Twenty-four States, the Second, to the Con- 
 gress, the Third to the President of the United States of 
 America, and affixed Memorials; the Fourth Petition to 
 three High Officers of the Government of England. Also 
 the Declaration of Free-debtism." 
 
 In 1834 Manson & Grant published a Para- 
 graph Bible which was edited by Rev. Dr. Coit, 
 then Rector of Christ Church, Cambridge, Mass. 
 The title-page indicates the nature of the work, 
 for it states that the passages of Scripture 
 are "arranged in Paragraphs and Parallelisms 
 with philological and explanatory Annotations." 
 The verbal difficulties are explained, and chro- 
 nology noted in the margins. The New Testa- 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 183 
 
 ment went througli several editions, and the 
 whole work was reprinted in England in 1838. 
 This Bible is of interest from the fact that it 
 was the first Bible printed in America that con- 
 tained "The Address of the Translators to the 
 Reader" as it appeared in the King James ver- 
 sion of 1611. 
 
 Dr. Coit says in his Preface, " Another ac- 
 companiment of King James's Bible was the 
 Translators' Preface, or their Address to the 
 Reader. How this has fallen into such desue- 
 tude and neglect as to be scarce even in Eng- 
 land, while the Dedication, which wants in 
 critical value as much as it abounds in pane- 
 gyric, has been printed hundreds of times by 
 king-disliking republicans, it is not easy to 
 conjecture. For, as a document gratifying to 
 the curious, it might be supposed worthy no 
 infrequent repetition, and as a document for 
 the ecclesiastical historian and the critic, it is 
 of a species the foremost in value. What exi- 
 gencies occasioned the translation in use ? How 
 and by whom was it attempted and superin- 
 
134 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 tended? What leading objects were kept in 
 view in the completion of the work ? By what 
 spirit were its authors prompted ? Under what 
 rules did they act, and what objections were 
 raised against their labors ? These, and ques- 
 tions akin to them, are full of moment to all 
 who wish to ascertain what gave our present 
 Bible its origin, and the standard for testing 
 its merits." Further, Dr. Coit says, "The 
 editor must enjoy a few grains of satisfaction, 
 even if with many his labors are thankless, in 
 being the first to offer his countrymen a Bible 
 which, in some respects, is nearer the book 
 issued by our translators, than any ever pub- 
 lished on this side of the Atlantic. Indeed, 
 though he has seen many American Bibles, it 
 has never yet been his fortune to meet with one 
 (except the late imperfect reprint of the Com- 
 prehensive Bible) containing the Translators' 
 Address, with all their various readings." 
 
 In 1837 Otis Clapp, No. 121 Washington 
 Street, published a 12mo Bible which con- 
 tained solely those books of Scripture that 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 135 
 
 Swedenborg regarded as containing what he 
 called "an internal sense." 
 
 The first copy of the New Testament printed 
 in Delaware was issued by Peter Brynberg in 
 1802. 
 
 The first New Testament in Connecticut 
 bore the imprint of A. Morse, New Haven, 
 1790. 
 
 The first Bible in the same State was printed 
 at Hartford in 1809, by Hudson & Goodwin. 
 In 1833 Durrie & Peck of New Haven pub- 
 lished a Bible "with amendments of the lan- 
 guage " by Noah Webster, LL.D. In the 
 Preface three reasons are given for undertak- 
 ing the revision. In substance, these are first, 
 the substitution of certain words in place of 
 " such as are wholly obsolete, or deemed below 
 the dignity and solemnity of the subject ; " sec- 
 ond, " the correction of errors in grammar ; " and 
 third, " the insertion of euphemisms, words and 
 phrases which are not very offensive to delicacy." 
 The amended Bible reached a second edition in 
 1841, but has not been repeated since. There 
 
136 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 were editions of tlie New Testament in 1839 
 and 1841. The revision did not meet with the 
 favor that Dr. Webster had anticipated, and 
 was as signal a failure as his Dictionary was 
 a success. Mr. Scudder says of the revision 
 that it was "sufficient to annoy those who 
 had an ear for the old version, and really offer- 
 ing only such positive helps in interpretation 
 as were generally in the possession of fairly 
 educated men. That he should have done the 
 work at all, and have done it so faintly, is what 
 surprises the reader." ^ Further Mr. Scudder 
 says of Dr. Webster, " he was ignorant of what 
 he was undertaking, and his independent revis- 
 ion of the Bible failed to win attention, not be- 
 cause it was audacious, but because it was not 
 bold enough ; it offered no real contribution to 
 Biblical criticism." 
 
 The American Publishing Company of Hart- 
 ford issued in 1876 a translation of the Bible 
 made by Miss Julia E. Smith of Glastonbury, 
 
 1 Horace E. Scudder's Biography of Noah "Webster, pp. 176, 
 177. 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 137 
 
 Conn. She learned the Hebrew, but had previ- 
 ously a knowledge of the Greek and Latin. She 
 was seven years making the translation, having 
 attempted it at first for her own satisfaction and 
 instruction, and without any thought of publi- 
 cation. She says, " I continued my labors and 
 wrote out the Bible five times, twice from the 
 Greek, twice from the Hebrew, and once from 
 the Latin — the Vulgate." While this transla- 
 tion has had but little if any effect upon sacred 
 literature, the persistency, patience, and study 
 which resulted in the acquisition of the ancient 
 languages of Scripture must be commended. 
 The rendering of the Lord's Prayer in this 
 version is as follows : — 
 
 St. Matthew vi. 9. "Therefore so do ye pray : Our Fa- 
 ther which in the heavens, Let thy name be declared holy. 
 
 10. Let thy kingdom come. Let thy will be as in heaven 
 also upon the earth. 
 
 11. Give us this day our bread sufficient for sustenance. 
 
 12. And let go to us our-debts, as we let go to our debtors. 
 
 13. And thou shouldst not lead us into temptation, but 
 deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the 
 power, and the glory, forever. Amen." 
 
138 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 In the colonial times, and the early days of 
 the American States, there were notable edi- 
 tions of the Bible and New Testament printed 
 in small towns, and especially in the State of 
 Pennsylvania. Ephrata in Lancaster County 
 was settled in 1733 by German Baptists. They 
 devoted themselves to printing with industry 
 and enterprise, and published books and news- 
 papers in their own tongue. The noted Martyr 
 Books and editions of the New Testament were 
 printed on excellent paper made in the town. 
 An edition of the New Testament in German 
 appeared at this place in 1787, and was probably 
 the first edition. It is printed in bold, clear- 
 faced type, and is a most admirable example of 
 early book-making. It is greatly prized by col- 
 lectors and brings a high price. The title-page 
 does not contain the name of any printer, but 
 there is a note at the end of the Book of Reve- 
 lation which explains that the work was done 
 by the Dunker Community. The note reads : 
 "N. B. Formerly printed several times, at 
 Zurich, Basle, and Frankfort and Leipsic ; now 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 139 
 
 however, at Ephrata, at the expense of the Breth- 
 ren, in the year 1787." At the end of the book 
 are " Four beautiful spiritual hymns." A 16mo 
 edition of the Psalms was printed in 1793. 
 O'Callaghan makes no reference to the pub- 
 lications at Ephrata, which is a remarkable 
 omission. 
 
 Michael Billmeyer was an industrious printer 
 of New Testaments at Germantown through a 
 number of years. His German Testaments bear 
 the following dates: 1787, 1795, 1803, 1807, 
 1808, 1810, 1815, 1819, and 1822. He also 
 published a 12mo edition of the Psalms in 
 1815 and again in 1828. In 1824 Moser & 
 Peters of Carlisle issued a German New Testa- 
 ment illustrated with twelve rude wood-cuts. 
 
 In 1819 Johann Bar published at Lancaster 
 a German Bible in folio. The Old Testament 
 has a frontispiece representing Moses with the 
 Tables of the Law, and the New Testament 
 another frontispiece, being an engraving of the 
 Adoration of the Shepherds. This was probably 
 the first /oZ^o edition of the Bible in German 
 printed in the United States. 
 
140 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Small towns in other parts of the Union have 
 multiplied editions of the Scriptures. 
 
 Merriam & Company published in 1815 at 
 Brookfield, Mass., an edition of the Bible of 
 12,000 copies. H. & E. Phinney of Coopers- 
 town, N.Y., published their first edition of the 
 Bible in 1822. Their work was well and care- 
 fully done, and for over twenty-five years edi- 
 tion followed edition, and their imprint became 
 familiar to Bible readers. 
 
 As we have been dealing with early versions 
 and editions, this is not the place to speak of 
 the magnificent editions of the Bible issued by 
 the great publishing houses of our day, with 
 their splendid facilities for printing and illus- 
 trating. While many of the early Bibles were 
 rude and unadorned, we must respect them, for 
 they represent conscientious work and the best 
 art of their time. 
 
 In the consideration of our subject no attempt 
 has been made to be inclusive, as the theme is 
 so large that only leading editions of the Bible 
 could be noticed. O'Callaghan numbers the 
 
VARIOUS EDITIONS. 141 
 
 titles of Bibles or portions thereof, published in 
 America from 1661 to 1880, at fifteen hundred. 
 Such facts are evidences of the enduring hold 
 that the Book of books has upon the heart of 
 man. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 DEDICATION IN THE ELIOT NEW TESTAMENT 
 
 OF 1661. 
 
 To the High and Mighty Prince^ Charles the 
 Second^ hy the Gtrace of God, King of Eng- 
 land, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender 
 of the Faith, ^c. 
 
 The Commissioners of the United Colonies 
 in New England, wish increase of all happi- 
 ness, &c. 
 
 Most Dread Soveraign, — If our weak appre- 
 hensions have not misled us, this Work will be 
 no unacceptable Present to Your Majesty, as 
 having a greater Interest therein, than we be- 
 lieve is generally understood : which (upon this 
 Occasion) we conceive it our duty to declare. 
 
 The People of these four Colonies (Confed- 
 erated for Mutual Defence, in the time of the 
 late Distractions of our dear Native Country) 
 143 
 
144 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Your Majesties natural born Subjects, by the 
 Favour and Grant of Your Royal Father and 
 Grandfather of Famous Memory, put themselves 
 upon this great and hazardous Undertaking, of 
 Planting themselves at their own Charge in 
 these remote ends of the Earth, that without 
 offence or provocation to our dear Brethren and 
 Countrymen, we might enjoy that liberty to 
 Worship God, which our own Consciences in- 
 formed us, was not onely our Right, but Duty: 
 As also that we might (if it so pleased God) be 
 instrumental to spread the light of the Gospel, 
 the knowledg of the Son of God our Saviour, 
 to the poor barbarous Heathen, which by His 
 late Majesty, in some of our Patents, is declared 
 to be His principal aim. 
 
 These honest and Pious Intentions, have, 
 through the grace and goodness of God and our 
 Kings, been seconded with proportionable suc- 
 cess : for, omitting the Immunities indulged us 
 by Your Highness Royal Predecessors, we have 
 been greatly encouraged by Your Majesties 
 gracious expressions of Favour and Approba- 
 
APPENDICES. 145 
 
 tion signified, unto the Address made by the 
 principal of our Colonies, to which the rest do 
 most cordially Subscribe, though wanting the 
 like seasonable opportunity, they have been 
 (till now) deprived of the means to Congratu- 
 late your Majesties happy Restitution, after 
 Your long suffering, which we implore may yet 
 be graciously accepted, that we may be equal 
 partakers of Your Royal Favour and Modera- 
 tion; which hath been so Illustrious that (to 
 admiration) the animosities and different Per- 
 swasions of men have been so soon Composed, 
 and so much cause of hope, that (unless the 
 signs of the nation prevent) a blessed calm will 
 succeed the late horrid Confusions of Church 
 and State. And shall not we (Dread Soveraigri) 
 your Subjects of these Colonies, of the same 
 Faith and Belief in all Points of Doctrine with 
 our Countrymen, and the other Reformed 
 Churches, (though perhaps not all alike per- 
 swaded in some matters of Order, which in out- 
 ward respects hath been unhappy for us) prom- 
 ise and assure ourselves of all just favour and 
 
146 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 indulgence from a Prince so happily and gra- 
 ciously endowed? 
 
 The other part of our Errand hither, hath 
 been attended with Endevours and Blessing ; 
 many of the wilde Indians being taught, and 
 understanding the Doctrine of the Christian 
 Religion, and with much affection attending 
 such Preachers as are sent to teach them, many 
 of their Children are instructed to Write and 
 Reade, and some of them have proceeded fur- 
 ther, to attain the knowledge of the Latine and 
 Greek Tongues, and are brought up with our 
 English youth in University-learning: There 
 are divers of them that can and do reade some 
 parts of the Scripture, and some Catechisms, 
 which formerly have been Translated into their 
 own Language, which hath occasioned the 
 undertaking of a greater Work, viz : The 
 Printing of the whole Bible, which (being 
 Translated by a painful Labourer amongst them, 
 who was desirous to see the Work accomplished 
 in his dayes) hath already proceeded to the fin- 
 ishing of the New Testament, which we here 
 
APPENDICES. 147 
 
 humbly present to Your Majesty, as the first 
 fruits and accomplishment of the Pious Design 
 of your Royal Ancestors. The Old Testament 
 is now under the Press, wanting and craving 
 your Royal Favour and Assistance for the per- 
 fecting thereof. 
 
 We may not conceal, that though this Work 
 hath been begun and prosecuted by such Instru- 
 ments as God hath raised up here, yet the chief 
 Charge and Cost, which hath supported and 
 carried it thus far, hath been from the Charity 
 and Piety of divers of our well-affected Coun- 
 trymen in England ; who being sensible of our 
 inability in that respect, and studious to pro- 
 mote so good a Work, contributed large Sums 
 of Money, which were to be improved according 
 to the Direction and Order of the then prevail- 
 ing Powers, which hath been faithfully and reli- 
 giously attended both there and here, according 
 to the pious intentions of the Benefactors. And 
 we do most humbly beseech your Majesty, that 
 a matter of so much Devotion and Piety, tend- 
 ing so much to the Honour of God, may suffer 
 
148 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 no disappointment tlirougli any Legal defect 
 (without the fault of the Donors, or the poor 
 Indians, who onely receive the benefit) but that 
 your Majesty be graciously pleased to Establish 
 and Confirm the same, being contrived and done 
 (as we conceive) in the first year of your Majes- 
 ties Reign, as this Book was begun and now fin- 
 ished in the first year of your Establishment ; 
 which doth not onely presage the happy success 
 of your Highness Government, but will be a 
 perpetual monument, that by your Majesties 
 Favour the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ, was first made known to the Indi- 
 ans : An Honour whereof (we are assured) 
 your Majesty will not a little esteem. 
 
 Sir, 27ie shines of Your Royal Favour upon 
 these Vhdertakings, will make these tender Plants 
 to flourish, notwithstanding any malevolent 
 Aspect from those that bear evil will to this Sion, 
 and render Your Majesty more Illustrious and 
 Glorious to after Generations. 
 TJie God of Heaven long preserve and bless 
 
 Your Majesty with many happy Dayes, to his 
 
 Glory, the good and comfort of his Church and 
 
 People. Amen. 
 
APPENDICES. 149 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 DEDICATION IN THE ELIOT BIBLE OF 1663. 
 
 To the High and Mighty Prince, Charles the 
 Second, hy the Grrace of Grod, King of Eng- 
 land, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender 
 of the Faith, ^c. 
 
 The Commissioners of the United Colonies in 
 New-England, wish all happiness, &c. 
 
 Most Deead Soveraign, — As our former 
 Presentation of the New Testament was Gra- 
 ciously Accepted by Your Majesty ; so with all 
 Humble Thankfulness for that Royal Favour, 
 and with the like hope, We are bold now to 
 Present the WHOLE BIBLE, Translated into 
 the Language of the Natives of this Country, 
 by A Painful Labourer in that Work, and now 
 Printed and Finished, by means of the Pious 
 Beneficence of Your Majesties Subjects in Eng- 
 land: which also by Your Special Favour have 
 been Continued and Confirmed to the intended 
 Use and Advancement of so Great and Good a 
 Work, as is the Propagation of the Gospel to 
 
150 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 these poor Barbarians in this (Erewhile) Un- 
 known World. 
 
 Translations of Holy Scripture, The Word 
 of the King of Kings., have ever been deemed 
 not unworthy of the most Princely Dedica- 
 tions : Examples whereof are extant in divers 
 Languages. But Your Majesty is the First 
 that hath Received one in this Language, or 
 from this American World., or from any Parts 
 so Remote from Europe as these are, for ought 
 that ever we heard of. 
 
 Publications of these Sacred Writings to 
 the Sons of Men (who here, and here onely, 
 have the Mysteries of their Eternal Salvation 
 revealed to them by the God of Heaven) is a 
 Work that the Greatest Princes have Honoured 
 themselves by. But to Publish and Communi- 
 cate the same to a Lost People, as remote from 
 Knowledge and Civility, much more from 
 Christianity, as they were from all Knowing, 
 Civil and Christian Nations ; a People without 
 Law, without Letters, without Riches, or 
 Means to procure any such thing; a people that 
 
APPENDICES. 151 
 
 sate as deep in Darkness, and in the Shadow of 
 Death, as (we think) any since the Creation : 
 This puts a Lustre upon it that is Superlative ; 
 and to have given Royal Patronage and Coun- 
 tenance to such a Publication, or to the 
 Means thereof, will stand among the Marks of 
 Lasting Honour in the eyes of all that are 
 Considerate, even unto After-Generations. 
 
 And though there be in this Western 
 World many Colonies of other Europaean 
 Nations, yet we humbly conceive, no Prince 
 hath had a Return of such a Work as this ; 
 which may be some Token of the Success of 
 Your Majesties Plantation of New-England, 
 Undertaken and Setled under the Encourage- 
 ment and Security of Grants from Your Royal 
 Father and Grandfather, of Famous Memory, 
 and Cherished with late Gracious Aspects from 
 Your Majesty. Though indeed, the present 
 Poverty of these Plantations could not have 
 Accomplished this Work, had not the foremen- 
 tioned Bounty of England lent Relief ; Nor 
 could that have Continued to stand us in stead, 
 
152 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 without the Influence of Your Royal Favour 
 and Authority, whereby the Corporation there, 
 for Propagating the Crospel among these Na- 
 tives^ hath been Established and Encouraged 
 (whose Labour of Love, Care and Faithfulness 
 in that Trust, must ever be remembred with 
 Honour.) Yea, when private persons, for their 
 private Ends, have of late sought Advantages 
 to deprive the said Corporation of Half the 
 Possessions that had been, by Liberal Contribu- 
 tions, obtained for so Religious Ends; We 
 understand, That by an Honourable and Right- 
 eous Decision in Your Majesties Court of 
 Chancery^ their Hopes have been defeated, and 
 the Thing Settled where it was and is. For 
 which great Favour and Illustrious Fruit of 
 Your Majesties Government, we cannot but re- 
 turn our most Humble Thanks in this Publick 
 Manner : And, as the Result, of the joynt En- 
 deavours of Your Majesties Subjects there and 
 here, acting under Your Royal Influence, We 
 Present You with this Work, which upon 
 sundry accounts is to be called Yours. 
 
APPENDICES. 153 
 
 The Southern Colonies of the Spanish 
 Nation have sent home from this American 
 Continent, much Gold and Silver, as the Fruit 
 and End of their Discoveries and Transplanta- 
 tions : That (we confess is a scarce Commodity 
 in this Colder Climate. But (sutable to the 
 Ends of our Undertaking) we Present this, and 
 other Concomitant Fruits of our poor Endeav- 
 ours to Plant and Propagate the Gospel here ; 
 which, upon a true account, is as much better 
 than Gold, as the Souls of men are more worth 
 than the whole World. This is a Nobler Fruit 
 (and indeed, in the Counsels of All-Disposing 
 Providence, was an higher intended End) of 
 Columbus his adventure. And though by his 
 Brother's being hindred from a seasonable 
 Application, your Famous Predecessour and 
 Ancestor, King Henry the Seventh, missed of 
 being sole owner of that first Discovery, and of 
 the Riches thereof ; yet, if the Honour of first 
 Discovering the True and Saving Knowledge of 
 the Gospel unto the poor Americam^ and of 
 Erecting the Kingdom of JESUS CHRIST 
 
154 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 among them, be Reserved for, and do Redound 
 unto your Majesty, and the English Nation, 
 After-ages Will not reckon this Inferiour to 
 the other. Religion is the End and Glory of 
 Mankinde ; and as it was the Professed End of 
 this Plantation ; so we desire ever to keep it in 
 our Eye as our main design (both as to our 
 selves, and the Natives about us) and that our 
 Products may be answerable thereunto. Give 
 us therefore leave {Dread Soveraign) yet again 
 humbly to Beg the Continuance of your Royal 
 Favour, and of the Influences thereof, upon 
 this poor Plantation, The United Colonies of 
 NEW ENGLAND, for the Securing and 
 Establishment of our Civil Priviledges, and 
 Religious Liberties hitherto Enjoyed ; and, 
 upon this Good Work of Propagating Religion 
 to these Natives, that the Supports and Encour- 
 agements thereof from England may be still 
 countenanced and Confirmed. May this Nurs- 
 ling still suck the Breast of Kings, and be 
 fostered by your Majesty, as it hath been by 
 your Royal Predecessors, unto the Preservation 
 
APPENDICES. 155 
 
 of its main Concernments ; It shall thrive and 
 prosper to the Glory of God, and the Honour 
 of your Majesty : Neither will it be any loss or 
 grief unto our Lord the King, to have the 
 Blessings of the Poor to come upon Him, and 
 that from these Ends of the Earth. 
 
 The Crod hy whom Kings Reign, and Princes 
 Decree Justice, Bless Your Majesty, and 
 Establish your Throne in Righteousness, in 
 Mercy and in Truth, to the Glory of His 
 Name, the Good of his People, and to your 
 own Comfort and Rejoycing, not in this 
 onely, but in another World, 
 
156 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 To the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq: 
 Governour^ And to the Company, for the 
 Propagation of The Gospel to the Indians 
 in New England, and Parts adjacent in 
 America. 
 
 Honourable S^s, — There are more than 
 thirty years passed since the Charitable and 
 Pious Collections were made throughout the 
 Kingdom of EngZawc?, for the Propagation of 
 the Gospel to the Indians, Natives of His 
 MAJESTIES Territories in America ; and near 
 the same time : since by His late MAJESTIES 
 favour of ever blessed Memory, the Affair was 
 erected into an Honourable Corporation by 
 Charter under the Broad Seal of England ; in all 
 which time our selves and those that were before 
 us, that have been Your Stewards, and managed 
 Your Trust here, are witnesses of Your earnest 
 and sincere endeavours, that that good Work 
 might prosper and flourish, not only by the 
 good management of the Estate committed to 
 
APPENDICES. 157 
 
 You, but by Your own Charitable and Honour- 
 able Additions thereto ; whereof this second 
 Edition of the HOLY BIBLE in their own 
 Language, much corrected and amended, we 
 hope will be an everlasting witness ; for where- 
 soever this Gospel shall be Preached, this also 
 that you have done, shall be spoken of for a 
 Memorial of you ; and as it hath, so it shall be 
 our studious desire and endeavour, that the 
 success amongst the Indians here, in reducing 
 them into a civil and holy life, may in some 
 measure answer the great and necessary Ex- 
 pences thereabouts : And our humble Prayer to 
 Almighty God, that You may have the glorious 
 Reward of your Service, both in this and in a 
 better World. 
 
 We are Your Honours most Humble and 
 Faithful Servants, 
 
 William Stoughtok. 
 
 Joseph Dudley. 
 
 Peter Bulkley. 
 
 Thomas Hinckley. 
 Boston, Octob. 23, 1685. 
 
158 
 
 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 List of oivners of Eliot New Testaments and Bibles, as 
 far as known. 
 
 New Testaments of 1661. 
 
 British Museum (2), 
 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 
 Bodleian Library, 
 
 Town Library, 
 
 Edinburgh Library, 
 
 University Library, 
 
 Trinity College, 
 
 Harvard University, 
 
 Lenox Library (2), 
 
 Boston Athenaeum, 
 
 Library of the late John Carter Brown 
 
 Library of the late George Livermore, 
 
 Mr. Clarence S. Bement, 
 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
 
 Mr. Frederick F. Thompson, 
 
 Mitchell's Book Store, 
 
 London, Eng. 
 
 London, Eng. 
 
 Oxford, Eng. 
 
 Leicester, Eng. 
 
 Edinburgh, Scot. 
 
 Glasgow, Scot. 
 
 Dublin, Ire. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 New York, N". T. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 (2), Providence, R. I. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 New York, N, Y. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Bible of 1663. 
 British Museum, 
 Bodleian Library, 
 University Library, 
 Library of Duke of Devonshire, 
 Library of Earl of Spencer, 
 Glasgow University, 
 Trinity College, 
 Royal Library, 
 Royal Library, 
 Royal Library, 
 
 London, Eng. 
 
 Oxford, Eng. 
 
 Cambridge, Eng. 
 
 Chatsworth, Eng. 
 
 Althorp, Eng. 
 
 Glasgow, Scot. 
 
 Dublin, Ire. 
 
 Stuttgart, Ger. 
 
 Berlin, Ger. 
 
 Copenhagen, Den. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 159 
 
 Zealand Academy of Science, 
 
 University of Virginia, 
 
 Brown University, 
 
 Harvard University, 
 
 Bowdoin College, 
 
 Library of Congress (2), 
 
 Lenox Library (2), 
 
 Andover Theological Seminary, 
 
 Astor Library, 
 
 American Antiquarian Society, 
 
 Boston Athenajum, 
 
 Boston Public Library, 
 
 Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 
 Philadelphia Library Company, 
 
 Congregational Church, 
 
 William Everett, Ph. D., 
 
 Library of the late George Livermore, 
 
 J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D., 
 
 Library of the late Joseph W. Drexel, 
 
 Mr. Theodore Irwin, 
 
 Mr. John Lyon Gardner, 
 
 Mrs. Laura Eliot Cutter, 
 
 Library of the late Charles H. Kalbfleisch 
 
 Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, 
 
 Library of the late John Carter Brown, 
 
 Mr. E. P. Vining, 
 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
 
 Mr. Frederick F. Thompson, 
 
 Mr. Sumner Hollingsworth, 
 
 Mr. Charles R. Hildeburn, 
 
 Middleburg, Holl. 
 
 Charlottesville, Va. 
 
 Providence, R. I. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Brunswick, Me. 
 
 Washington, D.C. 
 
 New York, IST. Y. 
 
 Andover, Mass. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Worcester, Mass. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Newport, R. I. 
 
 Quincy, Mass. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Hartford, Conn. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Oswego, N. Y. 
 
 Gardner's Island, N. Y. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Providence, R. I. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 New Testament of 1680. 
 Mr. W. B. Shillaber, 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
160 
 
 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 Bible of 1685. 
 
 * British Museum, 
 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 Bodleian Library, 
 
 * Trinity College, 
 Library of Advocates, 
 Edinburgh University, 
 Glasgow University, 
 Royal Library, 
 
 * Leyden University, 
 Prince Stolberg Library, 
 
 * Utrecht University, 
 Royal Library, 
 
 * University Library, 
 Library of the Earl of Spencer, 
 Harvard University, 
 University of South Carolina, 
 Yale College, 
 
 Trinity College, 
 Morse Institute, 
 Eowdoin College, 
 Dartmouth College (2), 
 Pilgrim Society, 
 Philadelphia Library Co. (2), 
 
 * Andover Theological Seminary, 
 
 * Lenox Library (2), 
 
 Long Island Historical Society, 
 
 * Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 New York Historical Society, 
 Historical Society Pennsylvania, 
 New York State Library, 
 American Antiquarian Society (2), 
 American Philosophical Society (2), 
 
 London, Eng. 
 
 London, Eng. 
 
 Oxford, Eng. 
 
 Cambridge, Eng. 
 
 Edinburgh, Scot. 
 
 Edinburgh, Scot. 
 
 Glasgow, Scot. 
 
 Stuttgart, Ger. 
 
 Leyden, HoM. 
 
 Wernigerode, Ger. 
 
 Utrecht, Holl. 
 
 Copenhagen, Den. 
 
 Copenhagen, Den. 
 
 Althorp, Eng. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Columbia, S. C. 
 
 New Haven, Conn. 
 
 Hartford, Conn. 
 
 Natick, Mass. 
 
 Brunswick, Me. 
 
 Hanover, N. H. 
 
 Plymouth, Mass. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Andover, Mass. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Albany, N. Y. 
 
 Worcester, Mass. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 * Contains the original dedication to Hon. Robert Boyle. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 161 
 
 Boston Athenaeum (2), Boston, Mass. 
 
 * Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass. 
 Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 
 Congregational Library, Boston, Mass. 
 Connecticut Historical Society (2), Hartford, Conn. 
 Rev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D., Washington, D. C. 
 
 * Dr. Charles R. King, Andalusia, Penn. 
 Mr. Levi Z. Leiter, Chicago, 111. 
 Library of the late George Livermore, Cambridge, Mass. 
 Dr. Ellsworth Eliot, New York, N. T. 
 
 * Library of the late Col. Geo. W. Pratt, New York, N. Y. 
 J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D., Hartford, Conn. 
 Mr. Lucius L. Hubbard (2), Cambridge, Mass. 
 Library of the late George Brinley, Hartford, Conn. 
 Mr. Wilberforce Eames, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 * Library of the late John Carter Brown (2), Providence, R. I. 
 Rev. Henry M. Dexter, Boston, Mass. 
 Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, New York, N. Y. 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, Chicago, 111. 
 
 KECAPITtJLATION. 
 
 Copies owned in Europe, 
 Copies owned in the United States, 
 Total, 
 
 33 
 
 89 
 
 122 
 
162 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 Some of the prices paid for Eliot New Testaments and 
 Bibles. 
 
 New Testament of 1661. 
 
 Thompson copy $340.00 
 
 Bement copy 610.00 
 
 Lenox Library copy . 700.00 
 
 Bible of 1663. 
 
 Gunther copy $250.00 
 
 Drexel copy 550.00 
 
 Cutter copy 900.00 
 
 Morgan copy 1,000.00 
 
 Astor Library copy 1,125.00 
 
 Hildeburn copy 1,600.00 
 
 Kalbfleisch copy 2,900.00 
 
 Bible of 1685. 
 
 Eames copy . $140.00 
 
 Eliot copy 230.00 
 
 Trumbull copy 325.00 
 
 Leitercopy 500.00 
 
 Vanderbilt copy 550.00 
 
 Penn. Historical Society copy 590.00 
 
 Brown copy 950.00 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 163 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 List of owners of the Saur Bibles as far as known. 
 
 * Ducal Library, 
 
 * Royal Library, 
 
 * Royal Library, 
 
 * Royal Library, 
 
 * Prince Stolberg Library, 
 t Dr. J. Haeberlin, 
 
 * Landes Bibliotbek, 
 
 * Ducal Library, 
 Royal Library, 
 Harvard University, 
 Lafayette College, 
 Tale College, 
 Library of Congress, 
 Newberry Library, 
 Gerinania Society, 
 Historical Society (3), 
 Lenox Library, 
 Mr, Theodore Irwin, 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
 Rev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D 
 Mr. Howard Edwards, 
 Mr. Abraham Cassel, 
 Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 
 
 Bible of 1U3. 
 
 Wolfenbiittel, Ger. 
 
 Frankfort-on-the Main, Ger. 
 
 Dresden, Ger. 
 
 Stuttgart, Ger. 
 
 Wernigerode, Ger. 
 
 Frankfort-on-the Main, Ger. 
 
 Cassel, Ger. 
 
 Gotha, Ger. 
 
 Copenhagen, Den. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Easton, Penn. 
 
 New Haven Conn. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Oswego, N. Y. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Harleysville, Penn. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 *Dr. Ruppersburg, In United States, but place unknown. 
 
 Bible of 1763. 
 
 Lenox Library, 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 * Presentation copy from Mr. H. E. Luther. 
 tMr. H. E. Luther's own copy. 
 
164 
 
 EARLY BIBLES. 
 
 State Library, 
 
 Historical Society (2), 
 
 Mr. Howard Edwards, 
 
 Rev. Jolin F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D, 
 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
 
 Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 
 
 Mr. Abraham Cassel, 
 
 Eev. John Wright, D.D., 
 
 Harrisburg, Perm. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Harleysville, Penn. 
 
 St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 Bible of 1776. 
 Union College, 
 Harvard University, 
 Historical Society (3), 
 Historical Society, 
 Long Island Historical Society, 
 Minnesota Historical Society, 
 Lenox Library, 
 
 Philadelphia Library Company, 
 American Bible Society, 
 Friends' Free Library, 
 Eev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D. (3), 
 Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
 Mr. Howard Edwards, 
 Mr. Theodore Irwin, 
 Mr. Abraham Cassel, 
 Rev. John Wright, D.D., 
 The Sower families, 40 copies of the various editions, 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn 
 
 Schenectady, N". Y. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Germantown, Penn. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Oswego, N. Y. 
 
 Harleysville, Penn. 
 
 St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 KECAPITULATION. 
 
 Copies owned in Europe, 
 Copies owned in the United States, 
 Total, 
 
 9 
 
 97 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 165 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 List of owners of the Aitken Bible as far as known. 
 
 British Museum, 
 
 London, Eng. 
 
 Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 New York State Library, 
 
 Albany, N. Y. 
 
 Library of Congress, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 American Antiquarian Society, 
 
 Worcester, Mass. 
 
 American Bible Society, 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Lenox Library (2), 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Maryland Episcopal Library, 
 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Connecticut Historical Society, 
 
 Hartford, Conn, 
 
 Philadelphia Library Company (2), 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Pennsylvania Historical Society, 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Mr, Abraham Cassel, 
 
 Harleysville, Penn, 
 
 Mr. Howard Edwards, 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Mr. William Y. McAllister, 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn, 
 
 Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 
 
 Philadelphia, Penn, 
 
 Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Pvev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D., 
 
 Washington, D. C, 
 
 RECAPITULATION, 
 
 
 Copy owned in England, 
 
 1 
 
 Copies owned in the United States, 
 
 18 
 
 Total, 
 
 19 
 
INDEX. 
 
 AlTKEN Bible, Thomas's statement about, 55,56; correctness of this 
 statement questioned by Bancroft, 57; first copy of, in British 
 Museum, 57; Sam Hazard's letter about, 58; sanction and sup- 
 port of Congress sought for, 61 ; report of Congressional Chap- 
 lains upon, 62 ; resolution of Congress upon, 63 ; description of, 
 63,64,65; title-page of, 64; financially unsuccessful, 66; resolu- 
 tion of Presbyterian Synod upon, 66; rarity of, 67; of interest to 
 Americans, 67 ; owners of, Appendix G, 163. 
 
 AiTKEN, Jane, 120. 
 
 AiTKEN New Testament, copy of, in Lenox Library, 60; title-page 
 of, 60 ; description of, 61 ; editions of, 61 ; title-page of, in Bible 
 of 1782, 65. 
 
 AiTKEN, KOBEET, 59, 61, 120. 
 
 Algonkin Language, 14, 15 ; had no equivalent for certain words, 
 14 ; Cotton Mather's opinion of, 15 ; Dr. Ellis on, 15. 
 
 American Antiquarian Society, Isaiah Thomas's connection 
 with, 84, 85. 
 
 American Bible Society, number of its publications, 128. 
 
 American Bible Union, its revised New Testament, 129-131. 
 
 American and Foreign Bible Society, 129. 
 
 American Monthly Review on Dickinson's New and Corrected 
 Version of the New Testament, quoted, 107. 
 
 Apocrypha, why omitted in some copies of Collins's Bible, 90. 
 
 Bancroft's History of the United States, quoted, 56, 57. 
 
 Bar, Johann, publisher of first German folio Bible, 139. 
 
 Bible, Aitken, 55, and owners of. Appendix G; — Berriman & Co.'s, 
 122; Brown's Self -Instructing, 126 ; Bruce's, 128; Carey's, 121; 
 Clapp's, 134; Colt's Paragraph, 132-134; Collins's, 86, 128; Col- 
 lateral, 125 ; Cummiskey's, 124; Eliot of 1663, 4-16, 21, 22, 25, 110, 
 Appendices B and £ ; Eliot of 1685, 19-22, Appendices D and E ; 
 167 
 
168 INDEX. 
 
 first electrotyped, 131; first in Conn., 135; first from American 
 stereotyped plates, 127; Franklin's proposed, 104; first German 
 folio, 139; Hebrew, 124; Hieroglyphical, 131; Hodge & Camp- 
 bell's, 127; Hot-press, 122; Illuminated, 131; Kimber, Conrad & 
 Co.'s, 123; Latin, 121, 124; Moss's, 125; New York, 126, 127; Phil- 
 adelphia, 120-125; Right-Aim School, 132; Sargent's, 127; Saur 
 of 1743, 28 and Appendix F; Saur of 1763, 50 and Appendix F; 
 Saur of 1776, 51 and AppendixF; Smith's, Julia E., 136; Thomas, 
 76; Webster's (Noah), 135 ; Young's, 121; Yungmann's German 53. 
 
 " BiBLE-CONGKESS," 67. 
 BiLLMEYER, MICHAEL, 139. 
 
 Blomfield's Greek Testament, 115, 116. 
 
 Boyle, Hon. Robert, 7, 19, 20; dedication to, in copies of Eliot 
 Bible of 1685, Appendix C. 
 
 Bradford, William, Proposal to print the Biblo, 119, 120. 
 
 Carey, Matthew, 121. 
 
 CoiT's Paragraph Bible, 132; Quotation from preface of, 1.33. 
 
 Collins, Isaac, 86, 128; proposes to publish a Bible, 87. 
 
 Collins Bible. — Proposal, indorsed by Society of Friends, 87, 88; 
 conditionally by Baptist Association, 89; resolution of Presbyte- 
 rian General Assembly, 88 ; resolution of Convention of Protest- 
 ant Episcopal Church, 89; title-page of, 90; copies without 
 Apocrypha, 90. 
 
 Congress, petitioned by Robert Aitken for support, 61; appoints 
 Committee to report thereon, 61; report of Committee, 62; re- 
 port of Chaplains of, 62; resolution of, upon Aitken's Bible, 63; 
 called " Bible-Congress," 67. 
 
 Corporation for Promoting and Propagating the Gospel, etc. ; its 
 formation, 3; assists in printing Indian Bible, 4. 
 
 Cotton, Rev. John, assisted Eliot in preparing the second edition 
 of the Indian Bible, 18. 
 
 Dedication of Eliot's New Testament, 7 and Appendix A. 
 
 Dedication of Eliot's Bible of 1663, Appendix B. 
 
 Dedication to Hon. Robert Boyle, in copies of Eliot Bible of 1685, 
 19, 20, and Appendix C. 
 
 Dickinson, Rodolphus, " New and Corrected Version of the New 
 Testament," quoted, 107. 
 
 DouAY Version.— Publishers' appeal, quoted, 70, 71; title-page of 
 72; description of, 72, 73. 
 
 Eames, Wilberforce, " Bibliographic Notes on Eliot's Indian 
 Bible," etc., quoted, 13. 
 
INDEX. 169 
 
 Ebeling, Dr. C. D., his copy of Eliot Bible, 43. 
 
 Electrotyped Plates, when first used in printing American 
 Bibles, 131. 
 
 Eliot Bible. — Translation of whole Bible, 4, 15; this edition de- 
 scribed, 9-16; English title-page, 9; Indian title-page, 10; edi- 
 tion of 1685, description of, 19; value of this edition, 21; com- 
 parative importance of first and second editions, 21 ; interesting 
 associations connected with certain copies of, 22; errors in edi- 
 tion of 1663, 13, 14, 20, 110; errors in edition of 1685, 20; owners 
 of, 22-26 and Appendix D ; prices of, 21, 22, 25 and Appendix E. 
 
 Eliot, John. — Purpose of, in coming to New England, 1; education, 
 2; studies Indian language, 2; desires to translate the Bible, 3, 
 4; translation accomplished, 4; publishes the New Testament, 
 5; publishes whole Bible, 9; character of, 26; "Apostle to the 
 Indians," 26; Life of, by Francis, quoted, 16. 
 
 Eliot New Testament. — Published, 5; described, 6, 7; title-page 
 of, in English, 5 ; in Indian, 6; second edition described, 16, 17; 
 owners of, 8 and Appendix D. 
 
 Ellis, Dr., on Indian words, quoted, 15. 
 
 Engles, Joseph P., 116, 117. 
 
 Ephrata, Penn., Bibles printed at, 138; not mentioned by O'Calla- 
 ghan, 139- 
 
 Errors, Printers', 111. 
 
 Francis, Life of Eliot, quoted, 16. 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, proposal for a New Version of the Bible, 104, 
 105 ; McJIasters, on this proposal, quoted, 105. 
 
 German, Bible in, Saur's, 28; Tungmann's, 53; first folio in, 139; 
 New Testament in, 138, 139. 
 
 Greek, New Testament in, first American edition of, 112; other 
 editions, 112-118; Blomfield's, 115; Polymicrian, 116, 117. 
 
 Green, Samuel, 3, 19. 
 
 Greenfield, William, 117. 
 
 Hazard, Sam, letter of, referring to Aitken Bible, 58. 
 
 HiEROGLYPHICAL BiBLE, 109. 
 
 HiMES, Joshua V., 106. 
 
 Indian Language. — Cotton Mather, on, 15; Eev. Dr. Ellis, on, 
 
 quoted, 15; Lord's Prayer in, 15. 
 Indians, desire of, for Bibles, 18. 
 Kneeland, Kev. Abner, 114. 
 Lord's Prayer, translated into Indian language, 3 ; Indian Version 
 
 of, 15; Julia E. Smith's version of, 137; Kev. Samuel Mather's 
 
 rendering of, 106. 
 
170 INDEX. 
 
 Luther, Heinrich E., aasists Saur, 34, 47. 
 
 Mather, Cotton, "Magnalia," quoted, 16; opinion of Indian words, 
 15. 
 
 Mather, Kev. Samuel, his rendering of the Lord's Prayer, 106. 
 
 McMasters, quotation from Life of Benjamin Franklin, in American 
 Men of Letters Series, 105. 
 
 Merriam & Co.'s editionof the Bible, 140. 
 
 " Millerite " New Testament, 108. 
 
 Murdoch, James, translation of Peshito Syriac New Testament, 
 99 ; his career, 101. 
 
 New Testament, American Bible Union's, quoted, 139 ; " Dictated 
 by the Spirit," 109; Eliot of 1661, owners of. Appendix D; prices 
 of this edition. Appendix E; Eliot of 1680, owners of, Appendix 
 D; Eliot of 1661, title-pages, 5, 6; French, 132; Gaine's, 126; 
 German, 138, 139; Greek, 112-118 ; modern Greek, 118; Hall & 
 Seller's, 124; in Conn., 135; in Delaware, 135; "Millerite," 108; 
 Peshito Syriac, 97; Saur, 52; Socinian, 109. 
 
 New York Bible and Common Prayer-Book Society, 128. 
 
 O'Callaghan, Dr. E. B., his " List of Bibles," etc., referred to, 13, 
 20, 52, 57, 139, 140. 
 
 Omission in Eliot Bible, 20. 
 
 Penn. Magazine of History and Biography, quoted, 95, 96. 
 
 Peshito Syriac New Testament.— Date of, 97; first editionof, 99; 
 first American translation, 99; first English translation, 99; Pre- 
 face of first American translation, quoted, 100; title-page of, 100. 
 
 Phinney, H. & E., edition of the Bible, 140. 
 
 Salt, no equivalent for, in Indian language, 14. 
 
 Saur Bible. — Proposal of, quoted, 32, 33; publication of, 34 ; title- 
 page of, in German, 35; title-page translated, 35; collation of, 
 35; Preface of, 36-39; description of, 39; history of copies sent 
 to H. E. Luther, 40-46; Dedication in Luther's copy, 42; letter 
 of Dr. T. Schott about presentation copy, 44; Inscription in 
 Count Heinrich De Bunan's copy, 45; Luther's list of presenta- 
 tion copies, 46; second edition of, described, 50; third edition 
 of, 51 ; owners of. Appendix F. 
 
 Sauk New Testament; dates of issue, 52; certain editions of, omit- 
 ted by O'Callaghan, 52. 
 
 Septuagint. — First American translation of, 91 ; title-page of this 
 translation, 92; value of it, 93, 95. 
 
 Smith, Julia E., her translation quoted, 137. 
 
 Stereotype Plates, American, first Bible from, 127. 
 
INDEX. 171 
 
 Thomas Bible. — Prospectus, 77; folio edition, title-page, and de- 
 scription of, 78 ; New Testament title-page, 79; royal quarto 
 edition, title-page and description of, 80, 81; other editions, 83; 
 Preface quoted, 82. 
 
 Thomas, B. F., " Memoir of Isaiah Thomas," quoted, 84. 
 
 Thomas, Isaiah. — Career of , 74-76, 83,84; called " the Baskerville, 
 of America," 82; his History of Printing in America, quoted 
 29, 30, 55, 56. 
 
 Thomson, Chakles. — Anecdote about, 91; career of, 93; his trans- 
 lation of the Septuagint, 91-93, 95, 96; "Synopsis of the four 
 Evangelists," 96. 
 
 Tkumbull, Dr., his article in " Memorial History of Boston," quoted, 
 14 ; discovered omission in Eliot Bible, 20. 
 
 Washington, George, remark of, about Thomas, quoted, 84. 
 
 Watson's, " Annals of Philadelphia," quoted, 91, 92. 
 
 Webster, Noah, proposes an amended Bible, 135; Biography of, by 
 Horace E. Scudder, quoted, 136. 
 
 Woodruff, Hezekiah, Version of Gospel according to St. Matthew, 
 quoted, 108. 
 
 Young, William, 121. 
 
 YuNGMANN's GERMAN BiBLE, preface Of, 53,54. 
 
HK227-78. 
 
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