1782 AITKEN BIBLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (RARE) Start Price USD 89,000.00 Current Price USD 89,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, November 25, 2008 End Time Thursday, December 25, 2008 Location Hagerstown, Maryland See more about '1782 AITKEN BIBLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (RARE)' Description 1782 AITKEN BIBLEFIRST BIBLE PRINTED IN ENGLISH IN AMERICA BIBLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Title: 1782 Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues... First English Bible Printed in America. Publisher: Robert Aitken, Philadelphia Binding: Full-leather; volume housed in a clamshell (half-morocco & cloth) box with a book-like spine. Collation: [1451]pp. Unpaginated, the Old Testament collates [pi],A-ZZ in twelves, Aaa5. The New Testament collates A-Dd in sixes (including a W signature). Condition: Complete with the original titles to both Testaments and the congressional page. Thick 12mo. Contemporary call, raised bands. Rear hinge cracked, corners and hinges worn. Inner lower corner of certification leaf torn, with loss to part of five lines of text. Tears in the edge of second titlepage, with minor loss to a few words on verso. Blue ink stain in lower gutter of leaves T10 to Ssl2, affecting at most six lines of text; also on lower outer corner of leaves Mm to Zz6, mostly in margin but at times touching up to five lines of text. Overall a very good copy in contemporary condition. Inscriptions: This copy bears the contemporary ownership signature of Prudence Butcher on the front free endpaper and both title pages. Also, the price is inked onto the front pastedown in a contemporary hand: 7 shillings 6 pence. Description/History: The Aitken Bible is one of the most celebrated American Bibles, being the first complete English-language Bible printed in America. During the colonial era, the monopoly on printing English-language Bibles belonged to the Royal Printer, and the colonies were supplied entirely with Bibles printed in England. The first Bible printed in the British colonies in America was the famous Eliot Indian Bible, in Algonquin, issued in Cambridge in 1661-63 and reprinted in 1680-85. The 18th-century saw the printing of Bibles in German. With the American Revolution, the British monopoly on English-language Bibles naturally ended, and the embargo on goods from England acted to create a shortage. Aitken, a Philadelphia printer, undertook the task, producing the New Testament in 1781 and the Old Testament in 1782. On completion, he petitioned the Continental Congress for their endorsement and received it in September 1782. Because of this official endorsement and the reasons behind its production, the Aitken Bible is often referred to as "The Bible of the Revolution." This book has become very difficult to find due in part to the small number of copies originally printed. Additional Reference: DARLOW & MOULE 928. SABIN 5165. EVANS 17101,17473. HILDEBURN 4126,4184. NAIP w0 O'CALLAHAN, p.31.   SHIPPING: FREE shipping and secure packaging. Our products are securely shipped in sturdy packages via USPS Priority Mail & FedEx. We accept Pay-Pal, Visa, Master Card. Question please call toll free 877-313-9002 or e-mail us at info@historicprints.com or info@ChristianHeritageMuseum.com Powered by eBay Turbo Lister The free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. Place a Bid!