Highlights of the Exhibition
The Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bible Collection
at
Bridwell
Library
1996-2006
September 7-November 18, 2006
First American Bible Printed in English
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments. 2 vols. in 1. Philadelphia: R. Aitken, 1782.
Almost as soon as America declared its independence from England the printer Robert Aitken (1735–1802) of Philadelphia published the New Testament and began preparing the entire King James Bible for presentation to the Continental Congress. According to the Journal of Congress, an extract of which appeared in the Bible’s prefatory pages, the Congress noted the accuracy and timely availability of Aitken’s Bible, and on 12 September 1782 it resolved to “recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize [Aitken] to publish this Recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.”
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