On 4 July 1776 only two signatures were affixed to the unanimously adopted Declaration of Independence — those of John Hancock, president of the Congress, and Charles Thomson, secretary, in order to authenticate the document that had been voted on and approved. Yet by a curious twist of fate (read rather, surely, of a political enemy's knife), when the calligraphic copy that is so well known to every school child was ready shortly after 19 July, authenticator Thomson was not invited to sign it!

When he had retired from public life in 1789, Thomson was to turn his interest in the Bible and Greek to the 20-year task of producing this monumentally important work.

Its printer was the daughter of Robert Aitken, who had printed the first Bible in English in America. A major edition of the English Bible, this is essential for any Bible collection, not just for collections of American Bibles — though as an American Bible and simple Americanum it has a revered place.

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with contemporary inscription, “Susan Prescott's / from a friend — “ Front pastedown with small booklabel of prominent collector Michael Zinman.

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 34103; O'Callaghan, 126–27; Rumball-Petrie 193; not in Darlow & Moule.   Contemporary mottled sheep, framed and panelled in blind with contrasting leather colors, spine plain without label; binding rubbed overall, but sturdy and solid. Front pastedown with label as above, front free endpaper with inked numeral and inscription above, title-page with almost entirely effaced inked inscription. Front fly-leaf with irregular, nickel-sized hole; a few leaves with their corners crimped; one leaf with a section of margin gone at fore-edgenot touching text (natural paper flaw?). Otherwise, pages mildly age-toned, some lightly to moderately spotted. A good copy.  (25187)

Provenance:  Ownership note of “Ephraim Pierce” on front free endpaper, with the “Family Records” pages offering four pages (eight columns) on the Pierce family and its connections.

•  Books Contained in the Library of the American Bible Society 15; Hills 296; O'Callaghan 128–29; Shaw & Shoemaker 36952; Wright, Early Bibles of America, 195–96.   Contemporary mottled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label, gilt-stamped Greek key bands, and gilt-stamped decorations consisting of a sickle, wheat, and an hourglass overlaid by an open book; binding rubbed overall, front cover with lower outer portion darkened, spine leather with minor cracking, spine with old inked shelving number in bottom compartment. Front pastedown with traces of now-absent bookplate, front free endpaper with early inked ownership inscription, title-page and two others institutionally pressure-stamped, preliminary advertisement with inked annotation along inner margin and rubber-stamped numeral in lower margin. Back fly-leaf with affixed contemporary religious clippings. Two plates torn, each with old hand-sewn repair in dark thread. Folding map torn along folds, one tear with small area of loss, edges tattered. Pages and plates predictably foxed, some browned; a few corners dog-eared.  (26016)

•  Darlow & Moule 9120.   Contemporary diced calf, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and blind-tooled compartment decorations; binding worn and abraded, especially at edges and joints, with upper portion of front cover and inner portion of back cover sunned. All edges marbled; front hinge (inside) tender. Front pastedown with traces of now-absent bookplate. Pages with varying degrees of age-toning; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts with English titles added in pencil.  (26177)

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

Vol. I opens with a copper-engraved dedication to the king; vol. III closes with a list of subscribers.

Complete sets in good condition are not commonly found on the market.

•  Herbert 369; NSTC 2B26321.   Original boards (signed binding: each front pastedown with small ticket of G. Peck, bookbinder), newly rebacked in the style of the era with tan paper spines in mottled tones bearing new printed paper labels; corners and edges rubbed, sides showing moderate wear. Each front pastedown with early inked numeral. Page edges untrimmed; pages lightly age-toned, with intermittent spotting. A very good set.  (25087)

•  Hills 618; O’Callaghan 189. Contemporary plain calf, spine with raised bands, gilt-ruled above and below and with gilt-lettered title in second compartment; gilt a little rubbed. Hinges (inside) repaired with paper. Shallow chipping and tattering, and many dog ears; tears mostly in the margins of pages and plates, but a few closed tears into text, on pp. 283–84 with loss of individual letters but not of sense; tattering on last leaf just touching text, leaf repaired with cellophane on verso; tissue repairs on pp. 273–74 and on the reverse of the frontispiece. Moderately foxed throughout; lacking pp. 765–68 of supplementary material (only). Pp. 618–19 are here misprinted in place of pp. 622–23—all text being present, if out of order! This significant Bible is here in a trim, neat contemporary binding.

This copy, interleaved with lined pages, was apparently meant for a scholar's use — but the added blank leaves have been left blank.

•  Darlow & Moule 8987.   Recent black moiré cloth, spine with gilt-stamped leather title and publication labels; half-title with institutional perforation-stamp, final page with rubber-stamped numeral, no other markings. Scattered faint spotting, otherwise clean. A handsome copy of an interesting work “got up” in an interesting way.  (26950)

Adomeit notes that the “long run of Phinney Bibles . . . are distinctive as the majority of the cuts are portraits, which Stone suggests are portraits of neighboring farmers.” The present example is illustrated with 24 wood engravings.

Provenance:  Early inscription “Abby A. Wades Book” on front free endpaper.

•  Adomeit, Three Centuries of Thumb Bibles, A66; this ed. not in Rosenbach.   Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped title, rubbed; spine leather cracked and front cover all but detached, but text block very sound and with all corners gently rounded in a style of the era. Endpaper with inscription above. Light to moderate foxing only.  (25208)

•  Adomeit, Three Centuries of Thumb Bibles, A71; this ed. not in Rosenbach, Early American Children's Books.   Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped title; slightly sprung, covers each with one small spot of worming, minor wear. Frontispiece recto with early pencilled inscription. Pages with some light spotting and occasional edge nicks. A nice example of this sort of production.  (25201)

Click the images for enlargements.

Binding:  Contemporary embossed rich cordovan-colored morocco cathedral binding featuring inter alii the Holy Ghost (in Pentacostal dove–form), the Agnus Dei, and stained/leaded glass “windows” both pointed and rosette. Spine additionally with gilt-stamped title; turn-ins with blind-roll design. All edges brightly gilt.

•  Not in Herbert.   Binding as above, in beautiful condition. First front fly-leaf with early inked familial gift inscription (including an explanation of one brother's having opted out of the group present!); second front fly-leaf with inked dedicatory poem.  (22266)

•  O’Callaghan 213; Hills 765; not in Herbert. Straight-grained roan, covers gilt-ruled and spine gilt extra; rubbed, especially on spine, and corners bumped. Pp. 5–6 and 229–30 chipped on lower outer corner, with loss of part of page number from the former. Free endpapers chipped with loss; title-page partially detached in the gutter. Some old dog-ears, light foxing and occasional brown spots, and occasional light waterstaining.An attractive, solid little American Testament.

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with inked inscription “J. Wade,” later page with Wade's inscription as above. Front pastedown with inked inscription reading “Presented by the heirs of Elder E. Galusha.” The Rev. Elon Galusha was a prominent Baptist missionary and minister who helped establish the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution (later Colgate Rochester Divinity School), and served as president of both the New York Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Anti-Slavery Convention. It should be noted that Wade was Hamilton's first graduate, and the Galusha presentation brought this manuscript back to Hamilton's descendant institution, from which it was eventually deaccessioned.

•  Contemporary mottled sheep, spine with typed paper title-label; rubbed, spine leather with small cracks and head chipped, foot of spine with small discolored area from now-absent shelving label. Hinges (inside) starting, some signatures and leaves separated, others loosening. Front free endpaper and a number of pages pressure-stamped by Rochester Theological Seminary; inked inscription noting that the vol. was bound by “Br. C. Bennet.”  (26176)

Binding: Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt roll, spine with gilt-stamped title and compartment decorations.

Provenance: Ownership initials of William R. Whittingham (G.R.W., the "William" being rendered as "Guillelmus" for his love of Latin), fourth Episcopal Bishop of Baltimore; stamp of an Episcopal Diocesan lending library.

•  Front joint almost entirely broken, back joint starting from top, head of spine chipped, with binding showing minor darkening and scuffing overall. Free endpapers excised. Front pastedown with rubber-stamp as above (no other institutional markings); first text page with inked ownership inscription as above dated [18]64. Title-page of first work lacking. Pages slightly age-toned, some creased; one leaf with lower outer corner torn away. Small emphasis marks to index of Hymns, with an additional manuscript entry in the table of first lines.

Scarce.  OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 find only one U.S. holding of this edition.

•  Darlow & Moule 7340; Book of a Thousand Tongues (2nd ed.) 1047 (for first ed.).   Publisher's blue textured cloth, spine with printed paper label; boards and spine sunned (spine more so), with cloth cracked at joints and rubbed at extremities, spine label chipped and faded, spine with small area of discoloration and inked shelving number. Front pastedown with institutional bookplates. Two leaves towards front and last two leaves each with inner margins reinforced some time ago. Pages slightly age-toned, with occasional small pencilled marks of emphasis and marginalia in both English and Farsi.  (25151)

Binding:  Contemporary black morocco, heavily blind-stamped and covers further graced by central gilt-stamped cartouches touched with red and green enameled highlights. Spine with similar blind- and gilt-stamping, highlighted in red and green. All edges gilt.

•  Not in Herbert.   Binding as above, minimal rubbing to edges and extremities, gilt lightly rubbed in a few areas, corners bumped. Front free endpaper with pencilled ownership inscription dated 1846. Back free endpaper with spot of dampstaining partially adhered to back pastedown and offset onto last leaf of text. Pages gently age-toned, otherwise clean. A little knockout.  (21996)