Carey Bible, Second Edition
Carey Bible, Second Edition
BIB.005031
Bible - Printed Book
1805
United States
English
Printed on Paper
4.3 × 3.7 × 1.3 in. (11 × 9.5 × 3.5 cm)
Not on View
The Carey Bible was the first Catholic Bible printed in the United States. Mathew Carey (1760–1839) was born in Dublin and worked as a printer before immigrating to Philadelphia in 1784. Catholics made up only 1% of the population in the United States at that time and sometimes faced severe prejudice from their Protestant neighbors. Carey first published his Bible in 1790, using the Douay-Rheims translation of the Latin Vulgate. He intended it to not only support the Catholic community, but also to combat Protestant claims that Catholics were indifferent to Bible study and the devotional life. This copy is a second edition, which was published in 1805.
Printed in 1805 by Mathew Carey, printer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Acquired by Eli Fliori, Jr., unknown owner.[1] Purchased in the early 2000s by Sidney Ohlhausen, private collector, Houston, Texas;[2] Purchased in 2015 by Tenny Family Bible Collection, private collection, Krum, Texas; Donated in 2020 to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] This owner’s handwritten signature is located on the rear pastedown. However, his last name is difficult to discern. Another handwritten note on the front pastedown possibly records another name, but this signature is obscured by a note from a later owner. [2] Information from Sidney Ohlhausen via email, December 2020.
Questions about our Collections?
To acquire permission to use this image, please visit our Rights and Reproduction page .
