American Bibles
John Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible, First American Edition
John Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible, First American Edition
BIB.000855
Bible - Printed Book
1792
United States
English
Printed on paper
16.1 × 10.4 × 2.9 in. (41 × 26.5 × 7.3 cm)
Not on View
This is the first American edition of John Brown’s (1722–1787) popular Self-Interpreting Bible, noted for its famous frontispiece, its list of subscribers, and for being the first Bible printed in New York State. Brown, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, first published his Bible in Edinburgh in 1778, complete with study aids such as annotations and a concordance. The first American edition was published in 1792 with the financial support of over a thousand subscribers, including President George Washington and Supreme Court Justice John Jay. Its famous frontispiece depicts America wearing an Indian headdress and holding the constitution. The personification of liberty stands beside her, while another figure, probably the personification of peace, hands America a Bible.
Printed in 1792 by Robert Hodge and Stephen Campbell, New York. Acquired by 1865 by Hancock Seminary, Hancock, Michigan.[1] Acquired by 2010 by Christian Heritage Museum, Hagerstown, Maryland; Privately purchased in 2010 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2022 to The Signatry, under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] Hancock Seminary is written numerous times on the front and rear pastedown. A note on the front free endpaper reads “Hancock Seminary Bible presented to J. W. Brookes by Deacon Stephen Buxton in 1865.” Likewise, an inscription on the final page states that “this book was placed on the desk of the seminary institution for the use of the school.”
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