The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-29
|lARCST or AMERICAN BOOKS.
<IvBRIIGE VOLUMES THAT
BRING HIGH PRICES.

covered Sold TO II. Dwight Church for
hon 90, 600 -some owned Abroad.
III. recent discovery In England Of q copy
Tho long lost Massachusetts laws OF
"a printed in Cambridge, and its sale to
: dwight Church OF Brooklyn for q price
II to exceed 5000, reminds the collectors
J,be interesting fact that the earliest works
...,ted in New England are among the
nd rarest books and are rapidly becom-
,,y As valuable as the earliest imprints OF
T1Ham Caxton. E%ngland's first printer.
The foundation Of American typography
-. accomplished In the fall Of 1888, when
s,ohen Daye, lately arrived from London.
I'm a rude press In a small room In Hsr-
nd College, In Cambridge. Here he IL
,.iieyed to have printed Immediately the
.,kest issue OF our first press, q small folio
.A,., containing .The Freeman's OATH
4. oath which every man over 20 years OF
20 and six months a householder was
,sssed to take In order 20 become a free
nan Of the Corporation, or q legal citizen
4 the Massachusetts Bay Company.
In the Boston Public Library Is carefully
r,eerved the original draft Of aThe Free
un's Oath" in the autograph Of Gov. John
Tnthrop. The original issue has long SINCE
aappeared, however, and in all probability
"a never be unearthed. II 1t had sur
rived TO our time, nom OF the early Cam
hodxe imprints now extant would equal IL
"a an important document In the history OF
,,do-American printing. A similar broad
sSe from Cations press, and n possess
IN far less interest. Is valued at more than
400. which would be a low price to set
rron The Freeman's Oath"
During the latter months Of 1888, Stephen
raye is supposed to have printed several
kindred copies Of an almanac for the year
100. complied by Capt. William Peiroe. an
stimate Of Bradford, Winslow and VIM
;irop. and for a long period the most noted
siling master who came into the New Eng
and waters. One OF the most esteemed and
accomplished navigators Of his time. Peiroe
uss also master OF three Of the Ave ships
which brought the first settlers to Massa-
dusetts. He is known to-day as the oom-
plr OF an almanac, and that almanac has
not survived.
It has beer asserted that the Captain fol-
bved his pioneer almanac with others for
ach succeeding year to l645, although
10 writer OF the period ohronicled their
appearance and there 10 no proof that they
vae printed. The almanac for 1889 is
hown to have been published. Its print
hs marked the very beginning Of pub
khed literature In English America, and O
epy Of 1t would bring an enormous sum at
be present time.
Dsye's third known publication was
the first American book the famous
by Psalm Book, printed In Cambridge
b 1910 and universally used In church
inging for many years by tho Massachu-
etts Bay c~olonists.N It's title really reads:
The Whole Booke Of Psalmes Faithfully
Translated into English Metre DO. In
reality IL IL not athe FIRST American book"
printing was done In the City Of Mexico
Is early as 1910; but collectors for several
generations have referred to 1t In this
manner.
For the most part the work Of translating
the Psalms In English metre WA accom-
plihed by Richard Mather, the head Of
the distinguished Msther family. and by
John Eliot and Thomas Welde, tho two
latter in charge Of the first church In Rox-
bury. Tho preface. written by Mather.
b the earliest extant specimen Of prose
written and printed In English America.
Seventeen hundred copies Of the book
were printed and were sold In Cambridge
and Boston at 20 pence per copy. To-day
only ten copies are extant, and Q perfect
copy Is valued at at least $40 1000. Two
perfect copies are owned In New York
|cty-in the New York Public Library
GAnox Collection) and In the possession
d the Vanderbilt family. The latter cost
the late Cornelius Vanderbilt 81 200 In
lsN. A third perfect copy Is in the Bod
leian Library in Oxford, England, and a
fourth is in the John Carter Brown Library
b Providence, R. I. The Brown copy Is
probably the most interesting Of the four
perfect examples, as it contains in several
places the autograph signature Of Riohard
Asher.
The Boston Public Library owns two Of
The sI imperfect copies Of the Bay Psalm
Book. Another copy Is in the library
q Harvard University, and the American
Antiquarian Society in Worcester. Mass.
p~ossesses a fourth example. The two
others are owned In Brooklyn, In the col
kctions Of A. T. White and e. Dwight
church. Mr.. Church's copy, with the first
Tour and the last three leaves in facsimile,
ss him 1900 in 1908. The two copies
N the Boston Public Library were once
owned by the Rev. Thomas Prince, pastor
o. the Old South Church in Boston, whose
New England Library" was the FIRST i'm
portant book collection formed in this
country, Prince also owned the three
@ples now in the Brown, Vanderbilt and
White libraries, and was thus the possessor
dhve copies Of the most valuable American
printed book.
a broadside list Of theses at the COM
mencement of Harvard College was printed
y Daye in 1912, but has disappeared. The
opital Laws the first collection Of
massachusetts, laws, issued in broad side
'%m in le4s, has had a similar fate. Daye
.o printed in 1913 the theses of the
Scnd graduating class at Harvard. a
unique copy Of which is owned by the
Aasaohusetts Historical Society.
N laS Daye printed a pamphlet relating
" me Indians and an alma nae for 1e4o,
We after pamphlet, entitled "A Declara-
Won OF Former Passages and Proceedings
Nsslxt the English and the Narrowgan-
~, was signed by Gov. Winthrop. Only
~ ~u copies are known, n being in the
suaiy Of the Massa chusetts Historical
Ssae'y, another in a private library in