The "The Demise Of The Local Bookstore: Part III - The First Book" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading information that tells what was the first item printed as well as when was the first book printed in the American Colonies.  They are two different answers since Johannes Gutenberg is given credit for printing the first item when he printed the Gutenberg Bible in the 1450's.  It was around 1439 in the city of Mainz, Germany that Mr. Gutenberg created the European movable type press.  He also developed the first oil-based ink that was more durable than the previously used water-based ink.  

Johannes Gutenberg's Bible

When he printed the Gutenberg Bible he began the European printing age.  The first copies of the Bible sold quickly to monasteries, university and wealthy individuals all over Europe.  It was in 1456 that Johannes borrowed money from Johann Just in order to pursue his Bible project.  Gutenberg went into debt and Just was given control of Gutenberg's workshop.  Gutenberg managed to start a second print shop and began printing the Bibles in another town in 1459.  The Gutenberg press made mass production possible for the first time in history.  By the early 1500's there were about half a million books that had been mass produced on a wide range of topics.  

Pages from the Gutenberg Bible

The printing press is given credit for making the Renais- sance, the Scientific Revolution and the Protestant Reforma- tion possible.  Martin Luther printed his Ninety-Five Theses for distribution.  Today there are 49 surviving copies of the original Gutenberg bible.  It is believed that he printed about 180 Bibles.  Gutenberg may not have been a very successful businessman, but he is thought to be one of the most influential people in history.  Now, there are those who think that The Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the oldest-known written story that can be called a book, is the first book.  It was written sometime prior to the 18th century B.C. on clay tablets.   But, Gutenberg's Bible, printed on a moveable-type printing press, is still the first book in the world.  

The Bay Psalm Book by Stephen Daye

As far as the first printed book in the American Colonies, that would have to be the Bay Psalm Book that was printed in 1640 by Stephen Daye who was the first printer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The original copy is owned by The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University and is one of 11 copies of the first edition known to exist and one of only four perfect copies.  

This is the cover of the first Bay Psalm Book

This copy of the book is in its original binding with the title page signed by principal editor, Richard Mather.  Stephen Daye printed the book on a press that had been imported to the colonies in 1638 by the Reverend Jesse Glover.  For the colonies, to have an actual printing press meant they were not wholly dependent upon outside sources.  The press was imported about 20 years after the Mayflower arrived in the New World.  Of the 11 first edition copies of the Bay Psalm Book that are in existence, only five are in complete condition with four of those considered "perfect" copies.  The Old South Church in Boston had two copies.  Whether you consider Johannes Gutenberg the father of printing or Stephen Daye, both played an important part in the many books that fill the shelves of bookstores all over the world.  And, to me, digital books, which I enjoy on my Kindle, will never replace the printed word which was developed years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.