1806 UNRECORDED 1st MD HOLY BIBLE Testament HAGERSTOWN Pennsylvania German
Item History & Price
UNRECORDED HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND GERMAN-AMERICAN NEW TESTAMENT, AND APPARENTLY NOW THE ONLY COPY OF THE VERY EARLIEST PRINTED AND PREVIOUSLY UNRECORDED BIBLE IN MARYLAND! Das Neue Testament Unsers Herrn Und Heylandes Jesu Christi : Nach Der Deutschen Uebersetzung D. Martin Luthers, Mit Kurzem Inhalt Eines Jeden Capitels, Und Vollstandiger Anweisung Gleicher SchriftStellen. Wie Auch Aller Sonn= und Festagigen Evangelien und Episteln. Luther, Martin (1483-1546).Hagerstaun (Hagerst...own, Maryland): Gedruckt und zu haben bey Jacob D. Dietrich, 1806.
A historic and landmark discovery! This is apparently an unrecorded German American New Testament printed at Hagerstown, Maryland in 1806 by Jacob D. Dietrich; it supersedes the previously thought first Maryland New Testament in any language, yet alone German, and is truly a one of a kind find and a discovery that resets what we knew of early Maryland Bibles altogether. The German settlers in the Valley were migrating towards English language adaptations, and by 1820, nearly all were bilingual and/or preferred to read in English, again making this a unique find. There was a German language Bible printed by Samuel Saur's nephew Brook W. Sower (son of Christoph Sower III) in Baltimore in 1812 (Hills 217), and pocket-sized New Testaments previously printed in English by Brook Sower in Baltimore (1810, 1811), but nothing earlier. Hills calls the 1810 edition " the first Maryland New Testament (Hills 185), " even though we clearly see here that this edition for sale precedes that by 4 years, and thus turns upside down Hills' inference! NO RECORDS EXIST OF THIS PRINTING AT ALL!
Original leather German- American binding w/ 5 bands on leather spine, the remnants of the clasp system but without clasps; exposure and wear at the spine extremities as well as corners of the boards with light loss. Leather stained. Front board nearly detached, held by a cord or two; rear hinge holding but joint split. h Some toning, staining, foxing and browning, but complete. Inscribed on endpapers in front and rear, as shown. Measures 7" x 4.25". Good luck!
00003
A historic and landmark discovery! This is apparently an unrecorded German American New Testament printed at Hagerstown, Maryland in 1806 by Jacob D. Dietrich; it supersedes the previously thought first Maryland New Testament in any language, yet alone German, and is truly a one of a kind find and a discovery that resets what we knew of early Maryland Bibles altogether. The German settlers in the Valley were migrating towards English language adaptations, and by 1820, nearly all were bilingual and/or preferred to read in English, again making this a unique find. There was a German language Bible printed by Samuel Saur's nephew Brook W. Sower (son of Christoph Sower III) in Baltimore in 1812 (Hills 217), and pocket-sized New Testaments previously printed in English by Brook Sower in Baltimore (1810, 1811), but nothing earlier. Hills calls the 1810 edition " the first Maryland New Testament (Hills 185), " even though we clearly see here that this edition for sale precedes that by 4 years, and thus turns upside down Hills' inference! NO RECORDS EXIST OF THIS PRINTING AT ALL!
Original leather German- American binding w/ 5 bands on leather spine, the remnants of the clasp system but without clasps; exposure and wear at the spine extremities as well as corners of the boards with light loss. Leather stained. Front board nearly detached, held by a cord or two; rear hinge holding but joint split. h Some toning, staining, foxing and browning, but complete. Inscribed on endpapers in front and rear, as shown. Measures 7" x 4.25". Good luck!
00003
