First folio & illustrated Bible in English printed in the US: The Christian's New and Complete Family Bible: or, Universal Library of Divine Knowledge (Philadelphia, 1788-1790)

Philadelphia & Berwick: Printed by and for John Taylor, 1790. Hardcover. fair. Despite the general title page and the NT title page being Berwick/John Taylor, extremely likely the Philadelphia printing with a cancel title page, the first folio Bible and first illustrated Bible printed in the US. The bibliography on this is complex: the earliest copies were issued with a Philadelphia title page, but as this came out in subscribed parts over the course of two years (1788-1790) those sent out before late May of 1790 would likely have had a Philadelphia title page, and those sold after that date would have a false UK title page, as does our copy; the Congressional rule called for strict oversight of the printing of any Bible in the United States (to get around this, the publishers of this Bible substituted a phony UK title page). This conforms to Hills no 16 (The English Bible in America by Margaret Hills; see also Sabin 12929). Measuring 16.5 x 10.5, in original leather binding with red morocco spine label, fair condition at best, binding heavily worn, boards detached and worn along edges, contents good: minor institutional marks include bookplate, withdawal stamps, embossed stamp of institution in four places, text good to very good, has 28 plates including frontispiece. Toning and minor stains to pages, contents generally very good. A few plates have marginal spotting and stains, the plate of the Crucifixion has 3 inch repaired tear extending down into the margin but not the image, and the frontispiece has two marginal tears, quite reparable. Large chunk from the last plate, in Acts, taking away the top two inches of the upper right corner of the image. Contents generally good to very good, as are the plates. We've done absolutely no repairs or restoration, in order to give buyers the opportunity to bind it as they see fit. Housed in specially sized cardboard clamshell box. One of the great rarities in US Bible printing, and a high point in early American printing.