The translations are not particularly polished, and not one has remained in use, although some of the tunes to which they were sung have survived for instance, old 100th. The puritan divines of the massachusetts bay colony set out to produce a. The whole book of psalmes the americas blog the british library. The reverend jesse glover imported the first printing press to the massachusetts bay colony in 1638, some 18 years after the first english settlers landed at plymouth rock. Bay psalme book article about bay psalme book by the free. The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated into. Book published in 1640 sets a record at auction the new. This book, with which the pilgrims literally sang their praises to god. Today, sothebys will auction a copy of the first englishlanguage book printed in america. The most expensive book sold at auction the bay psalm book. Bay psalm book, byname of the whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated into english metre, 1640, perhaps the oldest book now in existence that was published in british north america. Richard mather and a group of his fellow new england clergy transcribed biblical psalms into metered verse. The bay psalm book, formally titled the whole book of psalmes faithfully translated into english metre 1640, was the first book printed on angloamerican soil. What you need to know about the bay psalm book christianity.
The bay psalm book is a metrical psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. Bay psalm book, 1640, perhaps the oldest book now in existence that was published in british north america. Nov 25, 20 the first book printed in what later became the united states of america is expected to set a world record at auction on tuesday. They never have to suffer, they stay healthy, and they dont have troubles like everyone else. The singing of psalmes, though it breath forth nothing but holy harmony, and melody. Image caption the bay psalm book has not appeared in auction since 1947 when it broke the record for highest price paid for a printed book. The bay psalm book is valued not only as an object of extreme.
In recent years, a new generation of scholars has returned to the book, seeing it from fresh perspectivesas a social document, for example, and as a physical artifact of early american life in the massachusetts bay area. The bay psalm book is a very important piece of history. The first printing press in new england was purchased and imported specifically to print this book. God is good god is truly good to israel, especially to everyone with a pure heart. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book reformed theology at. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book reformed theology at a. Written by richard mather mather, richard, 15961669, british puritan clergyman in north america, b.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Nov 15, 20 as the first printed book in america, the bay psalm book was an early harbinger of american independence. The bay psalm book was the first book printed in british north america. The bay psalm book, as this work is commonly known, is the first book printed in british north america. Psalm 23 bay psalm book scriptures good books free beta. The bay psalm book is a metrical psalter first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts.
The bay psalm book in 17thcentury new england 23 freshman at the college. The young man had asked his uncle to send him a fiddle from london. Experts have confirmed that it is the first ever bound book published and printed in america. Shurtleff obtained his copy of the bay psalm book via old south deacon loring lothrop. Psalm 23 bay psalm book, 1698, by john playford 1623.
Nov 27, 20 the bay psalm book is the first known book to be printed in what is now the united states. The main thing you need to know right now about the bay psalm book is that a copy of it is up for public sale for the first time since 1947. Printed in cambridge, massachusetts, on a press set up by stephen day. What is the bay psalm book but did you know that the bay psalm book was first printed in the colonies in 1640 and in reissues remained in use for over 100 years. The bay psalm book the first book printed in america. Today, only eleven copies are still in existence and fetch as much as fourteen million dollars at auction, making it also the most expensive book in the world.
Psalm 23 bay psalm book scriptures good books free. Americas first book set to be sold amid holy row books. The psalms in it are metrical translations into english. The communal singing of the psalms from the bay psalm book served to instill a strong sense of unity among puritans of the day. The puritan divines of the massachusetts bay colony set out to produce a translation from the hebrew that was reflective. The edition of this facsimile reprint of the bay psalm book is limited to.
Psalm 23 bay psalm book, 1698, by john playford 16231686. Bay psalm book high resolution scan from first printed in 1640 cambridge, massachusetts by stephen day and jose antonio, garcia r. It was, nevertheless, the first full venture of printing in british north america, and this ambitious effort is an. Heath anthology of american literaturethe bay psalm book. W4r from the harvard copy of the bay psalm book, showing a contemporary emendation to psalm 87, verse 6. The following is the preface to the bay psalm book. Dec 03, 2012 the bay psalm book is a key artifact in understanding the beliefs and practices of pilgrims, and the importance of music therein. This collection of psalm texts, rather than the bible itself, was the first volume published in the new world. The first book printed in british north america is expected to set a world record at auction.
Nov 27, 20 the buyer of the bay psalm book, as it is known, was david m. Bay psalm book article about bay psalm book by the free. Dec 01, 2003 the first book written and printed in the new world, the bay psalm book holds a unique place in our cultural and religious history. Rubenstein of the carlyle group, an investment firm in washington. The congregationalist puritans who emigrated to massachusetts bay in search of religious freedom quickly set about to translate and produce a version of the book of psalms that was a closer paraphrase of. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book the singing of psalms, though it breath forth nothing but holy harmony, and melody. When one considers the difficulties of mere existence during this time, a mere 20 years after the first arrivals in plymouth in 1620, the magnitude of the effort and. The book is a metrical psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. I am very desirous of obtaining one of the duplicate copies of the old bay psalm book belonging to the old south church library, having a strong veneration for the old volume.
Dec 11, 2012 the main thing you need to know right now about the bay psalm book is that a copy of it is up for public sale for the first time since 1947. The bay psalm book is valued not only as an object of extreme rarity, but also as a symbol of a future nations identity. In a more plain and useful method than hath been formerly published. Principally written by john eliot, thomas welde, and richard mather, these psalms transitioned from a literal translation to a more aesthetically pleasing metered version.
The bay psalm book 1 the lord to me a shepherd is, want therefore i shall not, he in the folds of tender grass doth make me down to lie to waters calm he gently leads restore my soul doth he he doth in paths of righteousness for his names sake lead me. The first book written and printed in the new world, the bay psalm book holds a unique place in our cultural and religious history. The bay psalm book, as it is known, is essentially sacred text to be sung during the liturgy. Considering that the bay psalm book was translated from hebrew to english, the typographical and spelling errors are to be expected. A committee of thirty learned elders, including john cotton, richard mather, and john eliot, set about the task of creating a new translation of the 150 hebrew psalms into english and casting the text into verse for singing. The bay psalm book 1640 the new england primer 1683. Adopted by nearly every congregation in the massachusetts bay colony, a revised and enlarged edition. The digital bay psalm book gives scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts alike a rich and intimate experience of the book. The whole book of psalmes, 1647, held by the british library. A london printer, stephen daye, came with the press and established a printing office in cambridge.
Psalm 73 cev book iii psalms 7389 a psalm by bible. For psalm 23 as with the other psalms, the bay psalm book just prints the tune in this case, canterbury with playfords bass line, but in fact, playfords setting is for four voices, and that. The decision to print a book of psalms metered for singing may seem an odd choice as the first book to be printed by the settlers of massachusetts bay, but this modest book served the larger purpose of the colonyto live within the reformed church. Funds were raised in england and a printing press, paper and a. Join david redden director, special projects, and selby kiffer senior specialist, special projects, as they explore the book s incalculable significance in advance of its historic auction at sothebys new york on 26 november.
From the bay psalm book psalms 47 clap hands, all people. Census of copies of the bay psalm book, with provenance, sale. It was prepared by puritan leaders of the massachusetts bay colony. He studied at oxford, began preaching, and was ordained in 1620. Bay psalm book, common hymnal of the massachusetts bay colony. The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated in to english metre 1640 also known as the bay psalm book was the first book length publication in. It was both the first book printed in the colonies and it was also the first book entirely written in the colonies. Bay psalm 23, the first work in the bay psalms set, is a delicate reflection on one of the most beloved psalms of all time coupled with a repeating mantra of the word alleluia. Psalm 23, low dutch tune richard muenz ainsworth, h bay book of psalmes the coolidge, p.
Link to the world digital library entry for the bay psalm book is here. Yea though in valley of deaths shade i walk none ill ill fear. Bay psalm book the whole booke of psalmes first edition. The bay psalm book in 17thcentury new england jstor. The first book printed in what later became the united states of america is expected to set a world record at auction on tuesday. But i almost stumbled and fell, because it made me jealous to see proud and evil people and to watch them prosper. The whole booke of psalmes, or the bay psalm book, as it is now known, is expected to sell for. The translations are not particularly polished, and not one has remained in use, although some of the tunes to which they were sung. A work written specifically for boys voices by featuring an extended alto range, bay psalm 23 offers cascading melodic lines and comforting harmonies that will delight audiences and performers alike. The library of congress copy of the bay psalm book and david m. In episode 24, we will be discussing the bay psalm book, widely regarded as the first book printed in british north america in 1640. The first stanza, which corresponds to verses 1 and 2a of the psalm, reads. Morris points out, modern critics of puritan new england poetry.
It is worth noting that the bay psalm books translations of psalms 19, 23. The bay psalm book sale view auction details, bid, buy and collect. By adding only rhyme and meter, what was the essential principle that the translators of the bay psalm book were instructed to use. The book is considered to have been the work of christian reformers seeking a. The lord to mee a shepheard is, want therefore shall not i, hee in the folds of tendergrasse, doth cause mee downe. Of course, the massachusetts bay puritans had psalters in england, and. The 23 rd psalm of the bay psalm book is filled with broken syntax, as even the most rudimentary rules of english grammar are cast aside to accommodate the true and proper sense of davids words in the hebrew verses introduction, bay psalm book. The bay psalm book 1640 was not the first book to be printed in america, and this is not it. This is a good example of the puritan notion of exclusive psalmody singing just the psalms.
Printed in cambridge, massachusetts, on a press set up by stephen day, it included a dissertation on the lawfulness and. The bay psalm book, which was printed in massachusetts in 1640, is one of 11 remaining copies of a translated version of the book of psalms. These two copies of the text are together for the first time since they were separated long ago. Together, they served to disseminate puritan values for over a hundred years. The bay psalm book and the new england primer were, next to the bible, the most commonly owned books in seventeenthcentury new england. When they displayed the book for auction, sotheby opened the book to psalm 23, printed as thus. A work written specifically for boys voices by featuring an extended alto range, bay psalm 23 offers cascading melodic lines and comforting harmonies that.
Rubensteins copy, on loan to the library for this exhibition, were at originally part of the historic old south church library in boston. Join david redden director, special projects, and s. One of only 11 surviving copies of bay psalm book the first tome printed in. John cotton 15841652, former lecturer at immanuel college in cambridge and convert of puritan, richard sibbes, is widely recognised as the author of the highly significant preface to the bay psalm book.
The 1700 copies of the first edition provided puritans with a plain and familiar translation designed to represent more faithfully the hebrew psalms than did the version used by the. It was published in cambridge, massachusetts, by the puritan leaders of the massachusetts bay colony. The bay psalm book was the first book to be printed in north america, twenty years after the arrival of the pilgrims in massachusetts. Originally, the colonys residents looked to a committee of thirty men led by john eliot, thomas welde, and richard mather to translate all 150 psalms from hebrew into english. Written by richard mather mather, richard, 15961669, british puritan clergyman in north america, b explanation of bay psalme book. New england puritans were unhappy with contemporary translations of the psalms and decided that they needed their own version, which would better represent. The 23rd psalm of the bay psalm book is filled with broken syntax, as even the. Psalm 23 and the bay psalm book the music that shaped. Jan 29, 2017 the whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated in to english metre 1640 also known as the bay psalm book was the first book length publication in the north american colonies.
The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated into english. The singing of psalms, though it breath forth nothing but holy harmony, and melody. Provided to youtube by naxos of america the whole booke of psalmes. The 1640 cambridge, massachusetts, whole booke of psalmes, or bay psalm book. The bay psalm book, printed just twenty years after the pilgrims arrival. The bay psalm book was prepared by several puritan ministers, including richard mather, nathaniel ward and thomas shepard. The announced effort of the authors to make a literal rendering at the expense of elegance is successful if the crudity of the verse be a criterion. Q2r from the bay psalm book remaining at the old south church, showing the unique reading in psalm 69, verse 23 see page 39. It will go on display in libraries across the united states. As the first printed book in america, the bay psalm book was an early harbinger of american independence. It was the first book printed in british north america.
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