History of the Aitken Bible
The following is a summarization of the historical background of the Aitken Bible. We have provided the four sections of the History in the tabs below. ​​
The Aitken Bible (frequently misspelled as "Aiken") holds a unique place in American history as the first complete English-language Bible printed in America and the only Bible to receive an official endorsement from the United States Congress. Published in 1782 by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken, it is widely referred to by historians as the "Bible of the Revolution." 1. The Wartime Shortage (The "Why") Prior to the American Revolutionary War, the British Crown maintained strict regulations and licensing laws over the printing of English Bibles. As a result, the American colonies were legally forced to import all English Bibles from Great Britain. When the Revolutionary War broke out, a British naval blockade completely cut off trade. This created a severe shortage of Bibles across the newly independent states, heavily impacting schools, churches, and private households. 2. Robert Aitken’s Solution In 1777, the Continental Congress initially considered importing 20,000 Bibles from Holland or Scotland, but the logistics failed. Seeing an opportunity, Robert Aitken, a Scottish immigrant who served as an official printer for the journals of Congress, decided to take matters into his own hands. • 1777: Aitken independently printed a copy of the New Testament. • 1781: He petitioned Congress for official backing to print a full English Bible (King James Version) at his own expense. • Wartime Secrecy: According to historical lore, Aitken at one point had to bury his printing type in a barn to prevent it from being captured and melted down by British troops. 3. The Congressional Endorsement On September 12, 1782, after a committee and the congressional chaplains reviewed Aitken's work for accuracy, the Continental Congress issued an official resolution. They noted that they "highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken" and recommended his edition to the inhabitants of the United States. A copy of this congressional resolution was bound directly into the front pages of the finished Bibles. 4. Commercial Failure and Financial Ruin Despite its historical and national significance, the Aitken Bible was a devastating commercial failure. Aitken funded the massive production of roughly 10,000 copies entirely out of his own pocket, expecting a lucrative market. However, the Revolutionary War ended shortly after its release in 1783. The trade blockades lifted, and cheaper, higher-quality British Bibles flooded the American market. Unable to compete with British prices, Aitken was left with massive unsold inventory and plunged into severe debt. 5. Legacy & Contemporary Debate • Rarity: Out of the estimated 10,000 copies printed, only about 30 to 40 complete original copies survive today, making it an incredibly rare and prized artifact for institutions like the Library of Congress and the Museum of the Bible. • A Female Printing Milestone: Following Robert Aitken's death in 1802, his daughter Jane Aitken inherited the press. In 1808, she printed the Thomson Bible, becoming the first woman in the United States to print an English Bible translation. • Church and State Debate: In modern politics, the Aitken Bible remains a focal point. Christian nationalists often cite the 1782 congressional resolution as proof that America was founded as a explicitly Christian nation. Conversely, legal historians note that Congress never gave the book financial backing or institutional authority but rather praised it as a triumph of American manufacturing and economic independence during wartime.
The Bible of the American Revolution
Isaiah Thomas, the first historian of American printing, reported that by 1775 there were 50 presses in the Colonies. Yet, prior to the American Revolution, there had been no publication of the English Bible in the Colonies. All demands for Bibles had to be met by importing Bibles from England and the Continent.
It is true that there was a scarcity of the type and paper necessary for the successful publication of a book as large as the Bible. Most of the presses were used for the impression of smaller publications, such as documents, proclamations, pamphlets, and papers.
However, there was a far more serious consideration that kept the English Bible from being printed by an American printer. It was, in fact, illegal to print the Bible in America.
Royal Restrictions on the Bible
Publication of the Bible in any lands under the British crown was restricted. In order to insure accuracy in printing, as well as control the stream of revenue, permission was given to the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses and to one other printer licensed by the king. In Scotland, special licenses were required.
Nevertheless, there is the fascinating story that an edition of the English Bible and several Testaments were printed in Boston about 1750. But no copy has ever been satisfactorily identified, for the paper and type would have been imported and, according to the story, a British imprint was employed.
While the Royal License applied only to the publication of the text of the King James Bible, without comment, there seems to have been no restriction on annotated editions. But these publications were usually large and elaborate, filled with engravings. They were, consequently, expensive and had to be financed by subscription. Several such projects had been proposed in the Colonies but had foundered for lack of support.
In addition, the restriction also did not apply to Bible translations. So in 1663, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, John Eliot printed a complete translation in the Algonquian language for the Native Americans of that area. Later, Christopher Saur and his sons in Germantown, Pennsylvania, printed three editions of the Bible in the German language, in 1743, 1763 and 1776.
Furthermore, the restriction did not apply to the printing of the New Testament by itself in English. This effort was undertaken for the first time in America by Philidelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1777. Over the next few years, Aitken would prove to be a pivotal figure in the printing of the Bible in America.
Aitken Comes to America
Born in Dalkeith, Scotland, in 1734, Aitken had learned the art of bookbinding and gone into the book business in Paisley. When he was about 35 years old, he left his wife and three children behind while he came to America to investigate the prospects of publishing and selling books here.
Shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia, he advertised for sale, for ready money only, a long list of "the very best books" and ordered printed two books—a Shorter Catechism and A Dialogue between Jockey and Maggy, or How to Court a Country Girl. These appeared with his imprint (but without printer identification) in 1770.
Evidently satisfied with the outlook, Aitken returned home to Scotland in November. By May 10, 1771, Aitken was back in Philadelphia with his wife, Janet, and two children, Jane and Robert, Jr., his third child having died while he was in America.
Aitken set up shop in Philadelphia on Front Street, nearly opposite the London Coffee House, with paper stock he had purchased for 50 pounds. The list of stock, as of June 11, 1771, is shown in his "Waste Book," a large folio (now with the Pennsylvania Historical Society) which covers his accounts from 1771 to 1802.
The wide-ranging list includes, in addition to books and stationery items, yard goods, silver knee buckles, needle cases, a bird cage, six gilt school Bibles at five shillings, and twelve Pocket School Bibles at six shillings three pence. He thus established himself in Philadelphia as a bookseller and soon thereafter as a publisher and binder.
In January 1775, Aitken began publication of a sophisticated monthly, The Pennsylvania Magazine, with a subscription list of 600. His editor was Thomas Paine, future author of Common Sense and The American Crisis. Each issue was a large octavo-size magazine of 48 pages, and it has been described as one of the most attractive of early American periodicals.
The First New Testament in America
It was in 1777 that Aitken decided to test the market with a New Testament, a small book of 353 pages, measuring five and a half by three and an eighth inches. Other editions are recorded but according to The English Bible in America, no copies are known to be in existence. Subsequently, other publishers in America followed his lead with their editions of New Testaments:
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1779 Isaac Collins, Trenton
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1780 Thomas and Fleet, Boston
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Hall and Sellers, Philadelphia
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Francis Bailey, Philadelphia
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Isaac Collins, Trenton
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1781 James Adams, Wilmington, Delaware
While Aitken's "Waste Book" shows sales of Testaments in the last few days of August 1777, there are no more entries until after the British had left Philadelphia in June of 1778. Then, on July 18th, he advertised in the Pennsylvania Evening Post a new "neat" edition of the New Testament, just published, and sales reappear in his "Waste Book."
Thus, the Algonquin Bible of John Eliot, the German Bible of Christopher Saur, and the English New Testament of Robert Aitken constitute the only known publications of the Bible in colonial America until the closing years of the War of the Revolution.
All of the above set the stage for the printing of a book that generations of historians would later refer to as “The Bible of the American Revolution.”
Adapted from the following source: Hills, Margaret T., The English Bible in America, New York: American Bible Society and The New York Public Library, 1961.
The Only Bible Recommended to Americans
On January 21, 1781, it seemed at last to have been an opportune time for Robert Aitken to present to Congress a memorial on the first English Bible to be made in America.
To the Honourable The Congress
of the United States of America
The Memorial of Robert Aitken
of the City of Philadelphia, Printer
Humbly Sheweth
That in every well regulated Government in Christendom The Sacred Books of the Old and New Testament, commonly called the Holy Bible, are printed and published under the Authority of the Sovereign Powers, in order to prevent the fatal confusion that would arise, and the alarming Injuries the Christian Faith might suffer from the Spurious and erroneous Editions of Divine Revelation. That your Memorialist has no doubt but this work is an Object worthy the attention of the Congress of the United States of America, who will not neglect spiritual security, while they are virtuously contending for temporal blessings. Under this persuasion your Memorialist begs leave to inform your Honours That he both begun and made considerable progress in a neat Edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools, But being cautious of suffering his copy of the Bible to Issue forth without the sanction of Congress, Humbly prays that your Honours would take this important matter into serious consideration & would be pleased to appoint one Member or Members of your Honourable Body to inspect his work so that the same may be published under the Authority of Congress. And further, your Memorialist prays, that he may be commissioned or otherwise appointed & Authorized to print and vend Editions of the Sacred Scriptures, in such manner and form as may best suit the wants and demands of the good people of these States, provided the same be in all things perfectly consonant to the Scriptures as heretofore Established and received amongst us.
And as in Duty bound your Memorialist shall every pray
Robt. Aitken
Philadelphia. 21, Jany. 1781.
An Appointed Printer
Of course, by this point, Robert Aitken was no stranger to the respected gentlemen of Congress. Years earlier, from September 1776 until May 1778, he had served as the appointed printer for the Journals of Congress.
In December 1776, when the Continental Congress retreated to Baltimore, they sent an "express" to Aitken requesting that he bring his press and utensils at public expense to Baltimore, where he might locate and continue his engagement with Congress. But Aitken decided to remain in Philadelphia.
Presently, on January 26, 1781, Robert Aitken's memorial to Congress for aid in printing the Bible was referred to "the committee on the Motion for Printing the Old and New Testament," but it would be over 18 months before any action was taken on it.
On September 1, 1782, the committee appointed by Congress to consider Aitken's project learned the completed Bible was almost ready for publication. At last, the representatives took action by requesting the Chaplains of Congress to examine the proposed edition for accuracy.
The Chaplains of Congress
The two Chaplains of Congress were distinguished citizens of Philadelphia—from different denominations—a sign the American Congress, unlike their British counterparts, would not favor one religious group over another.
The first chaplain, Rev. Dr. William White, rector of Christ Church, was instrumental in organizing the Protestant Episcopal Church in America. He later became the first president of the Bible Society of Philadelphia, the first Bible Society established in the United States.
The second chaplain, the Rev. George Duffield, was pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. After the war, he was to be one of the leaders in the formation of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
But before the report of the Chaplains was received, Aitken himself sent another memorial to Congress. Dated September 9th, it declared that his Bible, "accomplished in the midst of the Confusion and Distresses of War," had at last been completed. In seeking the aid of Congress, he suggested their purchase of a portion of the edition on the account of the United States: "One Fourth of it will Amount to 200 Bibles for each State…."
The First American Bible
The Chaplains of Congress, Dr. White and Mr. Duffield, gave a favorable report on September 10, 1782, praising Aitken's Bible for its "great accuracy". Two days later, on the 12th, the Committee reported to Congress, submitting copies of both their request to the Chaplains and the Chaplains' report.
The same day Congress declared they “highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion, as well as an instance of the progress of arts in this country…." In addition, our Founders continued, “they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States….”
Furthermore, Congress graciously authorized Aitken “to publish this recommendation in any manner he shall think proper." Aitken thought it proper to print the official documents in his Bible, immediately following the title page.
Thus, Atiken published his Bible on September 25th, 1782. That day Aitken placed an advertisement of his Bible, just below the full text of the action of the Congress and the Committee reports, in the Freeman's Journal, a periodical established in 1781 whose masthead claimed that it was "Open to all parties but influenced by none."
On that same day, Aitken sent a parcel to John Hanson, then president of the Congress. The item included was for the use of that body and as an example of the work they had honored with their patronage. Inside the package, the president of the Congress found a special copy of the Aitken Bible—the only Bible recommended to Americans by our Founders.
Adapted from the following source: Hills, Margaret T., The English Bible in America, New York: American Bible Society and The New York Public Library, 1961.
The Only Bible Approved by Congress
By 1777, the War of the American Revolution had entered its second year. Since the fateful firing of the "first shot" on Lexington Green, the Continental Congress, sitting in Philadelphia, had been required to make many crucial decisions, both military and political.
Now, in July 1777, a petition signed by three clergymen was placed before that dedicated body of colonial representatives, calling for a determination of an entirely different nature.
The embargo on trade with Britain had cut off our supply of Bibles. In addition, the British royal license on the Bible made it illegal to print the King James version in America. For these reasons, America was running out of Bibles. Thus, three pastors wrote to our Founders in Congress.
To the honourable Continental Congress of the United States of North America now sitting in Philadelphia.
Honoured Gentlemen
We the Ministers of the Gospel of Christ in the City of Philadelphia, whose names are under written, taking it into our serious consideration that in our present circumstances, books in general, and in particular, the holy Scriptures contained in the old and new Testaments are growing so scarce and dear, that we greatly fear that unless timely care be used to prevent it, we shall not have bibles for our schools and families, and for the publick worship of God in our churches.
We therefore think it our duty to our country and to the churches of Christ to lay this danger before this honourable house, humbly requesting that under your care, and by your encouragement, a copy of the holy Bible may be printed, so as to be sold nearly as cheap as the common Bibles, formerly imported from Britain and Ireland, were sold.
The number of purchasers is so great, that we doubt not but a large impression would soon be sold, But unless the sale of the whole edition belong to the printer, and he be bound under sufficient penalties, that no copy be sold by him, nor by any retailer under him, at a higher price than that allowed by this honourable house, we fear that the whole impression would soon be bought up, and sold again at an exorbitant price, which would frustrate your pious endeavours and fill the country with just complaints.
We are persuaded that your care and seasonable interposition will remove the anxious fears of many pious and well disposed persons; would prevent the murmurs of the discontented; would save much money to the United States; would be the means of promoting Christian knowledge in our churches, and would transmit your names with additional honour to the latest posterity.
Our sincere prayers shall ever be for your welfare and prosperity, and we beg leave with the greatest respect to subscribe our selves
Honoured Gentlemen
Your most obedient humble servants
Francis Alison
John Ewing
William Marshalle
Congress Considers the Bible
The petition was referred to a committee of three, which included John Adams, the future second president of the United States. Adams and the others (Daniel Roberdeau and Jonathan Bayard Smith) drafted a questionnaire on Bible printing for the printers in Philadelphia. Among these printers was Robert Aitken, who had served as the appointed printer for the Journals of Congress since September 1776. (Aitken would continue as the appointed printer until May 1778.) Notably, Aitken published the first volume of the Journals containing the Declaration of Independence.
Back in Congress, the petition was reported on again on September 11, 1777. In the report, John Adams and the others stated that the committee had "conferred fully with the printers, etc. in this city and are of the opinion, that the proper types for printing the Bible are not to be had in this country, and that the paper cannot be procured, but with such difficulties and subject to such casualties as render any dependence on it altogether improper…."
Therefore, the report continued, since “the use of the Bible is so universal, and its importance so great … your committee recommend that Congress will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the states in the Union."
Yet, on that day, Congress was also focused on more pressing matters. That same day American General George Washington was fighting the Battle of the Brandywine. At the same time, British General John Burgoyne was on his way toward Saratoga. Before long, Philadelphia would he occupied by the British troops of General Sir William Howe, and Congress itself would flee to Lancaster and then to York.
While the motion carried by a narrow margin, seven to six, a subsequent motion was passed ordering "that the consideration thereof be postponed to Saturday next." However, since nothing more is known concerning this resolution, it is doubted whether the beleaguered Congress ever took steps to effect its implementation.
Adams, Aitken, and the Bible
Meanwhile, several weeks after John Adams and the others had sent the questionnaire on Bible printing to Robert Aitken, Aitken published the first New Testament in America. Aitken placed an advertisement for his New Testament in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on August 28, 1777.
It is interesting to consider that either John Adams gave Robert Aitken the idea to print the first New Testament in America or the timing was quite a coincidence. Finding the demand high for his New Testament, for the next five years, Aitken published a new edition each year.
Thus, the seeds had been planted for the first American Bible. Indeed, the work done so far would prove to be a warm-up to the main event: not only the printing of a New Testament which was possibly influenced by John Adams, but a complete edition of the Holy Scriptures which would become the only Bible approved by Congress.
Adapted from the following source: Hills, Margaret T., The English Bible in America, New York: American Bible Society and The New York Public Library, 1961.
Read the History of the Aitken Bible in Four Parts by clicking the tabs.
The First English Bible Made in America
The first English Bible made in America was relatively small in dimensions. It measured but five and five-eighths inches by three and one-eighth inches. Printed in brevier type on American-made paper, it contained 726 leaves (1,452 pages). It is considered to be an excellent piece of printing with remarkably few divided words and with pages unmarred by "rivers" of blank space.
The edition consisted of 10,000 copies in which, as was the custom in small King James version Bibles, the books of the Apocrypha were omitted. The graceful title page carried the coat of arms of Pennsylvania. Below that was the designation "Printed and Sold by R. Aitken."
George Washington
When the Aitken Bible was issued, the American Revolution was nearing its end. In 1783, Dr. John Rodgers, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in New York, wrote to his friend General George Washington concerning the Aitken Bible. Rodgers suggested that copies of the Aitken Bible could be presented to each of the soldiers in the army when they were discharged.
General Washington replied that, unfortunately, this worthy suggestion came too late. Congress had already ordered the discharge of two-thirds of the army. The Father of Our Country lamented the fact that he would not be able to give a copy of the Aitken Bible to each of his men, writing:
Your Proposition respecting Mr Aikins Bible would have been particularly noticed by me, had it been suggested in season. But the late Resolution of Congress for discharging Part of the Army, takg off near two thirds of our Numbers, it is now too late to make the Attempt. It would have pleased me well, if Congress had been pleased to make such an important present to the brave fellows; who have done so much for the Security of their Country’s Rights and Establishment.
Sacrifice and Perseverance
With the cessation of hostilities, trade was soon renewed with Britain and the Continent. For Robert Aitken, it meant that the sale of his Bible would be challenged by the importation of less expensive and more attractive copies of the Scriptures.
Aitken’s Presbyterian friends tried to encourage the exclusive purchase of his Bible within the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. Yet, his "Waste Book" records for the ensuing years indicate relatively small returns from their distribution.
Nevertheless, Aitken continued in the book business often producing very fine examples of the binder's art he had learned as a youth in Scotland. In 1785, he began a publication of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, for which he and his daughter also produced many special bindings.
Many years later, in 1808, daughter Jane Aitken was to publish a four-volume Bible which contained the translation of the Greek Septuagint Old Testament. This work was written by Charles Thomson, who had served as secretary through the entirety of the Continental Congress, from 1774 until his retirement in 1789. His Bible was the first translation of that Greek text into English ever made.
Overcome by Competition
In 1789, Aitken appealed to Congress for a patent for the exclusive right to print Bibles in America for 14 years. It was denied. By that time, a number of American printers were publishing Testaments, and in 1790 the Rheims-Douay Bible of Mathew Carey and a smaller Bible by William Young were published, both in Philadelphia.
In 1791, Isaiah Thomas at Worcester and Isaac Collins at Trenton began their series of fine editions, and the American printing trade was well launched into the publication of the Scriptures. By 1800, there had been printed 24 editions of the whole English Bible and 48 of the New Testament, mostly in Philadelphia, Boston, Trenton, Wilmington, New York, and Worcester.
The sad picture of Robert Aitken's financial status a decade after his first memorial to Congress can be glimpsed in a communication he sent in 1791 to John Nicholson, at that time Receiver of general taxes for the state of Pennsylvania. As Aitken wrote:
I have calculated from my true loss by Continental money 3,000 and on the Edition of 10,000 Bibles 4000—owing to these you may readily figure my situation. My house is under mortgage for a considerable sum, a foreign debt, though not of its value. I have other debts to pay, not considerable—what I earn goes to pay them as soon as earned….
A Lasting Legacy
Upon the death of Robert Aitken in 1802, the Gazette of the United States in its issue of July 2nd said simply:
On the 14th in the 68th year of his age, Mr. Robert Aitken Sen. of this city, Printer: near 40 years a respectable inhabitant of this city; through the whole of an useful life regarded far his integrity and probity; and leaving behind him a family, carefully brought up in the paths of industry and virtue.
Today, of the original 10,000 copies of his Bible, only a few are known to exist. In 1940, the Rev. Edwin A. R. Rumball-Petre was able to locate 28 copies in institutions here and abroad and 22 in private collections. A more recent estimate places the number at only 32 copies in total, with three of these in private hands. Imagination alone may dare to suggest the fate of the rest.
In fact, the Aitken Bible has become one of the rarest books in the world. In addition, it has become one of the most highly sought after. An auction of one original Aitken Bible at Christie’s on June 14, 2018 yielded a winning payout of $118,750.
Indeed, with the passage of time has come an appreciation for what Aitken accomplished. Not forgotten is the Bible of the American Revolution, the only Bible approved by Congress, the only Bible recommended to Americans by our Founders, and the first English Bible made in America. Thus, the Aitken Bible stands as a most important marker of a most significant time in American history.
Adapted from the following source: Hills, Margaret T., The English Bible in America, New York: American Bible Society and The New York Public Library, 1961.