A leaf from the first Bible printed in the English language in America. These leaves are 222 years old. Called “The Bible of the Revolution”, Robert Aitken’s little Bible was small enough to fit into the coat pocket of the Revolutionary War soldiers. The leaves measure only 6 inches tall by almost 4 inches wide. The only Bible printing ever called for by an act of the United States Congress; this King James Version Bible helped meet the need for scriptures while England refused to allow their Bibles to be imported by the rebellious colonists, during the embargo of the Revolutionary War.

As a curious side note: Robert Aitken’s daughter, Jane Aitken, went on to become the first woman in the history of the world to ever print a Bible. Jane published a translation into English done by the Secretary of the United States Congress, which was itself actually the first non-King James version English language Bible ever printed in America (or the Western Hemisphere for that matter).

Photo and descriptions from http://www.greatsite.com/facsimile-reproductions/index.html