First Illustrated American Bible

English Bible. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments.
Worcester, Massachusetts: Isaiah Thomas, 1791. (00111)

Isaiah Thomas (1749–1831) was the first major printer in the English colonies and the United States. A publisher of books and newspapers as well as a bookseller, papermaker, and binder, he also assisted many American partners establish printing presses. In addition, his History of Printing in America, first published in 1810, is still an essential source for the study of early North American typography. Containing fifty-five engraved plates, his 1791 folio edition of the King James Bible was the first illustrated Bible printed in America.