The Bay Psalm Book, similar to the one pictured, is going up for auction in New York City and could possibly fetch a record amount for a printed book.
The little book of psalms was made in 1640 and is believed to be the first book ever printed in the United States, The Associated Press reports. The Bay Psalm Book is being put up by Sotheby's for auction and estimates have the book going for between $15 million to $30 million.
This copy is one of only 11 left in existence and one of two owned by Old South Church in Boston. CEO and Rev. Nancy Taylor said, "It's a spectacular book, arguably one of the most important books in this nation's history."
Old South Church used to own five copies of the book, but one copy is now at Brown University, another at the Library of Congress and Yale University. The church is selling off one copy to help fund charity work and construction repairs that are needed, according to The Telegraph.
The book's full title is The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre and was originally printed to be a closer translation to the original Hebrew than the King James Bible.
"The Bay Psalm Book is a mythical rarity. With it, New England declared its independence from the Church of England," Sotheby's David Redden said. "We have sold books as much as $11.5 million in the past, which are far less rare than this ... it's the greatest rarity in the book world. Nothing is as desirable as the Bay Psalm Book."
The current auction record for a printed book is Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Hammer that contains his scientific writings and diagrams, which went for $30.8 million.
image: Wikimedia Commons
