Printing in the New World

William Hubbard, a prominent Puritan minister and historian, was born in England in 1621 and arrived in Massachusetts in 1630. In 1642 he was a member of the first graduating class at Harvard. From 1665 to 1703 he served as the minister to the church in Ipswich, Massachusetts. This book was written in 1677, just two years after the end of King Philip's War, a conflict between Native American groups and Puritans that devastated much of New England. The Connecticut River Valley was especially hard hit. Northfield, Deerfield, and Springfield were completely destroyed. Hubbard's account of this conflict was extremely popular and was reprinted many times. The volume shown here was printed in 1801, 124 years after the original printing. This book reflects the continuity of popular texts in the print age. If a book was popular, as Hubbard's was, even in a frontier region like New England at that time, it could be reprinted many times.

Images: Title page from the Narrative History
Page of text from the history, describing the attack on Springfield during King Philip's War.

The Deerfield Captive, and Indian Story being a Narrative of Facts for the Instruction of the Young by Reverend Titus Strong Published by A. Phelps Greenfield 1842

During the Puritan era in New England, many settlers were actually taken prisoner by Native Americans. Quite a number later wrote about their experiences, and these accounts were popular best-sellers of their day. The Deerfield Massacre of 1704 was one of the most famous and was written about constantly for almost two centuries. In this raid a number of Mohawks and Abenakis attacked Deerfield, then a small settlement at the edge of the frontier. Native Americans killed 49 residents and took nearly 40% of the town's residents prisoner. The captives were marched off to Canada and were held hostage, in some cases for years. Several, who were young children at the time of the attack, grew accustomed to Native American ways and chose not to return to their former Puritan homes. This small book was published for school children. It is extremely rare because books for school instruction were heavily used by several generations of students and often didn't survive the wear. It is of special importance to us since it was published here in the Connecticut River Valley.

Images: Illustrated cover from The Deerfield Captive
Illustration of house from frontispiece. This house still stands in Old Deerfield Village.
Title page and frontispiece showing house in Deerfield

Nomenclatura Brevis Anglo=Latino Printed by F. Draper Boston 1735

This small Latin textbook indicated the importance of Latin in the school curriculum of Puritan New England. Although the Bible was the most important text in the Puritan culture of the eighteenth century, the classics of Greece and Rome were still considered important and essential reading for anyone claiming to be well-educated. The wear on this volume indicates that it indeed was used heavily.

Images: Title page of textbook. Note the extreme wear, showing extensive use of this book.
Text showing English and Latin words for articles of clothing

The Charter Granted by their Majesties King William and Queen Mary, to the Inhabitants of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Printed by S. Kneeland Boston 1754

This document provided the official laws of Massachusetts until the American Revolution. Once the Revolution was underway, one of the most difficult problems for the communities of the State was how to maintain some sort of civil order. With most of the old leadership removed from office due to Loyalist sentiments, and the authority of British rule represented in this document having been discarded, many felt that law and order was at stake. In 1775, the Continental Congress, against the recommendations of John Adams, advised Massachusetts to follow the existing Charter as closely as possible. The post of Governor, traditionally appointed by the King, was to be regarded as vacant. Later, when this plan proved unworkable, the State attempted to establish a new constitution. A document was drafted in 1778, but was rejected. Only in 1780, more than five years after the outbreak of rebellion, was the State able to ratify a constitution.

This particular copy was apparently owned by someone involved in politics in Northampton, because of a hand-written note on the very first page making reference to acts to be read in Northampton's town meeting in the month of March of an unknown year. Most likely this book was owned by one of the town's lawyers.

Images: Title page of Charter
First page of Charter
Handwritten notes found on back cover. If you would like to try your hand at deciphering them, a much larger image can be found here.
Notes in front of book, evidently regarding a Northampton Town Meeting

An American Dictionary of the English Language By Noah Webster Published by S. Converse 1828

This is the original Webster's Dictionary, the ancestor of the one now published by the Merriam-Webster Company here in Springfield. It was the greatest accomplishment of Noah Webster of West Hartford, Connecticut, who was born there in 1758.

Few people of the day went to college, but Noah was so devoted to learning that his parents arranged for him to attend Yale. After graduation in 1778, Webster studied law, but he ran short of money and took up teaching in Glastonbury, Hartford, and West Hartford. Through his teaching experiences Webster realized that American schools were badly in need of reform. Classes were too large, many one-room schools had no desks, teachers were untrained, and the few books available were usually from England. Webster thought American students should study American books. So in 1783 Webster put out his first book, A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, or the "Blue-backed Speller" as most referred to it.

At the age of 43 Webster began work on the dictionary that would make him famous. His reason for embarking on this project was the realization that people in different parts of the country spelled and pronounced words differently. He believed that there was a need for a uniform American dictionary that was independent of existing English dictionaries. It took Webster 27 years to finish his 70,000 word dictionary, and when it was completed in 1828, Webster was 70 years old.

Images: Title page from Webster's Dictionary
Portrait of Noah Webster, from frontispiece of dictionary
Text page from dictionary, including definition of the word 'book'

The American Spelling Book By Noah Webster Published by William H. Niles Middletown, Connecticut 1829

This little spelling text was put out by Webster just a year after the release of his dictionary. It reflects, even at the age of 71, his unfailing interest in improving American education and reforming spelling practices. Like the small book on the Deerfield Massacre, also in this section of the exhibit, it is a typical example of the kind of books used in one-room schools in nineteenth century America.

Images: Title page of the Speller
Preface from the Speller. Note the copyright notice on the facing page.

Discourses Upon the Nature, the Design, and the Subject of the Lord's Supper By Cotton Mather Printed by Samuel Green 1690

This book is one of more than 400 publications that Mather published during his long career. The son of Increase Mather and the grandson on different sides of the family of John Cotton and Richard Mather, Cotton Mather entered Harvard at the age of 12 and received his M.A. degree from his father, then President of the College, at 18. He was formally ordained in 1685, just five years before the publication of this book. His most controversial episode was his involvement with the Salem witchcraft trials. At first he supported the trials, but later joined his father in suggesting that the affair had gone too far.

Mather's interest in science is legendary. He was an early advocate of inoculation against smallpox, and wrote widely on science. His book Curiosa Americana (1712-1724) won him membership in the Royal Society, an exclusive group of the most important scientists of the day. Mather was also known for his library, which numbered more than 3,000 volumes, the largest private library in North America at that time.

Images: Title page
Page of text. Note that at the foot of the page the first word of the next page is set at the far margin. Early printers used this method as a memorandum when setting type and also when binding the final pages together.

Click on thumbnails for full-page images.