Rare US hymn book to fetch up to USD 30 million at auction

A rare hymn book from 1640 believed to be the first book printed in the US is expected to fetch up to USD 30 million at an auction here.
The Bay Psalm Book that will go on auction is one of two copies owned by the Old South Church in Boston.
When the Bay Psalm Book was first printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1,700 copies were made and few have survived.
One of the 11 remaining copies of the rare book is predicted to sell between USD 15 million to USD 30 million when it goes under the hammer in New York on November 26.

"The Bay Psalm Book was not only the first book printed in America, and the first book written in America. This little book of 1640 was precursor to Lexington and Concord, and, ultimately, to American political independence. With it, New England declared its independence from the Church of England," said David Redden, Director of Special Projects and Worldwide Chairman of Sotheby's Books Department.
"Of inestimable significance, The Bay Psalm Book is not simply one of the great icons of book history, it is one of the greatest artifacts of American history," said Selfy Kiffer, International Senior Specialist in Sotheby's Special Projects department.

The last Bay Psalm Book was bought at a Sotheby's auction in January 1947 for USD 151,000 - the highest price for any printed book sold up to that time, the auction house said in a statement.

The Bay Psalm book is a translation of the original Hebrew psalms into English by the Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay.
As early as 1636, the Puritans were discussing the need for a translation that would more exactly articulate the Hebrew text.
The leading scholars and ministers of Massachusetts Bay determined therefore to produce a new metrical translation.
Their paraphrase, based on contemporary English translations but with close attention given to the original Hebrew, was the work of several men who represented the greatest minds of colonial New England at the time, including John Cotton, Richard Mather, and John Eliot.