Lunch Bite on Patriot Printer Robert Aitken
February 16, 2018 |
Library Director Ellen McCallister Clark discusses the career of the Philadelphia printer, binder and bookseller Robert Aitken. Born in Scotland, Aitken immigrated to America in 1771 and soon became one of the key printers in Philadelphia whose work supported the cause of American independence. Among his projects were the Journals of Congress, The Pennsylvania Magazine (edited for a time by Thomas Paine) and several military manuals. In 1779, he received the contract for binding the first official regulations of the army, which came to be known as the “Blue Book” for the color of its simple board covers. He is best remembered as the printer of the first English-language Bible published in America, which received the endorsement of Congress during the war in 1782.
A number of works issued from Aitken’s shop are on view in the Society’s current exhibition, Books in the Field: Studying the Art of War in Revolutionary America, and several other examples will be on display during the talk.
|
Website:
www.societyofthecincinnati.org/events/public |
| |
| Location Information |
|
Anderson House |
2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC |
| |
| Contact Information |
|
Catherine Harris |
| Email:
charris@societyofthecincinnati.org |
|