To mark the holiday season, CQ Roll Call introduces you to a very special piece of American history now at the Library of Congress: the Bay Psalm Book, printed by the Puritans in 1640 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

It is the first book printed in what is now the United States.

The printing of the book was not only pivotal in developing religious expression and a political culture in the 13 colonies but it also helped spread press freedom. It is estimated that 1,700 copies were printed but only 11 copies remain.

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