American History Prints > We Are Pilgrims

Moku hanga woodblock print of Algonquin Bible page, book of Genesis, and new england indian petroglyphs by Annie Bissett
THE FIRST BOOK
Japanese Woodblock Print
19" x 14.5" (48 x 37 cm)

Puritan missionary John Eliot's 1663 Indian Bible, a Wampanoag Algonquin language translation, was the first Bible printed in America. In 1993-94, six generations after the last native speaker of Wampanoag had passed, a Mashpee linguist named Jessie Littledoe Baird co-founded the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project. The John Eliot Bible is playing a major role in this project as one of the primary texts that has preserved Algonquin grammar and vocabulary.

The text in this print is entirely hand-carved (it took me about a month), printed on top of a wash of English tea with pictographs from Dighton rock and illustrations added.

Read more about this print here on my blog (scroll to the bottom and read up).

16" x 12" (40.5 x 30.5 cm) image size
made with 5 shina plywood blocks
5 hand-rubbed color layers on Nishinouchi paper.
Edition: 11