Early Indigenous Literatures

Bible Annotation 2

Although challenging to photograph due to the inability to pick up the Bible, it is apparent that “Eliot’s Indian” is written on the spine. This is perhaps referring to James Printer but he is not explicitly named here. The refusal to name non-English contributors was a common occurrence. Parker explains that often texts “were printed with little or no acknowledgement or naming of Indian storytellers, translators, and transcribers, with minimal explanation of how stories were edited.”[1] The omission is quite unjust considering the vast amount of labor Printer completed. Lisa Brooks writes about Printer’s efforts in detail, writing, “Working two presses, twelve to thirteen hours a day, on the lower floor of the Indian College, printing one sheet at a time after setting out each piece of type by hand, Green, Printer, and Johnson were able to produce a full version of the Bible entitled Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God, which was distributed in wide-ranging networks of trade.”[2] Despite this vast amount of hours and labor, Printer’s name is silenced and he is not deemed a dominant contributor who deserves credit and authorship in the paratexts.
 
[1] Robert Dale Parker, “The Hum of Routine: Issues for the Study of Early American Indian Print Culture: a Response to Phillip H. Round,” (2007), 291.
[2] Lisa Brooks, Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War, (2018), 88.

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