(Rare Books & Manuscripts)
, opens a new windowJohn Allen Lewis of Boston (1819-1885), was a collector of early New England imprints with a particular interest in the earliest Boston printing presses.
The collection bearing his name was donated to the BPL in 1890, 5 years after his death.
The Lewis collection is particularly rich in editions from the press of John Foster, including a copy of the first book printed in Boston: Increase Mather's The Wicked Man's Portion (1675). The collection also contains several works by William Penn and more than 200 works by Increase and Cotton Mather. Additional highlights include William Hubbard’s Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians, with the "White Hills" map (1677); John Underhill’s Newes from America (1638); and the Massachusetts Psalter (1709). The Lewis collection also contains several of the issues from Benjamin Franklin’s press, including copies of the Poor Richard Almanack.
Online access: A digitized version of the printed catalog of this collection, opens a new window is available through Internet Archive.
