An modest unassuming looking book that goes on public display this week in New York may be the most valuable book in the world.
Sotheby's auction house says it expects to get as much as $30 million for the copy of the Bay Psalm Book when it goes on sale in November.
Bay Psalm was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, making it the first book published in what is now the United States. It consists of 400 pages of bible passages. It was printed by the the Puritans, who came to America to escape religious persecution in Europe.
The edition going up for auction is owned by the Old South Church in Boston. It is one of only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book known to exist.
The last one to be sold at auction was in 1947 when it was bought for $151,000 -- a then record price.
Sotheby's auction house says it expects to get as much as $30 million for the copy of the Bay Psalm Book when it goes on sale in November.
Bay Psalm was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, making it the first book published in what is now the United States. It consists of 400 pages of bible passages. It was printed by the the Puritans, who came to America to escape religious persecution in Europe.
The edition going up for auction is owned by the Old South Church in Boston. It is one of only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book known to exist.
The last one to be sold at auction was in 1947 when it was bought for $151,000 -- a then record price.