First Native American Printing Press

[Dan Christian]

On February 21, 1828, the first printing press designed to use Sequoyah's newly invented Cherokee alphabet (a system representing each syllable in the Cherokee language with a separate written character) arrives at New Echota, Georgia. Within months, the first Indian language newspaper, called the Cherokee Phoenix, appeared in print.

To celebrate this phenomenal achievement and to remind us how poorly we have treated our Native Americans, A. Parker's Books and Book Bazaar offers the following:

Meredith, David, J. S. Truitt, and John J. Hubbard. MEMORIAL OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ASSOCIATION IN THE CHEROKEE NATION, INDIAN TERRITORY. Afton, Indian Territory: The News Print, nd. Unpaginated. Softcover. 8vo. Off white paper wrappers. Front wrap minimally foxed; wraps creased vertically in one place and horizontally in two places; wraps lightly toned; faded numeral in colored pencil to rear wrap at top. Pages toned, with some underlining in pencil. Still, very good.

and

Wilson, Lumpkin. REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS FROM GEORGIA...INCLUDING HIS SPEECHES IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS ON THE INDIAN QUESTION…New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1907. 2 vols. One of an edition limited to 500 copies. Lacks both frontisportraits called for by Howes, but this is not unusual. 369; 328 pp. Hardcover. 8vo. Dark blue Leather-grained cloth. Gilt lettering on spines poorly executed; endpapers and half-titles lightly soiled and foxed, else quite good.