Provenance

Unknown.

Preferred citation

Cite as: Jane Aitken Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Recatalogued by Anne Harney, 2001.

Related material

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and The Rosenbach Museum and Library both have a small number of Aitken materials.

Early American History Note

This collection consists of Aitken family papers and correspondence. The bulk of the collection relates to Jane Aitken's life and dates from 1800 to 1814, the height of Jane Aitken’s business career. Much of the correspondence is between Aitken and John Vaughan, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant who served as Jane’s investor and benefactor when she fell on hard times.

The early portion of the collection deals primarily with Jane’s attempt to settle her father’s estate and her attempts to finance her own business endeavor. The subsequent letters are often about agreements between Aitken and Vaughan over credit and debts. Very few letters contain personal content. The later portion of the collection includes a detailed accounting of Aitken’s business estate and its liquidation.

Jane Aitken was likely Philadelphia’s first female printer. Born the eldest of three children of Robert and Janet Aitken in Scotland, she emigrated with the rest of her family when her father set off to establish a press in Philadelphia. Robert Aitken opened a shop in Philadelphia in 1771 and immediately began producing the staples of American printers: almanacs and other short utilitarian works. In 1782, he branched out and printed, with the approval of the Continental Congress, the first English language version of King James’ Bible ever printed in North America. “Aitken’s Bible” was considered an exemplary piece of printing but proved to be a financially fraught undertaking that left Aitken in arrears.

Jane took over her father’s business sometime around her father’s death in 1802, although she likely played a prominent role in the business prior to his death. She printed a variety of works, including the Transactions for the American Philosophical Society. Like her father, she undertook an ambitious Bible project called the “Thomson Bible.” The four-volume Bible printed in 1808 was, like her father’s before her, well-received for its craftsmanship but a commercial failure. Like her father, Jane fell into debt and eventually spent time in debtor’s prison in 1813. After her release, she did some binding work before her death in 1832.