Earliest printed record of the phrase "in the blink of an eye"?

Solution 1:

In the blink of an eye is a later version of the much older similar expression “In the twinkling of an eye”, which, as the Phrase Finder notes:

It is recorded by Robert Manning of Brunne, in Handlyng synne, 1303: "Yn twynkelyng of an ye"

It is also used in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:52 (King James Version): In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

It was later used by Shakespeare in The Merchant Of Venice, 1596: "I'll take my leave of the Jew in the twink of an eye”

As you can see from Google Books “In the blink of an eye” emerged in the second half of the 19th c. and, apparently, is now the more commonly used.

An early usage example is from Chambers's Edinburgh journal of Popular Literature conducted by W. Chambers, 1874:

She 's that quick, she was gone like the blink of an eye ; and, besides, Jenny, she is not one to be easily hindered when she 's set upon a thing.

And from A Cook Book, 1876:

Ho ! all ye poor sinners , in search of good dinners , You'll surely be winners , if our plan you will try ; Only just take a look in this wise little book , And ' twill teach you to cook in the blink of an eye.