The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible or the Mazarin Bible, is considered to be the first major book printed with movable type in the West. It marked the start of the “Gutenberg Revolution” and the age of printed books in the West. Its production demonstrated the potential of the printing press as a means of disseminating texts quickly and accurately.
The Gutenberg Bible was printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany in the 1450s. Gutenberg had developed a method of movable type printing, in which individual letters could be arranged and rearranged to print multiple pages. This allowed books to be printed much more quickly and cheaply than existing methods of hand-copying manuscripts.
Gutenberg’s workshop printed about 180 copies of the Bible on paper and vellum (prepared animal skin). Of these, 48 copies are known to have survived to the present, some substantially complete and some just fragmentary. Complete copies are valued at millions of dollars for their rarity and significance in book history.
The Gutenberg Bible contains the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. It has 1,286 pages and consists of the Old and New Testaments plus common introductory and explanatory material. It was not the first Bible ever printed, but it was the earliest complete one printed in the West with movable type and the first produced on a large scale.
The text of the Gutenberg Bible is neatly and uniformly printed in a legible blackletter typeface, usingUBLE SPACEink that contrasts nicely against the paper. Some copies were rubricated, having red headers and decoration added by hand. The technique of metal movable type, together with oil-based inks and wooden hand presses, allowed books to be printed in larger numbers and much more quickly than manual copying.
The significance of the Gutenberg Bible goes beyond religion or publishing. It has been praised for its high aesthetic and technical quality, and the materials and processes used were important advances. The organized workflow in Gutenberg’s shop was an influential step towards modern mass production. The impact of wider book ownership that printing enabled cannot be overstated.
In summary, the key facts about the Gutenberg Bible are:
- It was the first major book printed in the West with movable metal type.
- Printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany around 1455.
- 180 copies were printed, of which 48 are known to survive today.
- Contains Latin text of the Vulgate Bible translation.
- Significance lies in printing technology as well as religious impact.
- Marked the beginning of a revolution – the printed book and mass communication.
The Development of the Printing Press
To understand the significance of the Gutenberg Bible, it helps to know the evolution of the printing press that made it possible. Practical printing first appeared in East Asia, where ink rubbings from stone carvings were used to reproduce images and text. Movable clay type was later invented during the Northern Song dynasty in China around 1040 AD. But a complete movable type printing system did not become widespread there.
In medieval Europe, books were painstakingly produced by hand, usually by monks who would copy texts letter by letter in monasteries. Most books focused on biblical, theological or classical texts. Wider availability of books required a new method of mass production. A few different ways of printing were tried, using woodblocks or movable type made of ceramics, but none proved economically viable.
Johannes Gutenberg was a goldsmith and businessman from Mainz, Germany who had experience with metals. Around 1439, he developed a method of movable type printing using metal alloys and an oil-based ink that would adhere to the type. Individual letters could be arranged into words and sentences on a page, then reused. Pages could be reproduced quickly from a single master copy.
Gutenberg drew funds from investors and set up a printing workshop. He had to make molds for each letter, develop suitable inks, create a mechanical hand press, and establish an efficient workflow for composition and page imposition. Years of experimentation and refinement led to a fully working printing system. The printing presses could be operated by specialized craftsmen, not just scribes. The technology could spread to others once established.
This breakthrough made Gutenberg’s name synonymous with the printing press and the beginning of the “Gutenberg Revolution”. Printed books would become much more available over the next decades, as presses spread rapidly across Europe and more titles were published.
Printing and Publishing the Gutenberg Bible
Once Gutenberg’s movable type printing system was operational, one of the first major projects was the printing of the Bible. At the time, Bibles were rare, expensive and only accessible to clergy and the very wealthy. Gutenberg realized there was a huge potential market for cheaper printed Bibles that could be sold to churches, universities and nobility.
The printing likely started around 1452 and the first finished copies were produced by 1455. The text was the Vulgate Latin translation, the common version used by the Catholic church at the time. It contained the Old and New Testaments, plus prefatory and explanatory material from Saint Jerome and others.
Setting each page involved arranging up to 2500 individual letters made of Gutenberg’s alloy. About 180 copies of the Bible were printed, most on paper sheets but some on vellum. Rubrication was added by hand on select copies to add decorative colored letters.
Printing the Bible was a complex undertaking that involved craftsmen working on specialized tasks: typesetting, ink making, proofing, printing, binding, etc. The organized operation has led some to call Gutenberg’s print shop the first modern factory mass producing copies of a single work.
Sales of the printed Bible were not enough to recoup the production costs, and Gutenberg struggled financially. But soon other printers made improvements and published cheaper editions at a profit. The printing industry took off rapidly in Germany and beyond as Gutenberg’s inventions spread.
Of the 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible printed, it is estimated that 48 complete copies survive today in collections around the world. Many are incomplete due to damage from use, war or decay over the centuries. Complete copies can be worth tens of millions of dollars because of their rarity and historical significance.
Features and Layout of the Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible set high standards for design, typography and quality that would influence later books. It has 1,286 pages measuring about 11.25 x 15.75 inches. The majority of the pages have 2 columns of 42 lines of text each. It was not printed on cheap disposable paper, but rather on strong rag paper and vellum that has lasted centuries.
The book uses a Blackletter type style called Textualis. The letters are very neat, distinct and uniform throughout. There are no illustrations or decorations other than red rubrications added by hand in some copies. Spacing between letters and lines is balanced for good readability. Initial letters are larger with more space, but very modest compared to ornate illuminated manuscripts.
The technique of metal movable type allowed multiple perfect copies of pages to be printed from a single master copy prepared by the compositor. Once a page was composed, it could be used to print hundreds of copies accurately with no variation or errors introduced between versions.
The Gutenberg Bible has the appearance of a handwritten manuscript more than a modern printed book. There were no title pages or illustrations. Chapter headings were added by hand in red ink. There are large illuminated letters at the start of each Testament. Some page headings were left blank so owners could add content.
While it still looked similar to traditional books, the printing press allowed some details that were impractical for scribes. For example, it uses spacious page margins, uniform spacing, neat identical lettering, and straight margins from mechanical alignment. This improved usability compared to more cramped handwritten books.
Influence and Significance
The significance of the Gutenberg Bible goes far beyond the text itself. Some specific influences and consequences of its creation include:
- Printing Technology – Gutenberg invented a durable and reusable metal movable type that was suitable for mass production of printed works. This key technology could be continually refined but formed the basis of printing for centuries.
- Mechanization – The advanced manufacturing process required to produce the Bible demonstrated early principles of automation, mechanization and division of labor that would influence industrialization.
- Mass Production – By producing many near-identical copies, the Gutenberg Bible showed the potential for printed works to be produced in numbers far beyond what scribes could manage.
- Spread of Information – Printing accelerated the spread of knowledge and new ideas, since more copies of books could be owned by more people at lower costs.
- Standardization – With printed copies, translations and versions of the Bible could become consistent and standardized rather than variable between manually copied texts.
- Changing Reading Habits – As book ownership grew, reading habits shifted away from the oral readings of old towards silent contemplation and study.
- Renaissance and Reformation – Some connect mass printing to the wider spread of Renaissance thinking and the Protestant Reformation that upended the Catholic church only decades later.
- Impact on Language – Vernacular languages were promoted by printing, unseating Latin’s dominance. New vocabulary and spellings evolved as printed works grew.
The Gutenberg Bible’s role in launching the “Gutenberg Revolution” of printed books merits its reputation as one of the most significant works in history. It ushered in massive cultural shifts towards widespread literacy, knowledge, individual thought, and access to information. The world would never be the same after movable type printing became established starting with Gutenberg’s remarkable achievement.
Surviving Copies
Of the estimated 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible printed, 48 are now known to survive around the world. Many are incomplete due to missing or damaged pages. Experts estimate that about 17 copies are complete, but still many have suffered damage over the centuries. The rarest existing copies can be worth tens of millions of dollars based on their condition, completeness and significance.
Institutional owners of the Gutenberg Bibles include the British Library, Library of Congress, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and numerous university and state libraries. Some copies belonged to noteworthy figures like Napoleon and George Washington. Many were discovered in monasteries, churches and private collections in the 1800s when interest in Gutenberg expanded.
The surviving copies are not necessarily uniform. There are differences between individual copies such as:
- Paper or vellum pages
- Presence of rubrication and illuminations
- Modern rebindings
- Missing pages
- Handwritten annotations
- Water damage
- Ink stains
Rare book collectors and institutions have sometimes broken up complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible in order to acquire single desirable pages. For example, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York owns six leaves but not a full copy. The stated goal of some collectors is to reassemble broken up copies page by page.
As the most famous early printed book, museums and libraries consider the Gutenberg Bible an invaluable piece of history. Many copies are digitized online, allowing global access to high quality images without risking damage to fragile originals. Regular displays are arranged so the public can view original copies under special supervision.
Later Editions and Technological Comparisons
The Gutenberg Bible set the course for the future of printing, books, and reading, but printers would continue innovating and refining after its release. Some later milestones and technological comparisons include:
- The 36-line Bible, also called the Bamberg Bible, was likely the next Bible printed in Mainz around 1458-60 with simplified production.
- The B42 Bible was printed in 1462 and was the first Bible created after Gutenberg’s shop failed. Cheaper metals and shortcuts showed the growth of commercial printing.
- The first book printed in Italy was a 1465 Latin Bible by Johann Neumeister and Arnold Pannartz in Subiaco.
- Martin Luther’s German translation New Testament was published in 1522 and contributed greatly to the Protestant Reformation.
- The King James Version English Bible in 1611 cemented English translations based on earlier work by William Tyndale.
- A single copy of the Gutenberg Bible required more hand-work hours to produce than setting the entire 26 volumes of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia using modern methods.
While movable metal type remained dominant for centuries, new generations of printing presses emerged with advances like steam power and mechanized typesetting. Computerized photocomposition emerged in the 20th century. Now in the digital age, some view electronic books as the next revolution comparable to Gutenberg.
The changes between Gutenberg’s press in 1455 and today’s on-demand printing and internet transmission are astonishing. But the pioneering accomplishments of early printers like Gutenberg are still remembered and celebrated for launching book printing as we know it.
Authentication and Census
The status of the Gutenberg Bible as a benchmark early printed work makes authentication important for institutions and collectors. Distinguishing authentic pages or copies from fakes takes detailed work by specialists given the age of the volumes. But a few telltale signs can identify fakes:
- Watermarks – Peter Schoeffer’s distinctive watermarks are found on authentic paper.
- Ink – Modern carbon-based inks quickly give away forged pages.
- Type – Minor defects and irregularities identify genuine typeface fonts.
- Text – Mistakes in the handwritten rubrications expose many fakes.
- Spacing – Gutenberg’s regular spacings between letters is hard to mimic.
Censuses of extant copies have been conducted periodically. Noted Gutenberg researcher Rev. Paul Needham completed a definitive census in 2002 identifying the locations of 11 complete copies and substantial portions of 21 others. Authentication efforts continue as some lost or previously unknown partial copies still occasionally surface.
While nearly 500 years have passed since its printing, the fame and influence of the Gutenberg Bible shows little sign of fading. It retains enormous value to collectors, scholars, and institutions. As the cornerstone of printed Bibles and mass communication, it changed society forever.
