Editio princeps: A History of the Gutenberg Bible

Brepols - Harvey Miller 2017 2017. Hardcover, 465 pages., 14 b/w ill. + 103 colour ill., 225 x 300 mm, English, Latin, German, .FINE! ISBN 9781909400849. The first complete history of all the Gutenberg Bibles. Winner of the 2018 DeLong Book History Prize, awarded by the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) The Gutenberg Bible is widely recognized as Europe?s first printed book, a book that forever changed the world. However, despite its initial impact, fame was fleeting: for the better part of three centuries the Bible was virtually forgotten; only after two centuries of tenacious and contentious scholarship did it attain its iconic status as a monument of human invention. Editio princeps: A History of the Gutenberg Bible is the first book to tell the whole story of Europe?s first printed edition, describing its creation at Mainz circa 1455, its impact on fifteenth-century life and religion, its fall into oblivion during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and its rediscovery and rise to worldwide fame during the centuries thereafter. This comprehensive study examines the forty-nine surviving Gutenberg Bibles, and fragments of at least fourteen others, in the chronological order in which they came to light. Combining close analysis of material clues within the Bibles themselves with fresh documentary discoveries, the book reconstructs the history of each copy in unprecedented depth, from its earliest known context through every change of ownership up to the present day. Along the way it introduces the colorful cast of proud possessors, crafty booksellers, observant travelers, and scholarly librarians who shaped our understanding of Europe?s first printed book. Bringing the ?biographies? of all the Gutenberg Bibles together for the first time, this richly illustrated study contextualizes both the historic cultural impact of the editio princeps and its transformation into a world treasure. Eric Marshall White, PhD, became Curator of Rare Books at Princeton University Library in 2015 after eighteen years as Curator of Special Collections at Southern Methodist University's Bridwell Library. A specialist in early European printing, he has published numerous articles and exhibition catalogues on rare books.