Gutenberg Bible

Gutenberg Bible
Copy of a Gutenberg Bible in the United States Library of Congress .
The Gutenberg Bible , also known as the 42-Line Bible or Mazarin Bible , is a printed version of the
Vulgate , which was printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz , Germany , in the 15th century.
Although it is not, as is often said, the first book printed using the movable type system (it was the "
Constance Missal ", in 1449), it was his greatest work, and has iconic status as the beginning of the "
Age of the Printing Press.
The format is possibly an imitation of the Mainz manuscript, also called the Giant Mainz Bible, whose
1,300 pages were written by hand.
The name "42-line Bible" refers to the number of lines printed on each page, and is used to
differentiate it from the later 36-line edition.
Preparation for this edition began after 1450, and the first copies were available by 1454 or 1455. It
was made using a printing press and movable type. A complete copy has 1,282 pages and most
were bound into at least two volumes.
This Bible is the most famous incunabulum , and its production began the mass printing of texts in
the West. It is believed that around 180 copies were produced, 45 on papyrus and 135 on paper .
After printing, they were initialed and illuminated by hand, work carried out by specialists, which
makes each copy unique.
Three volumes of the Gutenberg Bible are located at Fort Knox , the fortress (military base built in
the state of Kentucky) where the largest treasure of gold bars in the United States (Gold Reserve) is
kept.
The Gutenberg Bible . Completed between 1450 and 1456, the Gutenberg
Bible was the first book to be printed after Johann Gutenberg's invention of the
cast type printing press. Originally designed to resemble a manuscript, it did not
carry page numbers or title pages or other features characteristic of modern
books. Although the combination of papermaking and cast type allowed for large
print runs, only 47 copies of this work have survived. The illustrations that
accompany the text on this page were hand-painted, although it was common to
print them as engravings. The image shows a page from the Bible from 1445,
where you can read the beginning of the Book of Maccabees .
According to some sources, on February 23, 1455, the printing of The Gutenberg Bible was
completed. Perhaps the date is not exact, but what is clear is that approximately 550 years ago what is
considered the first book printed with movable type saw the light of day.
The Gutenberg or 42-line Bible, called because this is the

most frequent number of lines per column in each of its
1,280 pages, was conceived to resemble as much as
possible a manuscript, the codex of that time: it did not
have page numbers, title pages or other characteristic
features of modern books.
Regarding its content, it is a Latin version of the

Scriptures of Saint Jerome and, for its printing, it was
necessary to cast almost five million types, publishing 120
copies on paper and 20 on parchment, of which about 45
are preserved. The illustrations in each copy of this Bible
were hand-painted and the volumes were each
embellished in a different way.
We must clarify that Johannes Gutenberg (c1400-1468, Mainz, Germany) was not the inventor of
the printing press since, at the beginning of the 15th century, playing cards and cards with religious
motifs were already printed. These impressions were made by applying an engraved wooden plate
smeared with greasy ink on paper or parchment. Nor was the composition of texts with movable
characters, that is, the manufacture of individual letters or symbols, his merit.
Gutenberg's true achievement was perfecting these techniques until he achieved a typographic
procedure that has remained almost unchanged until the beginning of the 20th century. In this way,
to make his printed books, he replaced wood with metal, manufacturing casting molds capable of
reproducing regular metal types that allowed the composition of texts. It was this invention,
letterpress printing with movable metal type, that gave rise to the true modern book .
It was thanks to the possibility of printing multiple copies of books that a greater number of people
around the world were able to access written knowledge, which gave rise to invaluable
transformations, not only in the field of culture, but also in that of politics, religion and the arts.
Johannes Gutenberg
"Gutenberg" redirects here. For other meanings, see Gutenberg (disambiguation) .
Johannes Gutenberg
Birth 1398
Germany , Mainz
Death February 3 , 1468 , age 75

Germany , Mainz
Nationality German
Occupation Inventor
Parents Else Wyrich and Friele Gensfleisch zu Laden
Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1398 – February 3 , 1468 ) was a German blacksmith and priest, inventor
of the movable type printing press in Europe (ca. 1450 ). His best work was the 42-line Hebrew
Bible .
Content
[ disguise ]
1 History of modern printing
2 The printing press, inks and printing paper
3 Other information of interest
4 See also
5 External links
[ edit ] History of modern printing
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Towards 1459 and earlier years, books were disseminated through the handwritten copies of monks
and friars dedicated exclusively to prayer and the replica of and the capital letters were a decorative
and artistic product of the copyist himself, who decorated each copy he made according to his taste
or vision. Each of their jobs could take up to ten years.
The printing press was invented by the Chinese centuries before, but in the Early Middle Ages it was
used in Europe to publish advertising or political pamphlets, labels and short-sheet works. To do this,
the text was worked in hollow on a wooden tablet, including the drawings—hard work by artisans.
Once made, it was attached to a work table, also made of wood, and impregnated with black, red or
blue ink (only those colors existed), then the paper was applied and the ink was fixed with a roller.
The wear and tear of the wood was considerable, so many copies could not be made with the same
mold. This type of printing is called woodcut .
Each printer manufactured his own paper, giving it his own watermark as a printer's signature. These
watermarks are why his works are known.
In this environment, Gutenberg bet that he would be able to make several copies of the Bible at the
same time in less than half the time it took the fastest of all the copyist monks in the Christian world
to copy one, and that these would not be would differ at all from those handwritten by them.
Instead of using the usual wooden slats, which wore out with little use, he made wooden molds of
each of the letters of the alphabet and later filled the molds with iron, creating the first "movable
types." He had to make several models of the same letters so that they all coincided with each other,
in total more than 150 "types", perfectly imitating the writing of a manuscript. He had to join the letters
one by one that he held in an ingenious support, much faster than wood engraving and infinitely
more resistant to use.
As a printing plate, he molded an old wine press to which he attached the support with the "movable
type", leaving space for capital letters and drawings. These would be added later using the old
xylographic system and finished decorating manually.
What Gutenberg did not calculate well was the time it would take to implement his new invention, so
before finishing the work he ran out of money. He again requested a new loan from Johann Fust, and
given the lender's distrust, he offered to enter into society. Johann Fust accepted the proposal and
delegated the supervision of Gutenberg's work to his nephew, Peter Schöffer, who began to work
side by side with him while supervising his uncle's investment.
After two years of work, Gutenberg ran out of money again. He was close to finishing the 150 Bibles
that he had proposed, but Johann Fust did not want to extend the credit and gave up on the previous
ones, staying with the business and putting his nephew, already skilled in the arts of new printing, as
a partner in charge. -Gutenberg's apprentice.
Gutenberg left his printing press ruined and it is said that he was welcomed by the bishop of the city,
the only one who recognized his work, until his death a few years after his work was recognized.
Peter Schöffer finished the work that his teacher started in his city and the Bibles were quickly sold to
senior members of the clergy, including the Vatican , at a very good price. Soon orders for new work
began to pour in. The speed of execution was undoubtedly the trigger for its expansion, since
previously the delivery of a single book could be postponed for years.
Currently, very few "Gutenberg" or 42-line Bibles survive and even fewer are complete. In Spain, two
are preserved, one incomplete, in the National Library of Burgos , and another in the Library of the
University of Seville.
His image does not differ at all from a manuscript. The care, the detail, the care with which it was
made, only its inventor could award it with a bronze or gold medal.
All these changes did not favor the government of the time and the religious clergy; That is why they
were opposed, since with the appearance of the printing press the social truth would surely be
known, but not what, according to the monks, they wrote.
It has managed to be translated into more than 1,400 dialects almost in its entirety and at least
one book has been translated into more than 2,400 languages.
In total it has been completely translated into around 260 languages, including languages and
dialects.
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Gutenberg Bible

Copy of a Gutenberg Bible in the United States Library of Congress .

The Gutenberg or 42-line Bible, called because this is the

Regarding its content, it is a Latin version of the

Death February 3 , 1468 , age 75

1 History of modern printing

2 The printing press, inks and printing paper

3 Other information of interest

[ edit ] History of modern printing

Samson Samso 199 Nicolas USA Elizabeth 94 Samson is

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