(Gutenberg, Johannes) Scharff, AntonBiblio.com
INCUNABLE A leaf from the Gutenberg Bible
réf. 45670Mainz : Johannes Gutenberg circa 1454-55. Single folio leaf 390 x 286 mm printed recto and verso black gothic lettering of forty-two lines in double columns large two-line initial letter rubricated in red; ox-head watermark clearly visible at the centre of the leaf; light foxing neat paper reinforcement along margin probably from when included in the leaf book A Noble Fragment; a fine example housed in a card chemise and protective custom clamshell box lettered in gilt. A LEAF FROM THE FIRST WESTERN BOOK PRINTED BY MOVABLE TYPE THE GUTENBERG BIBLE. Leaf 68 of the Gutenberg Bible with the text of Numbers 7:38 - 8:12 from the Vulgate Old Testament the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible and the fourth of the five books of the Torah. The Gutenberg Bible is the Vulgate - the Latin version of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament that is largely based on the translations made by Saint Jerome in the late 4th and early 5th century. It is perhaps the most famous and important book in the world as it was the first complete book printed in Western culture using the radical technology of movable pieces of type. The introduction of this form of printing ushered in an information revolution whose impacts on literacy education humanism and ultimately democracy are incalculable. As the first of all first editions - the earliest incunable - the Gutenberg Bible represents in some sense the ""holy grail"" of early printed books. Only forty-eight copies are known to have survived of which twenty-one are complete all now held in public collections; a single leaf extracted from an incomplete copy captivates the imagination when we contemplate the lasting significance the printing revolution of the Renaissance has had for all humanity. Significantly this leaf includes the distinctive ox- or bull's-head watermark clearly visible at the very centre. This is one of three watermarks used in the Gutenberg Bible the others being a bunch of grapes and a walking ox. The paper was imported from Caselle in Piedmont Northern Italy one of the main paper-making centres in Europe in the 15th century. 'The Gutenberg Bible has never been surpassed. Of all the arts printing at its birth reached perfection more nearly than any other.' A. Edward Newton 'Its printers were competing in the market hitherto supplied by the producers of high-class manuscripts. The design of the book and the layout of the book were therefore based on the book-hand and manuscript design of the day and a very high standard of press-work was required - and obtained - to enable the new mechanical product to compete successfully with its hand-produced rivals. Standards were set in quality of paper and blackness of ink in design and professional skill which the printers of later generations have found difficult to maintain.' Printing and the Mind of Man. Provenance: This leaf is almost certainly an example of a 'Noble Fragment’ originated with an imperfect copy of the Gutenberg Bible which had previously formed part of the collections of Carl Theodor von Pfalz-Sulzbach 1724-99 Prince Elector Count-Palatine and Duke of Bavaria and Sulzbach the coat-of-arms of Carl Theodor and his first wife Maria Elisabeth was stamped on the previous binding the Hofbibliothek at Mannheim and subsequently the Royal Library at Munich soon after 1799. In 1832 it was sold as a duplicate - for about 350 florins - to the Hon. Robert Curzon Baron Zouche 1810-1873 later famous as the author of Visits to Monasteries of the Levant 1849 who was in Munich at the time see White; thence it was passed on to his descendants. It was sold at auction by Curzon’s great-niece 17th Baroness Zouche in 1920 Sotheby’s 9 November lot 70 £2750 to the English-born New York dealer Joseph Sabin from whom it was acquired by another New York dealer Gabriel Wells. Although the Bible contained both the Old and New Testaments it was missing 50 out of an original 643 leaves and a good portion of its illuminations had been excised. Wells decided to take the Bible apart entirely selling or donating sections and individual leaves to the general public. This allowed institutions to acquire leaves for teaching purposes or to complete their own copies of the Bible and gave individual buyers a chance to own a piece of bibliographic history. The New York Times commented that Wells was “spreading the Gospel among the rich.” Most of the individual leaves were slip-cased in leather portfolios and accompanied by an essay Wells commissioned from the scholar and bibliophile Alfred Edward Newton titled ‘A Noble Fragment Being a Leaf of the Gutenberg Bible 1450-1455.’ As noted by Dr. Eric White Scheide Librarian and Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections Rare Books and Manuscripts Princeton University Library 'The ""Noble Fragments"" are identifiable by their neatly alternating red and blue lombard headlines smaller initials and chapter numerals. These were the work of a skilled artisan probably working in Mainz who also rubricated The Gutenberg Bible now at the Roland's Library in Manchester'. - Editio princeps : A History of the Gutenberg Bible Turnhout Belgium : Harvey Miller Publishers 2017 p. 135. The rubrication of this example aligns with other examples of Gutenberg Bible leaves we have handled originating from copies presented by Wells as A Noble Fragment. hardcover
