Home | Academic | History
Perhaps the most treasured piece of printed material is the Gutenberg Bible. It was the German printer Johann Gutenberg who began printing these Bibles way back in 1455. He used a hand made printing press with movable type. These 42 line Bibles are historic manuscripts that mark the end of the phase of hand copied books and the beginning of publications that could be mass produced. Gutenberg originally printed 180 copies of the Bible, which were bound in leather in two volumes and sold to wealthy patrons around the European continent. The most expensive of these Bibles were printed on vellum. The rest of Gutenberg’s Bibles were printed on a controversial hemp based paper product that many believed would not withstand the test of time. Many of these Bibles are nowhere to be found. Only eleven complete copies of the 42 line bible and one complete version of the New Testament is known to exist. This version is on vellum. And, there are 48 other copies of Gutenberg's Bibles that were printed on the hemp based paper. There are three copies of Bible printed on vellum that are perfectly intact. These are with the countries of England, France and the United States. The copy of the Gutenberg Bible in the United States is kept in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. In France the Gutenberg Bible is located in the Bibliotheque Nationale. This library happens to be home to some of the exclusive and most expensive of the books. The copy of England's vellum Gutenberg Bible is housed in the British Library situated in London. This Library is also home to some of the original books by the Bard of Avon, Shakespeare. And last but not the least, a fourth and final copy of the Bible rests in Goettigen, Germany's Universitaetsbibliothek. Apart from the copies that were printed on vellum, there were also certain copies that are available on paper. There are about eighteen of these perfect copies that were published on hemp based paper product. These copies are located in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. One of the versions of the Gutenberg's Bible is also present in Asia in Tokyo's Keio University Library. This Bible happens to be an imperfect copy that was printed on the hemp-based paper. It was purchased for a whopping amount of $4.9 million by the Maruzen Company of Tokyo. In the year 1996 this Bible was given to the University. Apart from these, many imperfect copies of Gutenberg Bibles exist in the universities, libraries, and private collections all over Europe. You can have a look at them when you travel in Europe. If you are interested in seeing a copy—complete or incomplete—of a Gutenberg Bible, look to the World Wide Web. Many of these Bibles have been digitized and are available for viewing in the comfort of your own home. Look at the Gutenberg Bible census (http://clausenbooks. com/gutenbergcensus.htm) to find a Bible in an area near you or where you plan to travel.
Provided by ArticleGOLD: Articles Directory - Article Directory
About the Article Author
Brett Nga is the chief writer for, and editor of For Bibles it's one of the webs most up to date Bible sites, why not sign up for the free Bible newsletter. Read many more interesting articles on Bible at: www.forbibles.com/articles Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
