Research Catalog

Title

Editio princeps : a history of the Gutenberg Bible / Eric Marshall White.

Author

White, Eric Marshall

Publication

• London ; Turnhout : Harvey Miller Publishers, an imprint of Brepols Publishers, [2017]
• ©2017

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

465 pages : illustrations (chiefly color); 31 cm

Summary

"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. [This] 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."--

Series Statement

[Harvey Miller studies in the history of culture]

Uniform Title

Harvey Miller studies in the history of culture.

Alternative Title

History of the Gutenberg Bible

Subject

• Bible > Publication and distribution > Germany > Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• Bible > Publication and distribution > History > Europe > To 1500
• Bible > History
• Gutenberg Bible

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 403-450) and indexes.

Contents

Europe's first printer -- The work of the books -- A book without history -- The first fruits of the eighteenth century -- The long harvest of the nineteenth century -- The last gleanings of the twentieth century -- Epilogue : fertile ground for the twenty-first century.

Call Number

Z241.B58

ISBN

• 9781909400849
• 190940084X

OCLC

968775560

Author

White, Eric Marshall, author.

Title

Editio princeps : a history of the Gutenberg Bible / Eric Marshall White.

Publisher

London ; Turnhout : Harvey Miller Publishers, an imprint of Brepols Publishers, [2017]

Copyright Date

©2017

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

[Harvey Miller studies in the history of culture]

Harvey Miller studies in the history of culture.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 403-450) and indexes.

Research Call Number

*R-RMRR Z241.B58 W45 2017