Gutenberg Bible

A Latin Vulgate Bible printed in Mainz around 1454–1455, it was the first major European book produced with movable metal type.

Movable type: Reusable characters arranged to form text for printing. Individual metal sorts could be rearranged to print successive pages.
Mainz: A city on the Rhine in present-day Germany. Gutenberg’s printing operation produced the Bible in this city.
Paper Gutenberg Bible: A Gutenberg Bible copy printed on paper rather than parchment. Paper copies formed the larger share of the surviving edition.
Printing revolution: The transformation of communication and knowledge production associated with the spread of printing in Europe. The Bible stands among the earliest major products of this transformation.
Johannes Gutenberg: A Mainz goldsmith and printer associated with developing European movable-type printing. His workshop produced the Bible using a coordinated printing process.
Johannes Fust: A Mainz financier and business partner of Johannes Gutenberg. His financing helped support Gutenberg’s printing enterprise.
Vellum Gutenberg Bible: A Gutenberg Bible copy printed on prepared animal skin. A limited number of copies used vellum instead of paper.
Printing in Europe: The development and spread of printing practices across Europe from the fifteenth century onward. The Bible belongs to the earliest phase of European printing with movable type.
Printing press: A machine that transfers ink from a prepared surface onto paper or another material. Presswork applied even pressure to the Bible’s assembled type.
Peter Schöffer: A scribe, printer, and former associate of Gutenberg who became a prominent Mainz printer. He was involved in the workshop and later printed the colophon-bearing Psalter of 1457.

Linked from 26 pages