1437400 1455 Gutenberg Bible. Single Leaf.
10140.
Leaf From the Gutenberg Bible. 1450-1455
A LEAF FROM THE GUTENBERG BIBLE. [BIBLE]; [Gutenberg, Johann]. A Noble Fragment. Being a Leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, 1450-1455. With a Bibliographical Essay by A. Edward Newton. [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust, no later than 1455]. Single folio volume, measuring 15.75 x 11.25 inches, original full black blindstamped morocco by Stikeman, spine and upper board lettered in gilt, gilt doublures, grey endpapers. Six unnumbered pages printed in red and black, designed by Bruce Rogers. Volume published in 1921 by Gabriel Wells, New York. Shelfwear to binding, spine scuffed. Leaf: Royal folio, measuring 15.25 x 11 inches, originally tipped in after text, now laid in. 42 lines of Gothic type in two columns, blue and red manuscript initials, capitals highlighted in red throughout text. Recto headline “POMENON I” in red and blue, verso headline “PARALI” in red and blue. Remnant of paper mount to left edge of leaf, lightest soiling, trace of paper clip to lower lefthand corner.
Original leaf from “the greatest of all printed books,” the first substantial book printed in Europe with moveable type, the Gutenberg Bible. Although Gutenberg printed indulgences and a small Latin grammar before this project, his Bible traditionally marks the beginning of Western printing. Scholars surmise around 180 copies were printed, primarily for a clerical market. Of these, only 21 copies survive complete, all of which are in institutions. As A. Edward Newton writes in the introductory essay that accompanies this leaf, “as an example of printing, it has never been surpassed. Of all the arts, printing at its birth reached perfection more nearly than any other.” This leaf contains verses from the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles, from the end of Chapter 24 to the opening of Chapter 26, recording King David’s plans for the temple in Jerusalem during the last years of his reign. Provenance: Maria Elisabeth Augusta von Sulzbach (1721-1794), wife of Carl Theodore, Electoral Prince of the Palatinate, subsequently Electoral Prince of Bavaria; Mannheim, Hofbibliothek; Munich, Royal Library (their duplicate sale, 1832, sold for 350 guilders); Robert Curzon, Baron Zouche (1810-1873, and by descent until sold); Sotheby's 9 November 1920, lot 70, to Joseph Sabin; sold by him to Gabriel Wells, who broke up the copy, dispersing it in single leaves and in larger fragments.
The firm Peter Harringto acquired this leaf from noted Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate, one of the co-editors of the Royal Shakespeare Company editions of the entire Shakespearean canon. This leaf from Peter Harrington via Honey and Wax. Headlines in red and blue, initials at chapter openings alternately red and blue, red capital strokes. Leaf: remains of paper mount at inner edge, paperclip mark at lower inner corner, a little finger-soiling at edges, very good There are only 21 complete copies of the Gutenberg, none of which is in private hands. The last sale of a Gutenberg Bible was in 1987, an incomplete copy that sold for $5.39 million, the highest price ever paid for a book up to that time. Before that, the last complete copy sold for $2.2 million in 1978. This leaf was removed from the imperfect Mannheim-Zouch-Sabin copy after it was acquired by the New York bookseller Gabriel Wells in 1921, then sold in this form with the essay by A. Edward Newton. Printing and the Mind of Man 1. Goff B-526B. A handsome example.
Very Good