Summary
This book examines the production history and physical characteristics of the Gutenberg Bible of 42 lines, arguing that it was a carefully planned commercial work, not a fraudulent imitation of a manuscript. The author details the book's layout—1282 printed pages, two columns per page, mostly 42 lines per column—and explains that wide margins and spaces for initials were left for purchasers to have illuminated by hand. The text also addresses the controversy over whether the 42-line or 36-line Bible was printed first, noting that learned bibliographers disagree and that no contemporary author accurately described either edition. The author refutes the legend that Gutenberg intended to cheat buyers by passing printed books off as manuscripts, stating that intelligent book-buyers could easily see the dissimilarities. A reader takes away a concrete understanding of the Bible's physical structure, the financial difficulties Gutenberg faced (including a modified contract with Fust), and the technical challenges of early printing, such as irregular register on vellum copies due to dampened material shrinking.
Key concepts
- 42-line Bible — The edition of Gutenberg's Bible defined by having 42 lines per column, printed in types of Paragon body, usually bound in two volumes.
- 36-line Bible — A separate edition of Gutenberg's Bible with 36 lines per column, printed in types of Double-pica body, usually bound in three volumes.
- Register — The alignment of printing on the two sides of a page; described as very good on paper copies but offensively irregular on vellum copies due to the vellum shrinking or twisting.
- Rubrics — Chapter summaries that were roughly made by dabbing a brush filled with red ink over a letter printed in black; Gutenberg originally intended to print all summaries in red ink.
- Illumination — The hand-drawn ornamental borders and large initial letters that purchasers were expected to have added to the wide margins and spaces left in the printed text.
Popular questions readers ask
- The quote from Fox's Acts and Monuments asserts that through printing, "truth discerned, falshood detected, and with finger pointed." Beyond simply disseminating information, what does this specific phrasing imply about the transformative power of printing in shaping public discourse and critical thought?
- The text distinguishes between the "alleged discovery" in 1450 and the "complete invention" of copper-plate printing. What crucial elements or processes must occur for an initial technical "discovery" to evolve into a fully realized and impactful "invention" within a field like printing?
- Given the text's mention of "unfixed" dates, "alleged discoveries," and disputed attributions (like those rejected by Passavant), what inherent challenges do historians face when attempting to establish definitive timelines and origins for significant technological breakthroughs, and what does this reveal about the nature of historical evidence itself?
- By outlining the separate stages for copper-plate printing (discovery vs. practice) and lithography (suggestion vs. practical shape vs. patent), how does the text challenge the common narrative of invention as a singular "eureka" moment, instead presenting it as a complex, iterative, and multi-faceted process?
- De Vinne dedicates his work to an individual for "instruction about types, not to be had by reading." In a book dedicated to the *invention of printing*, what does this statement suggest about the fundamental limitations of textual knowledge, and what kinds of understanding, particularly in technology, might only be gained through experiences "not to be had by reading"?