The Gutenberg Bible: Landmark in Learning [Hardcover]

James Thorpe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997 | ISBN-10: 0873281691 | ISBN-13: 978-0873281690 | Edition: 1

The Gutenberg Bible, which appeared about 1455, represents the invention of printing in the Western world. The Huntington Library holds one of three vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the United States. Color reproductions of several pages and initial letters from the Bible accompany this text, which details the early history of printing and the way the Gutenberg Bible was produced. The author also discusses Henry Huntington's purchase of the Bible in 1911 for the then-unimaginable sum of $50,000.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Thorpe is a distinguished scholar and former director of the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens from 1966-1983. He is now a Senior Research Associate at the Huntington.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Huntington Library Press; 1 edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873281691
• ISBN-13: 978-0873281690
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful little edition, October 21, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gutenberg Bible: Landmark in Learning (Hardcover)

This short book, a mere 48 pages, is a real gem. Of the 48 pages, 20 or so are full-page or most-page, full-colour graphics of pages and illuminations from the Gutenberg Bible in the collection of the Huntington Library. Another five pages include black-and-white reproductions of highlighted letters, engravings, or other such details from the Bible.

The Gutenberg Bible holds a special place in the annals of literary and publishing history. Prized by collectors, this particular Gutenberg Bible was quired in 1911 by Henry Huntington by fascinating circumstances, laid out as part of the history of the Bible -- Henry Huntington's purchase at auction was at the time a phenonmenal event, the highest price paid at auction for a book, at $50,000.

The Gutenberg Bible was not, in fact, the first thing published with movable type printing presses. However, it was the first major book to be printing by this then-revolutionary process, and has become iconographic of many things, including invention, literacy, and spirituality. The revolution in learning, the ability for libraries to spring up in every community (as opposed to just a few centres of learning), and the expanding availability of texts of every type were precipitated by the invention of the printing press -- that Gutenberg chose the Bible as the first major work also speaks to the air of change that would sweep across Europe with the Reformation.

Of course, it was not simply the availability of the printing press itself that made the particular achievement of the Gutenberg Bible and the more general achievement of literary production in volume -- movable type presses had been invented prior to the time of Gutenberg, including in places beyond Europe (such as China). However, the convergence of discoveries in ink, availability of paper, and the press (as well as a willingness to use and develop this new invention) caused a revolution in Europe.

The brief text, written by James Thorpe, details the book, the press, the history, and the path this book took to its present location. It is a wonderful book for a gift to the bibliophile, as well as a nice coffee table book, and a good piece of reading for enlightenment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Intro to Gutenberg, August 7, 2008

By 

Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gutenberg Bible: Landmark in Learning (Hardcover)

A couple weeks ago, I was able to visit the Morgan Library in New York City. Currently, they are running an exhibit called "Three Gutenberg Bibles" which puts on display all three of the Gutenberg Bibles in the library's collection. For anyone interested in books, it is an impressive show--one complete Bible in vellum, one complete Bible in paper, and one Old Testament in paper (probably created from leftover sheets at the end of the press run). I had some basic knowledge of Gutenberg and his Bibles, but this event left me much better informed.

My only disappointment with the show was that the library bookshop didn't have a book describing the Morgan's Gutenbergs. Instead, they offered this volume, which is based on the Gutenberg Bible in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.

In spite of that, this is a nice little book. It is pretty and well-made, with plenty of color photographs of the Huntington's Gutenberg. The text is brief but informative, covering some of the details I picked up from the exhibit. (Did you know that Gutenberg only printed the main body of the text? The lead capitals and margins were left blank for owners to hire scribes to create the artistic flourishes typical of mediaeval books. That's why every Gutenberg is unique.)

Though I still wish the Morgan had produced a similar book for their collection, this book is a fine substitute and a good primer for anyone interested in learning about the Gutenberg Bible. With luck, someday I'll travel to the Huntington and check out their Gutenberg too.

3.0 out of 5 stars The Gutenberg Bible, December 13, 2010

By 

Belito - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Gutenberg Bible: Landmark in Learning (Hardcover)

The Gutenberg Bible was most instructive in a sense; however, it did not provide an English version of the Bible itself.