Gutenberg's Bibles - Treasures from the past
By: Brett Nga

The Gutenberg Bible is by far the most famous piece of printed material in the world. In 1455, German printer Johann Gutenberg began printing these Bibles on a hand made printing press using movable type. Also known as 42 line Bibles, these historic manuscripts mark an important time in history where publications could be mass produced instead of painfully hand copied.

Gutenberg originally came up with 180 copies of the Bible. Some of the versions of these Bibles were printed on vellum for the rich clientele and the rest of them were published on the hemp-based paper product that had a somewhat inferior quality, thereby raising questions on the longevity. The Bibles were bound in leather in two volumes and were sold to the rich people around the European continent.

Of the 180 Bibles that were published, there are a very few copies of the 42 line Bibles that are known to exist. There is also a version of the New Testament that has been published on vellum and its known that 48 copies of Gutenberg's Bible were published on the hemp-based paper.

The three perfect vellum copies still in existence are located in France, England, and the United States. In France, you can see the complete vellum version in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris besides a variety of rare and costly books. England's copy of the complete vellum Gutenberg Bible is located in the British Library in London. Here you will find an astounding collection of books that includes the original works of William Shakespeare. The third perfect vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible is in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A fourth and final perfect vellum copy of the Bible is in Goettigen, Germany's Universitaetsbibliothek.

Apart from the copies that were printed on vellum, there were also certain copies that are available on paper. There are about eighteen of these perfect copies that were published on hemp based paper product. These copies are located in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.

One copy of Gutenberg's Bible is in Asia in the Keio University Library in Tokyo. It is an incomplete and imperfect copy, but nonetheless an important copy of the 42 line Bible. This Bible was purchased in 1987 for an exorbitant price of $4.9 million by the Maruzen Company of Tokyo, and presented to the University in 1996.

Apart from these, many imperfect copies of Gutenberg Bibles exist in the universities, libraries, and private collections all over Europe. You can have a look at them when you travel in Europe.

If you are interested in seeing a copy—complete or incomplete—of a Gutenberg Bible, look to the World Wide Web. Many of these Bibles have been digitized and are available for viewing in the comfort of your own home. Look at the Gutenberg Bible census (http://clausenbooks. com/gutenbergcensus.htm) to find a Bible in an area near you or where you plan to travel.

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