Art Institute of Chicago

Gutenberg Bible Leaf

Johannes Gutenberg

Date

1454/55

Medium

Letterpress in black with initials in red and blue on ivory laid paper

Culture

Mainz

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

As the first book printed in the Western world using movable type, the Gutenberg Bible is justifiably famous. Copies of the complete book are so exceptionally rare that there are only a handful in the United States and none in the Chicago area. Yet this single sheet has long been part of the Art Institute’s collection, hidden within a 1921 “leaf book” that also includes an explanatory essay discussing this “noble fragment.” This page originated from a copy of the Gutenberg Bible lacking the first volume, which was disbound by the noted book dealer Gabriel Wells. Each isolated page has thus become a holy relic of sorts to the bibliographers of early printing.

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