Gutenberg's Bibles— Where to Find Them

The German printer Johann Gutenberg is credited with the printing the Bibles on a hand made printing press using the movable type, in the year 1455. This was an important landmark as the publications could now be printed instead of being copied by hand, which happened to be a long as well as a tedious process. Also known as the 42 line Bibles these happen to be the most famous piece of printed material in the world.

There were originally 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible. They were bound in leather in two volumes. The wealthy patrons around the European continent bought the most expensive of these Bibles printed on vellum. The rest of Gutenberg's Bibles were printed on a hemp based paper product that was considered to be not durable enough to stand the test of time.

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.

There are three perfect vellum copies still in existence. These Bibles are located in France, England, and the United States. In France, the complete vellum version is located in the Bibliotheque Nationale in the capital city of Paris. This massive library also houses a variety of rare and costly books. England’s copy of the complete vellum Gutenberg Bible is located in the country’s British Library in London. This library is home to a phenomenal collection of books, including original works by hometown hero, 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 rests in Goettigen, Germany’s Universitaetsbibliothek.

There are more perfect copies on paper in existence. These copies are located in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. There are approximately eighteen perfect copies in existence printed on the once controversial hemp based paper product.

One of the versions of the Gutenberg's Bible is also present in Asia in Tokyo's Keio University Library. This Bible happens to be an imperfect copy that was printed on the hemp-based paper. It was purchased for a whopping amount of $4.9 million by the Maruzen Company of Tokyo. In the year 1996 this Bible was given to the University.

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.

You can also see the complete or incomplete versions of a Gutenberg Bible, on the World Wide Web from the comfort of your home. They have been digitized and are available for viewing. If you want to find a Bible in an area near you or where you plan to travel, go to the Gutenberg Bible census (http://clausenbooks.com/gutenbergcensus.htm).

Article Source: http://publisherscloninghouse.com

About the author: Brett Nga is the chief writer at For Bibles there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus why not sign up for the free Bible newsletter. Want to read more Bible articles?, just go to: www.forbibles.com/articles
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