{"id":8598,"date":"2026-01-27T22:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sjvdenver.edu\/library\/?page_id=8598"},"modified":"2026-01-27T23:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:06:17","slug":"fascimile-gutenbergs-bible-the-42-lined-bible-codex-berlin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sjvdenver.edu\/library\/fascimile-gutenbergs-bible-the-42-lined-bible-codex-berlin\/","title":{"rendered":"Gutenberg’s Bible – The 42 Lined Bible (Codex Berlin)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gutenberg’s Bible – The 42 Lined Bible (Codex Berlin)<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Mainz (Germany)\u00a0\u2014 Around 1453<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A milestone in the history of mankind: probably the most splendid edition of Gutenberg’s famous Bible, richly adorned with colorful, fantastical decorated borders and gold-glowing decorated initials.<\/p>\n

A milestone in the history of book art: one of the most valuable early prints of the Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg in his workshop in Mainz. The inventor of modern letterpress printing produced a short print-run of bibles as a testimony to this new and groundbreaking technology. Even at the time of their creation, the Bibles were very expensive and could only be acquired by extremely wealthy collectors. Once purchased, the valuable prints could then be individually decorated by artists according to their own wishes, which in turn yielded some precious unique specimens. The Berlin State Library owns one of these extremely rare copies of the\u00a0Gutenberg Bible<\/em>, which is one of the most valuable books in the collection and one of the most creatively successful prints of the 15th century. Colourful, imaginative marginal illuminations and gilded decorative initials, together with the beautifully coloured miniatures, adorn this extraordinary work. The miniatures, as well as the other book decoration, are based on great models of book illumination and are attributed to the so-called Pfauenwerkstatt, a Leipzig book-painting workshop.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0milestone in the history of book art<\/strong>: one of the most valuable early printings of the Bible, which Johannes Gutenberg printed in his Mainz workshop. The\u00a0inventor of book printing<\/strong>\u00a0produced\u00a0a short print-run of bibles<\/strong>\u00a0as a testimony to this new and groundbreaking technology. These valuable prints could be individually decorated by artists according to the wishes of their respective buyers, which in turn yielded some precious unique specimens.\u00a0One of these precious and exceedingly rare specimens of the\u00a0Gutenberg Bible<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is stored in the Berlin State Library and counts among the most precious books of the collection!<\/p>\n

A True Rarity in Outstanding Quality<\/h3>\n

\u201cOne of the earliest testimonies of the art of printing,\u201d \u201cone of the most artistically accomplished prints of the 15th century,\u201d and other superlatives are only a few of the catchphrases that are associated with this book. Johannes Gutenberg is considered to be\u00a0the inventor of modern book printing with moveable metal type<\/strong>\u00a0and the printing press. In 1435, as the first evidence of his invention, he produced a short print-run of only 45 vellum and 135 paper editions of the Bible in his Mainz workshop.\u00a0The 42-lined bible in Berlin is considered to be the most beautiful specimen of these Gutenberg bibles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Printed and Illuminated<\/h3>\n

The printed\u00a0Gutenberg Bible<\/em>\u00a0was already very expensive at the time of its creations was\u00a0a collector\u2019s piece for only the wealthiest buyers<\/strong>. These printed books could subsequently be put into the hands of artist, who then\u00a0furnished them according to individual wishes<\/strong>. In this way, some\u00a0wonderfully unique specimens<\/strong>\u00a0furnished with bright colors and splendid gold came into being. Lovingly-produced illustrations, both entertaining and suitable, adorn these bibles.<\/p>\n

A Gem of the Berlin Collection<\/h3>\n

The Berlin specimen of the\u00a0Gutenberg Bible<\/em>\u00a0contains roughly\u00a0100 gorgeously colored miniatures<\/strong>. These are attributed to the so-called\u00a0Pfauenwerkstatt or \u201cpeacock workshop\u201d<\/strong>, an illuminator\u2019s studio that was active in Leipzig during the mid\u201315th century. Additionally, one finds initials, flowering tendrils, embellishing ornamentation, and small animals \u2013 e.g. a splendid peacock, a cheeky sparrow, and buzzing dragonflies. The book and its decoration are\u00a0oriented on the great models of illumination<\/strong>! This precious early print of the historic masterpiece of Johannes Gutenberg combines two special features in this way: the outstanding significance as an incunable from the early period of book printing between 1450 and 1500, and the reminder of its marriage with illumination. It is no wonder that the\u00a0Gutenberg Bible<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0considered to be one of the most important pieces of the Berlin collection<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Codicology<\/h3>\n

Alternative Titles
\n<\/strong>Gutenberg Bible
\nGutenberg’s 42-line Bible B42
\n42-zeilige Gutenberg-Bibel
\nGutenberg B-42
\nGutenberg Bibel<\/p>\n

Type
\n<\/strong>Printed book on parchment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Size \/ Format
\n<\/strong>2 volumes – 1,282 pages \/ 43.5 \u00d7 31.0 cm<\/p>\n

Origin
\n<\/strong>Germany<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Date
\n<\/strong>Around 1453<\/p>\n

Epochs
\n<\/strong>Late Middle Ages Onwards<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Style
\n<\/strong>Renaissance<\/strong><\/a>
\nEarly Prints<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Genre
\n<\/strong>Bibles \/ Gospels<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Language
\n<\/strong>Latin<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Illustrations
\n<\/strong>Ca. 100 colored miniatures, dozens of decorated initials and scroll ornament<\/p>\n

Content
\n<\/strong>Old and New Testament<\/p>\n

Artist \/ School
\n<\/strong>Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1400 \u2013 February 3rd 1468) (printer)
\nPeacock Workshop (illuminators)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gutenberg’s Bible – The 42 Lined Bible (Codex Berlin) Mainz (Germany)\u00a0\u2014 Around 1453 A milestone in the history of mankind: probably the most splendid edition of Gutenberg’s famous Bible, richly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8598","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"\nGutenberg's Bible - The 42 Lined Bible (Codex Berlin) | Cardinal Stafford Library<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sjvdenver.edu\/library\/fascimile-gutenbergs-bible-the-42-lined-bible-codex-berlin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gutenberg's Bible - 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