Post by Admin on Apr 2, 2023 2:26:10 GMT -7
www.gutenbergdigital.de/gudi/eframes/index.htm
The "Work of the Books" - the 42-line Latin Bible
Page 1 of 4
In 1448, after the initial printing trials in Strassburg, Gutenberg returned to Mainz. There in 1452 at the latest he started with the "Work of the Books", the printing of the Vulgate Bible of St. Hieronymus, the decisive text for every theological work and religious instruction throughout the entire Middle Ages.
For this work he needed a financial backer. Johannes Fust lent Gutenberg the sum of 800 guilders in 1449 and then, in 1452, another 800 guilders. Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who later became Pope Pius II, reported in 1455 that he had seen several printed quires of the Bible in October 1454 at a congress of German princes and prelates in Frankfurt. This indicates that the printing had been completed by that time.
On the last pages of the two volumes of a paper copy at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris there is a comment to the effect that this copy was rubricated, illuminated and bound on the 15th respectively the 24th of August 1456. Thus, at this point in time, the Bible must have been complete.
In the design of the Bible, Gutenberg wanted to imitate the manuscript as closely as possible. He printed it in two columns, like the original manuscript, and used block printing whereby, owing to very skilled typesetting, he was able to perfect the vertical endings.
part 2
Gutenberg used a large type, textura, a type with a very closed setting. The name derives from the fact that the vertical strokes of the individual letters ar emphasized resulting in a "woven" appearance. Textura is simply the Latin term for "woven".
Textura
To give you some idea of the world's first great printing enterprise, some figures: The Bible consisted of 1282 pages. Approximately 180 copies were printed, 40 on vellum, 140 on paper. For this, 100 000 types had to be cast. At times, up to twelve printers worked on six presses; besides typesetters, the project also employed assistants responsible for dyeing, inserting the sheets etc. It took three years to print the 180 Bibles - a period in which a copyist would have completed but one Bible.
Page 3 of 4
After the printing process was completed - which initially was done without any colored decoration - the rubricators and illuminators took over. Thus the completed Bible resembled a manuscript.
The rubricators' task was to emphasize certain "Nomina Sacra" (holy names/words) with a thin red line or to mark individual capital letters at the beginnings of sentences in order to facilitate the reading of the Bible.
Gratia
The illuminators' task was to decorate the printed text with decorative initials and foliage. 2 to 10 lines, depending on the importance of the position, were kept free during the printing for the magnificent initials. The purchasers of the Bible could then decide what type of decoration they wanted and what school of painting should carry out the work. Thus every Bible was unique.
Page 1 of 4
In 1448, after the initial printing trials in Strassburg, Gutenberg returned to Mainz. There in 1452 at the latest he started with the "Work of the Books", the printing of the Vulgate Bible of St. Hieronymus, the decisive text for every theological work and religious instruction throughout the entire Middle Ages.
For this work he needed a financial backer. Johannes Fust lent Gutenberg the sum of 800 guilders in 1449 and then, in 1452, another 800 guilders. Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who later became Pope Pius II, reported in 1455 that he had seen several printed quires of the Bible in October 1454 at a congress of German princes and prelates in Frankfurt. This indicates that the printing had been completed by that time.
On the last pages of the two volumes of a paper copy at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris there is a comment to the effect that this copy was rubricated, illuminated and bound on the 15th respectively the 24th of August 1456. Thus, at this point in time, the Bible must have been complete.
In the design of the Bible, Gutenberg wanted to imitate the manuscript as closely as possible. He printed it in two columns, like the original manuscript, and used block printing whereby, owing to very skilled typesetting, he was able to perfect the vertical endings.
part 2
Gutenberg used a large type, textura, a type with a very closed setting. The name derives from the fact that the vertical strokes of the individual letters ar emphasized resulting in a "woven" appearance. Textura is simply the Latin term for "woven".
Textura
To give you some idea of the world's first great printing enterprise, some figures: The Bible consisted of 1282 pages. Approximately 180 copies were printed, 40 on vellum, 140 on paper. For this, 100 000 types had to be cast. At times, up to twelve printers worked on six presses; besides typesetters, the project also employed assistants responsible for dyeing, inserting the sheets etc. It took three years to print the 180 Bibles - a period in which a copyist would have completed but one Bible.
Page 3 of 4
After the printing process was completed - which initially was done without any colored decoration - the rubricators and illuminators took over. Thus the completed Bible resembled a manuscript.
The rubricators' task was to emphasize certain "Nomina Sacra" (holy names/words) with a thin red line or to mark individual capital letters at the beginnings of sentences in order to facilitate the reading of the Bible.
Gratia
The illuminators' task was to decorate the printed text with decorative initials and foliage. 2 to 10 lines, depending on the importance of the position, were kept free during the printing for the magnificent initials. The purchasers of the Bible could then decide what type of decoration they wanted and what school of painting should carry out the work. Thus every Bible was unique.
