The Gutenberg Bible: A Virtual Tour

The Gutenberg Bible is the first monument to the invention of the printing press in western culture. The Morgan is the only institution in the world to have three significant copies, all purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan. Join John McQuillen, Associate Curator of Printed Books & Bindings, to learn about this treasure and why the Morgan has three copies.

[@tweezerjam]

The Bible is a neat story 💯 I like the “soldiers of letters”

[@williamfindspeople4341]

I have been at the Morgan and saw these first hand. Very impressive.

[@user-lb4uu3wy1i]

Fascinating information, thanks for sharing. We’ve gone a long way. Nowadays, most of us take information and learning for granted. We went from developing a written language to integrating a popular language designed for most people to be able to understand the same information in writing, (e.g. Latin, Greek, French, English). Later on, we strategically organized entire handwritten stories into “ books” (e.g. Scrolls, Stone Tablets, Binders, etc.). Hundreds of years later in 1454, the first set of about 180 bible copies were printed by Gutenberg. That’s just about four decades before Isabella the Catholic sponsored the first Columbus’ trip which triggered the re-discovery of the Americas and the golden age of the European Global colonialism. Once the Renaissance culminated and upon the beginning of the Enlightenment and Industrial eras, book printing and education became more widespread as means to convert European overseas possessions to Christianity and maintaining their culture in their overseas colonies. A couple of centuries later, as electricity was finally introduced towards the end of the 19th century, more advanced printing processes were developed and books became a commodity as opposed to its traditional luxury status that only well off families and organizations were able to access. In just over a century and a half after the beginning of the industrial era and thanks to the invention of the internet, we’re now able to access quite literally endless numbers of volumes online completely free or for a small fee. We’re unbelievably lucky to say the least. We need to know our history in order to value what we have and avoid making stupid mistakes. Arguably, history has taught us that reversing development and loosing knowledge and prosperity is always a possibility, i.e, The Dark Ages.

[@ericwhite3594]

Excellent information, thanks for doing this!

[@allanwestphall8108]

an extremely interesting presentation - thanks for posting!

[@charlessprayberry1048]

The umm is very strong in this one

[@Bedsheet_Necktie]

What format are the downloads?

[@michaelsballew]

Probably too late to ask a question and hope for a reply, but you never know. Of the Gutenberg Facsimiles which would be the best Value? (Quality of paper, resolution, binding etc vs. Price) So not the one that sells for 18K. Though no doubt the best quality. Any Guidance would be appreciated!

[@johnlogan8808]

The oldest one will always be the most valuable, with its condition barely affecting the price unless it is completely torn up and unrecognizable, but even then, it is still worth about half its original value.

[@MarkTitus420]

uh, umm, uh, umm, umm