The Gutenberg Bible: A Commentary. Historical Background, Transcription, Translation. 2 vols

Description

Full red cloth, gilt lettering to spines. Large folios (41 x 30cm). One red ribbon bookmark per vol. A very little scuffing to boards, but vols generally pristine and unfaded; corners sharp. Hinges sound. Black endpapers, uncracked at gutters. Text in Latin and English, printed in double columns. These are the translation and commentary volumes of a four-volume set: the other two volumes are a full-size facsimile of the Gutenberg or Mazarin Bible, the first book to be printed in Europe using moveable type. These companion vols include 7 colour plates reproducing pages from the Gutenberg Bible, and two double-page b/w plates. They include a bibliographic history of the edition and Mazarin Library copy, followed by the full Latin text with English translation directly beneath. The eighteenth-century antiquarian bookseller Guillaume François de Bure, the first person to catalogue the Gutenberg Bible, wrote in his 1763 ‘Bibliographie instructive’ that ‘Pure chance has led us to the discovery of this most previous edition of the Bible which we announce to the public under this title; we shall not waste a single moment in giving it the first place, not only over all Bibles, but over all books’ (quoted in vol. I, p. 44). Robust packaging. Tracking can be added to overseas orders on request. Used books are exempt from USA tariffs.