The Berlin Gutenberg Bible is a splendidly illuminated copy of the 42-line Latin Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg around 1455 in Mainz. Gutenberg, the first to use metal moveable type in the printing press outside of Asia, produced the book to demonstrate the potential of print as a new medium. Printed in a two-column layout, the edition left space for hand-supplied initials. The Berlin copy boasts around 100 hand-painted initials with flourishes featuring flowers and animals attributed to the Leipzig-based Pfauenwerkstatt and red and blue capitals with pen flourishes.
We have 2 facsimiles of the manuscript "Berlin Gutenberg Bible":
- Johannes Gutenbergs zweiundvierzigzeilige Bibel facsimile edition published by Idion Verlag, 1979
- 42-zeiligen Gutenberg-Bibel facsimile edition published by Edition Leipzig, 1913