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Dinesh / Photos

A page - Gutenberg Bible

The first printed books were designed to imitate, as closely as possible, their manuscript predecessors. This copy of the Gutenberg Bible has two coloured initials: like all other decorations, these would have been added by hand.
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5 comments

Dinesh said:

. . .The enthusiasm shown for the new printed books by monks, friars and priests, the largest traditional segment of book users and buyers, was remarkable. The invention of printing had coincided with widespread movement of spiritual renewal, one that saw monasteries, rural and urban, eager to build or replenish their book collections. Printing seemed like a divine invention, bestowed upon the world at the time when it was needed most. In the words of the Bishop of Brescia,

“Merciful God instructed our contemporaries in a new art. Thanks to typography. . .three men working in three months have printed 300 copies [of a folio commentary by Gregory the Great] a feat they could not have accomplished in their entire lives ad they been written with a pen or stylus.”

It was natural for clergymen to admire products from the new presses, because the first printers were very careful to imitate manuscript books in shape, style and content. This was not a coincidence: some of the earliest printers had been scribed themselves, or were fully immersed in the manuscript book trade; but it also makes clear that the first printers were not trying to revolutionise the book world. For this reason, monastic scriptoria did not see the new art as a challenge to their activities. In fact the first years of printing, the scriptoria were kept busier than ever. The first books generally required finishing by hand, with the insertion of handwritten initials, red lettering and illumination. ~ Page 78

THE LIBRARY
5 days ago

Dinesh said:

Gutenberg Bible
5 days ago ( translate )

Malik Raoulda said:

Remarquable et intéressant partage bien renseigné et bien illustré.
Remarquable et excellent travail.
Bonne et agréable journée paisible et salutaire.
5 days ago ( translate )

Heide said:

Sehr spannend das zu sehen und davon zu lesen.
Ich wünsche dir einen angenehmen Tag, Dinesh.
5 days ago ( translate )

J.Garcia said:

It was revolutionary, indee!
4 days ago
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