TEXT FROM JUDITH VII-IX by (BIBLE IN LATIN). A NOBLE FRAGMENT, BEING A LEAF OF THE GUTENBERG BIBLE - ca. 1455

Mainz: Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust, ca. 1455. This is a leaf from the 42-Line (or Gutenberg) Bible, the first substantial book printed in Europe with movable type as well as the first printed edition of the Vulgate Bible. Though it was preceded by a few small printed items (e.g., two indulgences of 1454) and a few insignificant books (mostly copies of Donatus, and all of them now fragmentary), this is the book that traditionally marks the beginning of printing as we know it. Newton says in his essay included here with the leaf that Gutenberg's Bible "as an example of printing . . . has never been surpassed. Of all the arts, printing at its birth reached perfection more nearly than any other." The importance of this Bible in terms of the effect on Western civilization represented by the advent of printing in Europe can hardly be exaggerated, and the pleasure of owning even a fragmentary part of this singular production is proportionately acute. Our leaf is part of a fragment that was bought by Robert Curzon, Lord Zouche, in the duplicate sale of the Munich Royal Library in 1832; it was later sold by his descendants at Sotheby's in 1920 to Joseph Sabin, who, in turn, sold it to the bookseller Gabriel Wells, who broke it up into smaller fragments and individual leaves, partly for sale along with the Newton essay, as in the present case. Our leaf contains an important section from the Book of Judith (chapter 7:28-32, all of chapter 8, and chapter 9:1-12), in which Judith, at the request of the city governors of Bethulia, beseeches God to deliver the city and the children of Israel from the massed army of the Assyrians, and she prays to God as the only true and almighty spirit and savior of the people of Israel. There are 48 known copies of the Gutenberg Bible (a number imperfect, some comprising one volume of two, and a few of those imperfect). All but three are in institutional collections (the Doheny copy of volume one, consisting of 324 leaves of the Old Testament, was the last in the marketplace, being sold for a hammer price of $4,900,000 in 1987). As a consequence, the only form of the 42-line Bible that one can reasonably hope to possess is a single leaf, and there have always been at least a small number of Gutenberg leaves on the market at any one time, with the price per leaf steadily escalating year by year. The specimens that become available are more and more frequently beset with condition problems, so that the present leaf--which is in especially fine condition--is particularly desirable. Even the "Noble Fragment" binding and slipcase, which are often found in unattractive shape, are found here in virtually pristine condition, after having been in the same family's collection for the past 70 years.. Leaf: 390 x 287 mm. (15 3/8 x 11 1/4"); Portfolio: 403 x 293 mm. (16 x 11 1/2"). Double columns, 42 lines in a gothic typeface. With a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton (New York: Gordon Wells, 1921). 3 leaves. In the original Noble Fragment full black morocco folder, covers with blind-stamped frame, upper cover with gilt titling, flat spine with "Gutenberg" lettered in gilt, gilt-ruled turn-ins. In the original black slipcase. Capitals struck in red, headline and chapter numbers painted in red and blue, and two hand-painted two-line initials. Front pastedown with evidence of removed bookplate. Goff B-526; BMC I, 17; PMM 1. Corners of the portfolio lightly rubbed, the leaf with a touch of dust-soiling to edges, otherwise A FINE SPECIMEN, clean, fresh, and bright with ample margins. This is a leaf from the 42-Line (or Gutenberg) Bible, the first substantial book printed in Europe with movable type as well as the first printed edition of the Vulgate Bible. Though it was preceded by a few small printed items (e.g., two indulgences of 1454) and a few insignificant books (mostly copies of Donatus, and all of them now fragmentary), this is the book that traditionally marks the beginning of printing as we know it. Newton says in his essay included here with the leaf that Gutenberg's Bible "as an example of printing . . . has never been surpassed. Of all the arts, printing at its birth reached perfection more nearly than any other." The importance of this Bible in terms of the effect on Western civilization represented by the advent of printing in Europe can hardly be exaggerated, and the pleasure of owning even a fragmentary part of this singular production is proportionately acute. Our leaf is part of a fragment that was bought by Robert Curzon, Lord Zouche, in the duplicate sale of the Munich Royal Library in 1832; it was later sold by his descendants at Sotheby's in 1920 to Joseph Sabin, who, in turn, sold it to the bookseller Gabriel Wells, who broke it up into smaller fragments and individual leaves, partly for sale along with the Newton essay, as in the present case. Our leaf contains an important section from the Book of Judith (chapter 7:28-32, all of chapter 8, and chapter 9:1-12), in which Judith, at the request of the city governors of Bethulia, beseeches God to deliver the city and the children of Israel from the massed army of the Assyrians, and she prays to God as the only true and almighty spirit and savior of the people of Israel. There are 48 known copies of the Gutenberg Bible (a number imperfect, some comprising one volume of two, and a few of those imperfect). All but three are in institutional collections (the Doheny copy of volume one, consisting of 324 leaves of the Old Testament, was the last in the marketplace, being sold for a hammer price of $4,900,000 in 1987). As a consequence, the only form of the 42-line Bible that one can reasonably hope to possess is a single leaf, and there have always been at least a small number of Gutenberg leaves on the market at any one time, with the price per leaf steadily escalating year by year. The specimens that become available are more and more frequently beset with condition problems, so that the present leaf--which is in especially fine condition--is particularly desirable. Even the "Noble Fragment" binding and slipcase, which are often found in unattractive shape, are found here in virtually pristine condition, after having been in the same family's collection for the past 70 years.