42 Line Bible

The 42 Line Bible, also known as the Gutenberg Bible, was the first book to be printed in the West using movable type. The movable type press which the 42 Line Bible was produced on was invented by Johannes Gutenberg, who the bible is named after. Prior to this all books in the West were manuscripts(hand written) or produced by pressing woodcuts of pages. This meant that the 42 Line Bible heralded a revolution in the manufacturing of books that rendered the practice of manuscript printing obsolete. Although the 42 Line Bible was produced in Latin, the movable type printing press allowed for the proliferation of vernacular language books in Europe.

  

Of the 42 Line Bibles originally produced by Gutenberg, only 48 are known to survive today. Of these 36 are printed on paper and another 12 are printed on vellum (calf skin). Among these surviving bibles the U.S. Library of Congress has a complete vellum 42 Line Bible, the British Library has a complete vellum copy and the British Library has a complete paper copy. The 42 Line Bible is closely connected to the 36 Line Bible which was sometimes contended to have been produced first. However, recent examinations of the two have concluded that it is the 42 Line Bible which was produced first.

Sources

British Library. Gutenberg Bible. 2017, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/gutenberg-bible

Encyclopedia Britannica. Gutenberg Bible. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gutenberg-Bible

Arth 364. Notes. 2016.