If you know me then you know I love books.
So during our New York trip this week, Claudia and I decided to make some time to visit the New York Public Library.
In addition to it being the second largest library in the country and fourth largest in the world, NYPL also has a copy of the Gutenberg Bible on display.
While it might just look like an old Bible to many, it really is so much more than that. It’s creation had a significant impact on both scripture and literature.
Prior to it publication, books were either copied by hand or stamped from a carved block of wood. Both techniques were laborious work. Because of this, books were both expensive and inaccessible.
This changed around 1450 AD with Johann Gutenberg’s moveable-type printing press. While movable-type was not a new technology at the time (likely created in China around 1040 AD), Gutenberg’s innovation and technique led to the mass-production of books in Europe. And the Gutenberg Bible was first major book to be printed using this technology.
Scholars believe that about 200 copies were originally printed. However, only 49 are known to exist today. Of those copies, only 21 are complete.
While the Gutenberg Bible might just look like an old Bible to many, it really is so much more than that. It represents the accessibility of scripture and literature as well as the impact that innovation and technology can have on both.
Nick Chellsen 