Invention and Discovery: Printed Books from Fifteenth-Century Europe

Title

Invention and Discovery: Printed Books from Fifteenth-Century Europe

Description

Books and broadsides printed between c. 1455 and 1500 highlighting the various ways in which Europeans in past centuries discovered the power and potential of Gutenberg’s invention.

Creator

Bridwell Library Special Collections

Publisher

SMU Libraries

Date

Originally exhibited February 2–May 3, 2010

Collection Items

06117
31 leaves of the Latin Vulgate Bible printed by Gutenberg in his style of 42 lines of "Missal" type per column.

Prothro B-51
Single vellum leaf from a Gutenberg Bible that was disassembled for binding material. Text is part of Genesis 46-48.

06118
Single leaf of the Latin Bible printed by Gutenberg in 1454–1455. The text of the present leaf, consisting of Exodus 9:12-11:1, has been rubricated in red and blue.

06278
A treatise on the significance of the sacramental ceremonies, describing the church edifice, its officers, their vestments, the Mass, the other divine offices, the dominical feast days, saints' days, and the liturgical calendar.

06096
Latin dictionary printed by either Gutenberg or Schoeffer. This copy has the Bull's Head watermarks, datable c. 1460. The printing date of this item is contested but is likely 1460.

06119-06120
Fourth printed edition of the Latin Bible by Fust and Schoeffer. They used a small typeface for extended private reading and included printed rubrics, colored initals, chapter numerals, and paragraph marks which were usually added by rubricators.

06236
First dated printing of any works of Classical literature.

07015
A letter of indulgence by the Bishop of Sebenico (Croatia) which could be bought for the remission of sin in the Jubilee Year of 1480. With Schoeffer's Lombard initial L and "Psalter" initial M. The type used for the headings is Gutenberg's 42-line…

06670
This three-part work was the most comprehensive and systematic statement of medieval Christian dogma. Printed by Johann Mentelin, the first successful printer located outside of Mainz.

06164
First edition of the Bible in German and is the first edition of the Bible printed in any language other than Latin.

06123
Third Strasbourg edition of the Latin Bible with Netherlandish illumination.

06166
Second German Bible with a unique illustration of the Idolatry of King Solomon including a with dark skin which was unsual for European art of the time.

06962
First edition of the most influential confession manual of the fifteenth century.

06516
Treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins. The rubricator inscribed that they finished in 1473, although it was previously thought that this work was dated 1475.

06502
A critique of Jewish beliefs concerning the Messiah, this work includes a rudimentary introduction to the Hebrew language, a misleading summary of Jewish beliefs, and transliterations from Hebrew sources.

Prothro B-03
The "Nuremberg Chronicle," a history of the world from the Creation to the year 1493, was the most profusely illustrated book printed during the fifteenth century. It contains more than 900 different woodcuts by Michael Wohlgemut, Hans Pleydenwurff,…

06285
The Epistolae et Evangelia provided a vernacular translation of the readings from the Epistles and Gospels that were designated for specific Sundays and holidays throughout the liturgical year.

06881
St Bridget's account of her experiences of "celestial revelations" of Christ's life, the Last Judgment, her own "mystical marriage" to Christ, and divine instructions to found the Brigittine Order. This is a reprint from the 1492 Lübeck edition.

Prothro B-09
Latin Bible featuring fifteenth-century binding of blind-stamped calfskin. The binding is thought to be done at a bindery in Brixen, in the Alps of South Tyrol (Italy).

06327
Compiled for Pope Gregory IX in 1234, the Decretales collected all of the canon laws that had been approved since the completion of the Decretum of Gratianus in 1140. This version is one of the 40 that were printed on vellum and includes painted…

06951
Johannes Richenbach (d.1486) decorated his bndings using metal rolls with patterns.

Prothro B-108
Whereas most manuscript Books of Hours were illuminated with colorful miniatures, printed editions such as this one were embellished with metalcut illustrations and decorative borders.

06982
This book binding was created with a time-saving method called panel stamping on the front and the back. The front depicts "Ecce Homo" but is stamped upside down. The back has dragons, falcons, and monstrous dogs amid twisting vines and is also…

06054
First printed edition of St. Augustine's De civitate dei. This edition has bianchi girari decoration.

06056
De civitate dei, printed by the first printer in Venice, Johannes de Spira, and completed by his brother Vindelinus when Johannes died in 1470. This edition includes white-vine decorations painted over hand-stamped woodblock patterns.
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