Early Masterpieces

CICERO, Marcus Tullius (c. 104–43 BCE).
De officiis, and Paradoxa stoicorum. Hexasticha XII Sapientum de titulo Ciceronis.
[Mainz]: Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer, 1465. (06236)

Following the success of the Psalter of 1457, Fust and Schoeffer’s next great achievements included the publication of the first book written by a post-biblical author (1459), and the first dated Bible (1462), which introduced the famous printer's device of Fust and Schoeffer, the first of its kind. After a lengthy interruption of their activities caused by the outbreak of the Archbishops’ War in 1462, the printers resumed work in 1465 with a book that may represent both the earliest printed Classical text and the earliest use of Greek type. All three of these landmark books are exhibited here.