Saturday, September 8, 2012

Beauty of Words and Adornment

Think what you will about the profundity and validity of The Bible in the context of our society, but the beauty of words and adornment of pages in various editions is unmistakable.

Illuminated Page from the Gutenberg Bible

'The Gutenberg Bible, traditionally accepted as the first book printed from movable type, was issued at Mainz, Germany, about 1454. The page, above, shows page one of the Proverbs of Solomon. The pages are illuminated to give the effect of a hand-copied manuscript, as desired by the printers, who did not wish their invention discovered. The book was probably printed in 10 sections on 6 presses working simultaneously. Of nearly 300 copies, only 45 are known to be in existence today.'

1 comment:

D'artagnan said...

Beautiful . . .although, it might be better put to say "think what you will about the profundity and validity of our society in the context of the Bible"