Printed books existed nearly 600 years before gutenbergs bible. The completed book according to the library of congress may have been released around 1455 or 1456. A beatenup old book that is falling apart will have little value. Born as johann gensfleisch john gooseflesh, he preferred to be known as johann gutenberg john beautiful. Stories of war, knightly exploits and love were popular courtly reading. The book was printed by johannes gutenberg, who invented the printing press and started the printing revolution, around 1450 1455. It was produced in 1473 on the continent, in either bruges or ghent. The incomplete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 in this example tells you that it is a fifth printing of that book. May 18, 2018 the first book to be printed in england was printed in 1473. The gutenberg bible also known as the 42line bible, the mazarin bible or the b42 was among the earliest major books printed using massproduced movable metal type in europe.
The delft bible, the first book printed in the dutch language. The first book ever printed in english sells for over a. Sep 28, 20 the bay book of psalms was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640. It was an exact xylographic copy of the buddhas diamond sutra. Called the aurora australis, one copy of the book is up for auction tomorrow. The bay psalm book was first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts by stephen daye, a locksmith whose name does not appear on the title page but who is nevertheless credited as the first printer of the first book printed in the english colonies of america. The first book of mormon was published in 1830, where 5,000 copies were printed by e. While the gutenberg bible helped introduce printing to the west, the process was already well established in other parts of the world. The first book to be printed in england was printed in 1473. The earliest woodblock printing known is in colourchinese silk from the han dynasty printed in three colours. The apostolos was first printed in moscow in 156364 by ivan fyodorov, who is considered the father of russian printing.
He is credited with the first printed book because all other attempts were single page operations repeated until the book was done. It is the first book in europe to be printed using moveable type. On paper, european woodcut prints with coloured blocks were invented in germany in 1508 and are known as chiaroscuro woodcuts colour is very common in asian woodblock printing on paper. Johann gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1450s, and the first book to ever be printed was a latin language bible, printed in mainz, germany. The recuyell of the historyes of troye was his first printed book, and the first book printed anywhere in english. The chinese actually printed from movable type in 1040, but later discarding the method. First book is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need. The first bound parchment books, or codices, were the bibles of the early christian church, like the 4th century a. It was completed in 1564 and printed at the state print yard by. A mixture of lamp soot, varnish and egg white was used for ink. While the gutenberg bible helped introduce printing to the west, the. Johannes gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440 and the holy bible, popularly known as gutenberg bible or 42line bible, is widely acclaimed as the first major book mass printed in europe with the movable metal type printing press tha. A popular book may have had dozens of additional printings causing its first printing to be the most valuable. Printed books existed nearly 600 years before gutenbergs.
Where the first russian books were printed russia beyond. A first edition signed by the author will have even greater value. Still a good amount but a far cry from the what the true firsts can achieve. Apr 14, 2010 the first tamil book was printed in lisbon on 11. Since our founding in 1992, first book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and. The diamond sutra, a buddhist book from dunhuang, china from around 868 a. This was the first book ever to be printed in english. William caxton was the first englishman to learn to use a printing press.
But i am not sure what the first printed book in the usa was. May 30, 2007 the first book printed in the english language was the recuyell of the histories of troy, issued, about 1475, at bruges. Only 1,700 copies were made and only 11 survive today. The lone e floating on this page means a fifth printing of this book.
How to identify first editions or a first printing of a book. The book is a collection of stories very loosely based on the tales of the trojan wars. The gutenberg bibel was the first book printed in the way we. In 1455, gutenberg produced what is considered to be the first book ever printed. The first book printed in america rare books digest. Since our founding in 1992, first book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from lowincome families.
The exact date that johannes gutenberg published his first book the bible isnt clear, although some historians believe the first section was published on september 30, 1452. For that we must go to italy, the cradle of hebrew printing, only spain, portugal, and turkey sharing its distinction of having produced hebrew incunabula books printed before the end of the fifteenth century. What is for sure is that gutenbergs work, published on his printing press, changed the world. The crown jewel of a great hebraic collection would, of course, be the first hebrew book printed.
May 04, 2006 i think mya was the first in the answer list to say that the gutenberg bible was the first printed book she and the others are right. The first christian book printed in english in north america was also the first book printed in north america. Sothebys, where a first printed edition was up for auction, writes that it is unlikely that caxton originally intend his translation for print. The tiny hymnal was printed in 1640 by puritan leaders of the massachusetts bay colony.
Bought by james lenox in 1847, it was the first copy to be acquired by a united states citizen. Caxton, william william caxton showing the first page from his printing press to king edward iv. The chinese actually printed from movable type in 1040, but later. Fedorov ran another issue of the book in lvov in 1574, making it also the first printed book on modern ukrainian territory, then part of polishlithuanian commonwealth. Around 90 copies of the lvov issue remain until this day. The first publication ever printed in russia, with a known date, was the acts and epistles of the apostles also known as apostle.
Jun 14, 2018 there were 5 printings of the book of mormon during joseph smiths life. A first edition of this book, printed a year after the first edition yet still appearing the same visually, can reach. Apr 20, 2020 the first dated printed book is the diamon sutra. He had begun the translation in 1469, taken it further at the behest of margaret of york. Though the gutenberg bible was certainly the first mass produced printed work, it was hardly the first printed book nor was it even the first made using movable type. First edition book of mormon history moons rare books. A man by the name of william caxton was the first man ever to print a book in the english language.
First book printed in british north america is now worlds. A copy of the gutenberg bible in the collection of the new york public library. Johannes gutenberg is often credited as the inventor of the printing press in 1454. The book, which was called the recuyell of the historyes of troye, was first produced in 1473. The very first book to be printed in this new pocket book format was virgils opera p. This was the first time european language was translated in. First editions are soughtafter by book collectors and a first edition is usually more valuable than a later printing. The first book to be printed in the italian language is il canzoniere by francesco petrarca in 1470. To a book collector the phrase first edition refers to a book that was released during the first printing of the first edition they call this book a 1st1st.
The first book printed in englishthe recuyell of the. Jul 15, 2014 sothebys, where a first printed edition was up for auction, writes that it is unlikely that caxton originally intend his translation for print. The first dated book printed in english, dictes and sayenges of the phylosophers, appeared on november 18, 1477. Condition is very important and will greatly influence value. Chronica hungarorum was the first book printed in hungary. The evolution of the book science fiction fantasy book. The first book printed in antarctica atlas obscura. Nov 27, 2017 johannes gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440 and the holy bible, popularly known as gutenberg bible or 42line bible, is widely acclaimed as the first major book mass printed in europe with the movable metal type printing press tha. Nov 30, 20 a nondescript battered book filled with spelling errors just became the worlds most expensive printed book. Chinese artisans were pressing ink onto paper as early as the second century a. A nondescript battered book filled with spelling errors just became the worlds most expensive printed book. The first telephone book had fifty listings and no numbers. Sep 18, 2017 the first publication ever printed in russia, with a known date, was the acts and epistles of the apostles also known as apostle.
Gutenbergs bibles were surprisingly beautiful, as each leaf gutenberg printed was later colorfully handilluminated. The left side of the number line indicates the years of publication and the right side the printing number. Johann gutenberg holds the distinction of being the inventor of the movabletype printing press. Ukraines first printed book vanishes along with restoration. The bay book of psalms was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640. An engraving is made by incising a metal plate with a tool called a. The first printed edition of geographia by ptolemy, probably in 1477 in bologna, was also the first printed book with engraved illustrations. There is early documentation showing that 200 copies of the bible were scheduled to be printed on cotton linen paper and 30 copies on velum animal skin the actual number of copies made is unknown. Caxton, william william caxton showing the first page from his printing press to. The french original was compiled in the year 1464 by raoul le fevre, chaplain to philip, duke of burgundy, and, four years later, caxton began to translate it into english. The earliest dated book printed in more than 2 colours is chengshi moyuan chinese. The first book printed in the english language was the recuyell of the histories of troy, issued, about 1475, at bruges. The first phone book really a onepage sheet came long before phones like this, but it was an important step towards the printed directories that were ubiquitous in the twentieth century and. The first dated book printed in england is the dictes and.