A PAGE from a nearly 600-year-old Gutenberg Bible, regarded as the first mass-printed book using mechanized movable type in Europe, has been found in an attic in Bromsgrove.
It was discovered by a Bromsgrove resident among his late grandfather’s possessions stored in his attic last year, in a box which had not been opened for over 50 years.
The family believe the bible page was originally a possession of their great-grandfather – a man who traveled to the far east and Europe extensively during the early 1900s. He was a keen collector of art and apparently liked to visit auction rooms around the world.
The Bromsgrove resident first saw the items around the year 2000, when his grandmother passed away but it was only last year they decided to have them checked out and authenticated.
The 570 year old manuscript, dating back to circa 1455, will be sold at Chorley’s Auctioneers in the Cotswolds on March 25 and is expected to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000.
Each leaf (page) from a Gutenberg Bible is a very rare and significant piece of printing history, prized for its aesthetic and historical importance, and more usually found in a museum.
This particular page from the Gutenberg Bible known as the 42-line Bible, features part of the Book of Numbers, specifically from verses 8:13 to 10:23.
It highlights key biblical events such as the setting apart of the Levites, the Passover, and the Cloud above the Tabernacle.
The text is presented in Gothic type, with intricate Lombard initials in red and blue, showcasing the masterful craftsmanship and design of early European printing.
The Gutenberg Bible – produced by Johannes Gutenberg and his partner Johann Fust in Mainz, Germany in the mid 1400’s – marks the dawn of the ‘Gutenberg Revolution’, the catalyst for the spread of printed books throughout the Western world.
Only 49 copies or substantial portions of this monumental work survive today, making it one of the most valuable and revered books in existence.
Reverend Ray Khan, Bromsgrove team vicar, told the Standard: “It’s absolutely amazing to hear we’ve found a piece of revolutionary communication in Bromsgrove.”
