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Gutenberg's Bibles— Where to Find Them

By: Brett Nga Perhaps the most treasured piece of printed material is the Gutenberg Bible. It was the German printer Johann Gutenberg who began printing these Bibles way back in 1455. He used a hand made printing press with movable type. These 42 line Bibles are historic manuscripts that mark the end of the phase of hand copied books and the beginning of publications that could be mass produced.

Gutenberg originally came up with 180 copies of the Bible. Some of the versions of these Bibles were printed on vellum for the rich clientele and the rest of them were published on the hemp-based paper product that had a somewhat inferior quality, thereby raising questions on the longevity. The Bibles were bound in leather in two volumes and were sold to the rich people around the European continent.

Many of these Bibles are no longer in existence. Only a few complete copies of the 42 line bible are currently known to exist. In addition to these complete works, there is only one complete version of the New Testament outside of the eleven complete works. This version is on vellum. Additionally, there are 48 other copies of Gutenberg’s Bibles that were printed on the hemp based paper.

There are three perfect vellum copies still in existence. These Bibles are located in France, England, and the United States. In France, the complete vellum version is located in the Bibliotheque Nationale in the capital city of Paris. This massive library also houses a variety of rare and costly books. England’s copy of the complete vellum Gutenberg Bible is located in the country’s British Library in London. This library is home to a phenomenal collection of books, including original works by hometown hero, William Shakespeare. The third perfect vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible is in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A fourth and final perfect vellum copy of the Bible rests in Goettigen, Germany’s Universitaetsbibliothek.

Apart from the copies that were printed on vellum, there were also certain copies that are available on paper. There are about eighteen of these perfect copies that were published on hemp based paper product. These copies are located in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.

One of the versions of the Gutenberg's Bible is also present in Asia in Tokyo's Keio University Library. This Bible happens to be an imperfect copy that was printed on the hemp-based paper. It was purchased for a whopping amount of $4.9 million by the Maruzen Company of Tokyo. In the year 1996 this Bible was given to the University.

While traveling do not miss out on any of these imperfect copies of Bible that exist throughout the European continent in many universities, libraries and private collections.

Nowadays, it is also possible to view the complete as well as incomplete versions of the Gutenberg Bible on the Internet. Now you can watch them in ease and comfort of your room. Visit the url- http://clausenbooks.com/gutenbergcensus.htm, to know more about the Gutenberg Bible census and to find all the areas where you can find Bibles.

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Brett Nga is the chief writer for, and editor of For Bibles there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus their free newsletter is well worth signing up for too. Read many more interesting articles on Bible at: www.forbibles.com/articles
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