Gutenberg Bible Leaf, 2 Kings 21–23

This page, containing 2 Kings 21:3b–23:3, is from the first edition of the Gutenberg Bible, the first printed edition of the Bible. The year of the first printing cannot be determined with certainty, but sometime in the middle of the 1450s, Gutenberg produced a copy of the Latin Vulgate. The Gutenberg Bible is in two columns of 42 lines and closely resembles a manuscript, using typeset that mimics period handwriting with ornamentation added by hand. This “Noble Fragment,” sold by Gabriel Wells from an incomplete Gutenberg Bible in 1921 is a page from the book of 2 Kings. It is bound with an essay by Alfred Edward Newton, which typically accompanied Well’s “Noble Fragments.”

Printed by 1455 in Mainz, Germany, by Johannes Gutenberg. Acquired before July 21, 1789, by Carl-Theodor von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1724–1799) and Maria Elisabeth Augusta von Sulzbach (1721–1794) of Mannheim;[1] Delivered shortly after Carl-Theodor von Pfalz-Sulzbach’s death to the Bavarian Court Library in Munich (which became the Bavarian Royal Library in 1804);[2] Purchased on August 23, 1832, by Robert Curzon, 14th Baron Zouche (1810–1873); By descent in 1873 to Robert Nathaniel Cecil George Curzon, 15th Baron Zouche; By descent in 1915 to Darea Curzon, 16th Baroness Zouche; By descent in 1917 to Mary Cecil Frankland, 17th Baroness Zouche; Purchased at auction in 1920 by Frank M. Sabin; Purchased in 1920 by Gabriel Wells (1862–1946), who broke the Bible up to sell as book-length fragments and single pages with the blue binding and “Noble Fragment” essay in 1921.[3] Acquired by an unknown book dealer;[4] Purchased by Dr. Andrew Stimer, private collector, Camarillo, California;[5] Privately purchased in 2016 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2017 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry), under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] Carl-Theodor von Pfalz-Sulzbach, also known as Charles Theodore, was the Electoral Prince of the Palatinate and, later, the Electoral Prince of Bavaria. Theodor pursued the goal of building a scientific library with a collection of antiquarian literature. [2] Sold in their duplicate sale in 1832 for 350 guilders. [3] Sold at auction by Sotheby’s, London on November 9, 1920, Lot 70. The provenance from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth century is taken from Eric Marshall White, Editio Princeps: A History of the Gutenberg Bible (Harvey Miller Publishers: London, 2017), 132–133. This Gutenberg Bible was the source of all the so-called “Noble Fragments”; the Morgan Library gives very similar provenance on their website for their fragment http://www.themorgan.org/incunables/145177. [4] There is an inscription in pencil on the modern endpaper, “Warde 156.” However, this person’s identity is unknown at this time. [5] Stimer stated that he purchased this from a book dealer, however, the dealer’s name was not given.

Published References:

Eric Marshall White, Editio Princeps: A History of the Gutenberg Bible (Harvey Miller Publishers: London, 2017).

Incunables