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Description
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[Bible in Latin. Mainz: Johann Gutenberg and Fust, 1455]. Folio (390 x 280 mm). Single leaf from the Old Testament, containing book II of Kings, chapters 15, 16, 17. Initials, headlines and chapter numbers in alternating red and blue letters, capital strokes in red. Residue from old 21/2 inch tape repair in lower gutter margin with closed tear and small chip, otherwise a clean example.TIPPED INTO: A Noble Fragment: Being a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, with a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton. New York: Gabriel Wells, 1921.Dark blue morocco gilt, by Stikeman and Co., slipcase. Corners and spine ends rubbed, slipcase lacking back strip, shelfwear.AN ORIGINAL LEAF FROM THE 42-LINE BIBLE. "Standards were set in quality of paper and blackness of ink, in design and professional skill, which printers of later generations have found difficult to maintain ... the first and in many ways the greatest of all printed books" (Printing and the Mind of Man 1).
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