ticlaused 3-15-30 ELH

The aim of this Catalogue is to give examples of the work of Typography during the first fifty years of its existence in the various countries into which it was introduced during the fifteenth century. There are also a few specimens of presses established at later periods in small or secluded localities.

The collection is the fruit of assiduous gathering during twenty years, and although made by a mere bookseller, is one which many museums might be proud of. It illustrates with sufficient clearness and fulness the early history of the Art which has been the most powerful agent in the work of Civilisation. From the brain of the inventor, it sprung fully armed into existence, and founded the empire of the Press, a mightier and wider sovereignty than has ever been wielded by conqueror or statesman. When we think that in 1450, Gutenberg was only negotiating for aid in money to convert his airy fancies into realities, and to give them a local habitation and a name; when we know that the enormous forty-two line Bible (the fruit of years of labour) was ready for distribution and sale before 1456; when we see in it a work of such typographical magnificence as the proudest printer of our own time could not hope to excel;-that first book in movable types seems to be the result of Magic.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the most important of all books was the Latin Bible. In the minds of all who had minds, it was a divine thing, even more divine than the English Bible afterwards became in this country. During the first twenty years of Typography many of the new presses sought to initiate their career by printing a Latin Bible. This tendency led the way to the production of the Scriptures in vernacular languages, and there were no less than eight German Bibles printed in Strassburg and Augsburg between 1466 and 1480; but the

editions of the Latin Bible printed between 1455 and 1480 numbered at least fifty. And they still went on printing St. Jerome's text without cessation. As for Bibles in other vernaculars than German, one in Italian appeared in 1471, a Czech New Testament came out in 1475, a French one at Lyons about the same time, the Dutch Old Testament in 1477, a Bible in Valencian Spanish in 1478, a complete Czech Bible in 1488; but the English Bible and the complete French one had to wait till the time of the Reformation.

Latin classics, which for the first century of printing were produced in greater number than any other books, made their earliest appearance simultaneously in Mentz and Subbiaco in 1465, in the Officia Ciceronis printed by Fust and Schoeffer, and the Cicero de Oratore printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz. Greek printing began at Milan in 1476, but the earliest work of pure Hellenic literature was the Homer produced at Florence in 1488. Greek impressions were however few and far between till Aldus began to print numerous valuable texts from 1495 onwards.

Books in vernacular tongues have been referred to in the paragraph on Bibles, but their origin is earlier than any date mentioned there.

The first book printed in any other language than Latin was Boner's "Fabelbuch." published in German, with woodcuts, at Bamberg, in 1461. This was the work of Albrecht Pfister, who produced a few other books in German, one of them dated 1462, and all having woodcuts. Not till 1470, however, did ordinary popular books in German begin to make their appearance. Augsburg and Ulm rivalled each other in the production of works of this kind, but the first one of national importance was the Partzifal and Tyturel romances, of (Strassburg) 1477.