5. THE 1462 BIBLE

[BIBLIA LATINA]. 2 vols. Printed on vellum. Mainz: Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer, 14 August 1462.

One of Fust and Schoeffer’s greatest achievements, the Bible of 1462 is the fourth printed edition of the Latin Bible, the first to bear the names of its printers and the date of its completion, and the first to be divided formally into two volumes. Another notable feature is the introduction of the heraldic printer’s mark beneath the colophon at the end of each volume. This was to become the most recognized trademark in fifteenth-century printing.

What made this Bible one of the most successful and influential of its time, however, was its use of a text type designed for extended private reading. Larger, rounder, and more Roman than the “Durandus” type, it was the first comfortably legible typeface for books. Imitated as an all-purpose text type by countless printers, it had been introduced in the colophon of the Durandus in 1459.

The Bible of 1462 also represents the most ambitious attempt by any fifteenth-century printers to produce a Bible that was ready to use, that is, one published with red rubrics, colored initials and chapter numerals, and printed paragraph marks, each ordinarily added by rubricators. Although the printers could not replace the rubricator’s work entirely, their complex multi-colored printing project remained a unique achievement among Bibles of the period.  More on Bridwell Biblia latina1462  

Introduction 4. Durandus 1459

5a. More on Biblia latina 1462 6. Cicero 1465