Sibyllenbuch fragment
The Sibyllenbuch fragment is the earliest surviving remnant of any European book printed by moveable type. It was printed around 1452 to 1453, which makes the Sibyllenbuch fragment older than any other European document printed by moveable type. The book consists of a partial paper leaf printed German using Gothic letter. It is owned by the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany. The fragment was discovered in 1892 in an old bookbinding in Mainz. The fragment contains a portion of a German poem about the fate of the Holy Roman Empire.
Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible was the first book Johannes Gutenberg (inventor of the mechanical movable-type printing) had ever printed, which was also his most famous works. He began printing the Gutenberg Bible in 1452 and finished in 1455. About 200 copies of the Bible had been printed all together.
The Giant Bible of Mainz
The Giant Bible of Mainz was made before the invention of the printing press, therefore it was copied by hand. It was one of the most magnificent Middle-Rhenish manuscript books of the fifteenth century. The Giant Bible of Mainz was written by a single scribe in two columns on parchment in gothic lettering on leaves measuring 570 x 400mm. The scribe, who has not been identified, dated his work multiple times in the manuscript, starting on April 4, 1452 and finally finishing on July 9, 1453.
31-Line Letter of Indulgence
The 31-Line Letter of Indulgence was printed on October 22, 1454. It is one of the earliest European documents printed by moveable type. This Indulgence, was printed by Johannes Gutenberg. The only surviving copy is preserved in the Scheide Library at Princeton. The Catholic church sold Indulgences as a form of raising money. These sheets of parchment, and later paper, were reproduced by manuscript copying. After the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, a new round of Indulgences were sold in order to raise enough money for a crusade against the Turks.
Cicero's De oratore
The Cicero's De oratore was the first book printed in Italy, the first book printed in Roman type, and one of the first printed editions of a classical text. It was printed in September 1465. Between 100 and 275 copies have been printed of Cicero's De oratore, and only 18 copies are still existent. It is currently preserved in the British Library.
The first illustrated printed book on natural history
Printer Johann Bamler of Augsburg issued the first printed edition of Konrad von Megenberg's Buch der Natur on October 30, 1475. This was the first natural history book written in German, and the series of woodcuts in the first edition were the first natural history book illustrations. The picture to the left shows a woodcut from the chapter on zoology.
Gutenberg Bible
This is a page from the Gutenberg Bible, described above, which was printed using a printing press.