Written by Mark Harrison | 22nd June 2018
In our Expert Talks, we hand over the metaphorical pen to one of our experts to discuss a subject in their field of expertise. In this edition, books expert Mark Harrison introduces our new Early Printing Books auction (22nd June - 2nd July) and explains how these early printed books started a revolution in Europe.
What is an “Early Book”?
As with many questions, it depends who you ask! Age and time are both relative. One of my favourite facts is that “New College, Oxford” was founded in 1379, but is still "new" today! When I had a shop, I would take great pleasure in showing Americans books older than their country. Conversations with friends often lead to discussions of work, and this in turn will usually lead to my being shown a few books printed between the 1950s and the 1980s. To a bookseller, these are actually “modern books”.
An early book, will be one that is printed shortly after the invention of the printing press. It is generally accepted that the first printing press using movable type was developed by Johannes Gutenberg around 1439. This led to the printing of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455. Movable type meant that pages could be printed at a rate of around 20 sheets per hour. It also meant that the individual pieces (the “type” - typically the actually letters) could be re-used. Prior to this, each page would be carved from a block of wood - used for a specific book or pamphlet, and then discarded. A very labour intensive process. Imagine a Bible with 1,000 pages - each page carved by hand. This would be virtually impossible to produce. It was no wonder books were written by hand prior to moveable type. Once this had been invented, the printer needed only one piece for each letter, punctuation mark, capital letter, etc. Illustrations would still be wood-cuts (literally carved from wood). These early printed books are known as incunables.
What is an “incunable”?
An incunable, (often called “incunables” or “incunabula” in the plural) is a book, pamphlet or leaflet printed before 1501. The important word here is printed. A manuscript is always hand-written (often produced by a scribe as a copy of another book). Incunables were printed using the early printing presses of Europe between 1450 and 1501. It is estimated that around 30,000 individual editions of books / pamphlets or other works were produced. This figure alone shows how printing exploded in its first 50 years. By the way, the word “incunable” comes from the Latin word for “swaddling clothes” or cradle. Originally, it referred to the earliest stages of anything - even books. Later the definition became focussed only refer to printing.
One of the earliest books we are offering in this auction is a plenarium, produced in Augsburg in 1480 (which, of course, makes it an incunabula). It opens with a full-page woodcut showing a crucifixion and features no fewer than 56 woodcut illustrations and 55 initials in the text, all lovely highlighted in red. A 'plenarium' was a popular book, intended for the laity, containing a translation of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and festivals of the liturgical year. Of this edition there are only 4 other complete copies recorded.
Incunable - Plenarium - 1480
There are some collectors who will only purchase incunables. These tend to be a few wealthy individuals, as these early printed works generally do not come cheap. Certainly not for whole works that is, but single pages are often offered for auction as well.
At Catawiki, we decided to define early books as those printed between 1450 and 1600. This certainly includes incunables, but by widening the date range, we can offer many more collectors the opportunity to bid on an early work.
Printing changed everything
The development of printing led to a revolution of thought in Europe. Previously, the written word was only for the elite or the church. Now, ideas could be published and circulated far more widely, and for far less cost.
The timing of the introduction of movable type was also highly significant. Martin Luther had “set Europe ablaze” with his 95 theses in 1517. Although not the first church reformer, he was one of the most influential, and the invention of movable type a generation later helped to spread his message. Little wonder then that religious texts make up so many of the surviving early printed works.
In June 1520 Pope Leo X issued the bull Exsurge domine, condemning Luther’s books and forbidding people to read, print, publish or defend them. Moreover, Luther's books were to be publicly and solemnly burnt. Hieronymus Aleander, a papal nuncio, brought the bull to Western Germany and the Low Countries. He burnt Luther's books in Louvain, Liège, Cologne, Trier and Mainz. The present pamphlet was published in response to the burning of Luther's books in Mainz on 29th November 1520. The text is by the great German scholar, poet and follower of Luther, Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523). It features one of the earliest depictions of a book burning.
Ulrich von Hutten - Ein Klag über den Lutherischen Brandt zu Mentz - 1521
The Early Printing Auction
We have a wide selection of beautiful items for you to enjoy in this auction (not just religious texts). If you prefer medical texts, then take a look at this extremely rare treatise on the medical and magical properties of bezoars; apparently there are only two other copies recorded. A bezoar is a mass of undigested (or partially digested) material trapped in the digestive tract. In the 16th and 17th centuries bezoars were believed to be an antidote to arsenic and other poisons. Because of these assumed medical qualities and their rarity they were highly valued (their value could even exceed the value of gold).
Christoph Hieblin (Hyeble) - Tractat, Von der aller fürtrefflichsten und kräfftigsten Artzney wider allerley Gifft - 1589
Or if astronomy is more your passion, see this scarce edition of De Anni Ratione (On reckoning the years) by the influential astronomer and monk Johannes de Sacrobosco (1195 – c. 1256). In it, Sacrobosco points out that the Julian calendar had an accumulated error of 10 days. This problem was only solved with the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582. The book is lovely illustrated with several full-page astronomical woodcuts.
Johannes de Sacro Bosco - De anni ratione, seu ut vocatur vulgo, computus ecclesiasticus - 1543
Whichever early texts are your favourites, we hope you will enjoy looking at the range of early printed works we are offering in our Early Books auction.
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