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The German printer Johann Gutenberg is credited with the printing the Bibles on a hand made printing press using the movable type, in the year 1455. This was an important landmark as the publications could now be printed instead of being copied by hand, which happened to be a long as well as a tedious process. Also known as the 42 line Bibles these happen to be the most famous piece of printed material in the world. Gutenberg originally came up with 180 copies of the Bible. Some of the versions of these Bibles were printed on vellum for the rich clientele and the rest of them were published on the hemp-based paper product that had a somewhat inferior quality, thereby raising questions on the longevity. The Bibles were bound in leather in two volumes and were sold to the rich people around the European continent. Many of these Bibles are no longer in existence. Only a few complete copies of the 42 line bible are currently known to exist. In addition to these complete works, there is only one complete version of the New Testament outside of the eleven complete works. This version is on vellum. Additionally, there are 48 other copies of Gutenberg’s Bibles that were printed on the hemp based paper. There are three perfect vellum copies still in existence. These Bibles are located in France, England, and the United States. In France, the complete vellum version is located in the Bibliotheque Nationale in the capital city of Paris. This massive library also houses a variety of rare and costly books. England’s copy of the complete vellum Gutenberg Bible is located in the country’s British Library in London. This library is home to a phenomenal collection of books, including original works by hometown hero, William Shakespeare. The third perfect vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible is in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A fourth and final perfect vellum copy of the Bible rests in Goettigen, Germany’s Universitaetsbibliothek. Apart from the copies that were printed on vellum, there were also certain copies that are available on paper. There are about eighteen of these perfect copies that were published on hemp based paper product. These copies are located in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. One copy of Gutenberg's Bible is in Asia in the Keio University Library in Tokyo. It is an incomplete and imperfect copy, but nonetheless an important copy of the 42 line Bible. This Bible was purchased in 1987 for an exorbitant price of $4.9 million by the Maruzen Company of Tokyo, and presented to the University in 1996. While traveling do not miss out on any of these imperfect copies of Bible that exist throughout the European continent in many universities, libraries and private collections. Nowadays, it is also possible to view the complete as well as incomplete versions of the Gutenberg Bible on the Internet. Now you can watch them in ease and comfort of your room. Visit the url- http://clausenbooks.com/gutenbergcensus.htm, to know more about the Gutenberg Bible census and to find all the areas where you can find Bibles.
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Brett Nga is the chief writer for, and editor of For Bibles it's one of the webs most up to date Bible sites, why not sign up for the free Bible newsletter. Read many more interesting articles on Bible at: www.forbibles.com/articles You can get a unique content version of this article.
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