ABSTRACT
Inaletterdated12March1455totheSpanishCardinalJuande Carvajal,theItalianhumanistAeneasSilviusPiccolomini(thelaterPope PiusII)casuallymentionedhowattheDietofFrankfurtinOctober 1454hehadmeta'virmirabilis',awonderfulman,whohadbeenable tosupplyaBiblewhichmightbereadwithoutspectaclesandin158or 180identicalcopiesPThisisundoubtedlyareferencetooneofthemost famousbooksinhistory,theGutenbergBible,or42-lineBible(GW 4201),printedbyJohannesGutenbergatMainz,thoughwhetherthe maninquestionwasGutenberghimselforoneofhisassociateswedo notknowforsure.Thisepisodeservesasasalutaryreminderthatthe BiblehadfirstbeenprintedinGermanyalmostthirtyyearsbefore MartinLutherwasevenborn.BythetimeofLuther'sbirthin1483Bible printingwasalreadybigbusinessthere.Oftheninety-fourLatinBibles printedinEuropeduringthefifteenthcenturynofewerthanfifty-seven wereprintedinGerman-speakingtowns,whiletwenty-sevenwere publishedinItaly(twenty-twoofthematVenice)andteninFrance,at ParisandLyon.2
