Incunabulum
Encyclopedia
Incunable, or sometimes incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book
, pamphlet, or broadside
, that was printed
— not handwritten
— before the year 1501 in Europe
. "Incunable" is the anglicised
singular form of "incunabula", Latin
for "swaddling clothes" or "cradle
" which can refer to "the earliest stages or first traces in the development of anything." A former term for "incunable" is "fifteener," referring to the fifteenth century.
The first recorded use of incunabula as a printing term is in a Latin pamphlet by Bernhard von Mallinckrodt
, De ortu et progressu artis typographicae ("Of the rise and progress of the typographic art", Cologne
, 1639), which includes the phrase prima typographicae incunabula, "the first infancy of printing", a term to which he arbitrarily set an end, 1500, which still stands as a convention. The term came to denote the printed books themselves in the late seventeenth century.
The end date for identifying a printed book as an incunable is convenient but was chosen arbitrarily. It does not reflect any notable developments in the printing process around the year 1500, and many books printed for a number of years after 1500 continued to be visually indistinguishable from incunables. The term "post-incunable" is sometimes used to refer to books printed after 1500 up to another arbitrary end date such as 1520 or 1540.
As of 2008, there are between 28,000 and 30,000 distinct incunable edition
s known to be extant, while the number of surviving copies in Germany
alone is estimated at around 125,000.
printed from a single carved or sculpted wooden block for each page, by the same process as the woodcut
in art (these may be called xylographic), and the typographic book
, made with individual pieces of cast metal movable type
on a printing press
, in the technology made famous by Johann Gutenberg. Many authors reserve the term incunabula for the typographic ones only.
The spread of printing
to cities both in the north and in Italy ensured that there was great variety in the texts chosen for printing and the styles in which they appeared. Many early typeface
s were modelled on local forms of writing
or derived from the various European forms of Gothic
script, but there were also some derived from documentary scripts (such as most of Caxton
's types), and, particularly in Italy, types modelled on handwritten scripts and calligraphy
employed by humanists
.
Printers congregated in urban centres where there were scholars, ecclesiastics, lawyers, nobles and profession
als who formed their major customer base. Standard works in Latin
inherited from the medieval tradition formed the bulk of the earliest printing, but as books became cheaper, works in the various vernacular
s (or translations of standard works) began to appear.
of 1455, the Peregrinatio in terram sanctam of 1486—printed and illustrated by Erhard Reuwich
—both from Mainz
, the Nuremberg Chronicle
written by Hartmann Schedel
and printed by Anton Koberger
in 1493, and the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
printed by Aldus Manutius
with important illustrations by an unknown artist. Other well-known printers of incunabula were Albrecht Pfister
of Bamberg
, Günther Zainer
of Augsburg
, Johannes Mentelin
and Heinrich Eggestein
of Strasbourg
, Heinrich Gran
of Haguenau
and William Caxton
of Bruges
and London
.
The first incunable to have woodcut illustrations was Ulrich Boner's Der Edelstein, printed by Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg in 1461.
The British Library
's Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
now records over 29,000 titles, of which around 27,400 are incunabula editions (not all unique works). Studies of incunabula began in the seventeenth century. Michel Maittaire
(1667–1747) and Georg Wolfgang Panzer (1729–1805) arranged printed material chronologically in annals format, and in the first half of the nineteenth century, Ludwig Hain
published, Repertorium bibliographicum— a checklist of incunabula arranged alphabetically by author: "Hain numbers" are still a reference point. Hain was expanded in subsequent editions, by Walter A. Copinger and Dietrich Reichling, but it is being superseded by the authoritative modern listing, a German catalogue, the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke
, which has been under way since 1925 and is still being compiled at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. North American holdings were listed by Frederick R. Goff
and a worldwide union catalogue is provided by the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
.
The largest collections, with the approximate numbers of incunabula held, include:
introduced by Aldus Manutius
in 1501. The term post-incunable is sometimes used to refer to books printed "after 1500 — how long after, the experts have not yet agreed." For books printed on the Continent, the term generally covers 1501–1540, and for books printed in England, 1501–1520.
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, pamphlet, or broadside
Broadside (printing)
A broadside is a large sheet of paper printed on one side only. Historically, broadsides were posters, announcing events or proclamations, or simply advertisements...
, that was printed
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
— not handwritten
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
— before the year 1501 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. "Incunable" is the anglicised
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
singular form of "incunabula", Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "swaddling clothes" or "cradle
Cradle
Cradle may refer to:Mechanical devices:*Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep* Ship cradle, supports a ship that is dry docked...
" which can refer to "the earliest stages or first traces in the development of anything." A former term for "incunable" is "fifteener," referring to the fifteenth century.
The first recorded use of incunabula as a printing term is in a Latin pamphlet by Bernhard von Mallinckrodt
Bernhard von Mallinckrodt
Bernhard von Mallinckrodt , dean of Münster cathedral, was a bibliophile from a noble family of Protestants, who converted to Catholicism....
, De ortu et progressu artis typographicae ("Of the rise and progress of the typographic art", Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, 1639), which includes the phrase prima typographicae incunabula, "the first infancy of printing", a term to which he arbitrarily set an end, 1500, which still stands as a convention. The term came to denote the printed books themselves in the late seventeenth century.
The end date for identifying a printed book as an incunable is convenient but was chosen arbitrarily. It does not reflect any notable developments in the printing process around the year 1500, and many books printed for a number of years after 1500 continued to be visually indistinguishable from incunables. The term "post-incunable" is sometimes used to refer to books printed after 1500 up to another arbitrary end date such as 1520 or 1540.
As of 2008, there are between 28,000 and 30,000 distinct incunable edition
Edition (book)
The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed “from substantially the same setting of type,” including all minor typographical variants.- First edition :...
s known to be extant, while the number of surviving copies in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
alone is estimated at around 125,000.
Types
There are two types of incunabula in printing: the Block bookBlock book
Block books, also called xylographica, are short books of up to 50 leaves, printed in Europe in the second half of the 15th century as woodcuts with blocks carved to include both text and illustrations. The content of the books was nearly always religious, aimed at a popular audience, and a few...
printed from a single carved or sculpted wooden block for each page, by the same process as the woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
in art (these may be called xylographic), and the typographic book
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, made with individual pieces of cast metal movable type
Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document ....
on a printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, in the technology made famous by Johann Gutenberg. Many authors reserve the term incunabula for the typographic ones only.
The spread of printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
to cities both in the north and in Italy ensured that there was great variety in the texts chosen for printing and the styles in which they appeared. Many early typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
s were modelled on local forms of writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
or derived from the various European forms of Gothic
Gothic alphabet
The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet for writing the Gothic language, created in the 4th century by Ulfilas for the purpose of translating the Christian Bible....
script, but there were also some derived from documentary scripts (such as most of Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
's types), and, particularly in Italy, types modelled on handwritten scripts and calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
employed by humanists
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
.
Printers congregated in urban centres where there were scholars, ecclesiastics, lawyers, nobles and profession
Profession
A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....
als who formed their major customer base. Standard works in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
inherited from the medieval tradition formed the bulk of the earliest printing, but as books became cheaper, works in the various vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
s (or translations of standard works) began to appear.
Famous examples and collections
Famous incunabula include the Gutenberg BibleGutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed with a movable type printing press, and marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status...
of 1455, the Peregrinatio in terram sanctam of 1486—printed and illustrated by Erhard Reuwich
Erhard Reuwich
Erhard Reuwich was a Dutch artist, as a designer of woodcuts, and a printer, who came from Utrecht but then worked in Mainz. His dates and places of birth and death are unknown, but he was active in the 1480s....
—both from Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, the Nuremberg Chronicle
Nuremberg Chronicle
right|thumbnail|240px|Fifth dayThe Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated Biblical paraphrase and world history that follows the story of human history related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in...
written by Hartmann Schedel
Hartmann Schedel
Hartmann Schedel was a German physician, humanist, historian, and one of the first cartographers to use the printing press. He was born in Nuremberg...
and printed by Anton Koberger
Anton Koberger
Anton Koberger was the German goldsmith, printer and publisher who printed and published the Nuremberg Chronicle, a landmark of incunabula, and was a successful bookseller of works from other printers...
in 1493, and the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili , called in English Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream, is a romance said to be by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing...
printed by Aldus Manutius
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius , the Latinised name of Aldo Manuzio —sometimes called Aldus Manutius, the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Aldus Manutius, the Younger—was an Italian humanist who became a printer and publisher when he founded the Aldine Press at Venice.His publishing legacy includes...
with important illustrations by an unknown artist. Other well-known printers of incunabula were Albrecht Pfister
Albrecht Pfister
Albrecht Pfister was one of the very first European printers to use movable type, following its invention by Johannes Gutenberg. Working in Bamberg, Germany, he is believed to have been responsible for two innovations in the use of the new technology: printing books in the German language, and...
of Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, Günther Zainer
Günther Zainer
Günther Zainer was the first printer in Augsburg, where he worked from 1468 until his death; he produced about 80 books including two German editions of the Bible and the first printed calendar. He came to Augsburg from Strassburg and printed in 1472–76 three large works of moral instruction...
of Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, Johannes Mentelin
Johannes Mentelin
Johannes Mentelin, sometimes also spelled Mentlin, was a pioneering German book printer and bookseller of the incunabulum time...
and Heinrich Eggestein
Heinrich Eggestein
Heinrich Eggestein is considered, along with Johannes Mentelin, to be the earliest book printer in Strasbourg and therefore one of the earliest anywhere in Europe outside Mainz.- Life :Before he came to Strasbourg in the beginning of the 1440s, Heinrich Eggestein had already...
of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Heinrich Gran
Heinrich Gran
Heinrich Gran was a German book printer of the incunabulum era. Together with Johannes Mentelin and Heinrich Eggestein, he was one of the pioneers of book-printing in Alsace....
of Haguenau
Haguenau
-Economy:The town has a well balanced economy. Centuries of troubled history in the buffer lands between France and Germany have bequeathed to Haguenau a rich historical and cultural heritage which supports a lively tourist trade. There is also a thriving light manufacturing sector centred on the...
and William Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The first incunable to have woodcut illustrations was Ulrich Boner's Der Edelstein, printed by Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg in 1461.
The British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
's Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
The Incunabula Short Title Catalogue is an electronic bibliographic database maintained by the British Library which seeks to catalogue all known incunabula. The database lists books by individual editions, recording standard bibliographic details for each edition as well as giving a brief census...
now records over 29,000 titles, of which around 27,400 are incunabula editions (not all unique works). Studies of incunabula began in the seventeenth century. Michel Maittaire
Michel Maittaire
Michael Maittaire was a French born British classical scholar, bibliographer, and typographer in England and was a tutor to Lord Philip Stanhope. He edited an edition of Curtius Rufus owned by Thomas Jefferson....
(1667–1747) and Georg Wolfgang Panzer (1729–1805) arranged printed material chronologically in annals format, and in the first half of the nineteenth century, Ludwig Hain
Ludwig Hain
Ludwig Friedrich Theodor Hain was a German editor and bibliographer.He is best known as the compiler of Repertorium bibliographicum , a pioneering short title catalogue of incunabula...
published, Repertorium bibliographicum— a checklist of incunabula arranged alphabetically by author: "Hain numbers" are still a reference point. Hain was expanded in subsequent editions, by Walter A. Copinger and Dietrich Reichling, but it is being superseded by the authoritative modern listing, a German catalogue, the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke
Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke
The Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke is an ongoing project of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin to publish a union catalogue of incunabula. The Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke is available in part in print and in its entirety—in draft form—via an online database...
, which has been under way since 1925 and is still being compiled at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. North American holdings were listed by Frederick R. Goff
Frederick R. Goff
Frederick Richmond Goff was an American rare book librarian and specialist in incunabula.-Early life and education:Goff was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on April 23, 1916...
and a worldwide union catalogue is provided by the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
The Incunabula Short Title Catalogue is an electronic bibliographic database maintained by the British Library which seeks to catalogue all known incunabula. The database lists books by individual editions, recording standard bibliographic details for each edition as well as giving a brief census...
.
The largest collections, with the approximate numbers of incunabula held, include:
| Library | Location | Number of copies | Number of editions | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavarian State Library Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library in Munich is the central "Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria and one of Europe's most important universal libraries. With its collections currently comprising around 9.39 million books, it ranks among the best research libraries... |
Munich | 20,000 | ||
| British Library British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,... |
London | 12,500 | ||
| Bibliothèque nationale de France Bibliothèque nationale de France The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:... |
Paris | 12,000 | ||
| Vatican Library Vatican Library The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from... |
Vatican City | 8,000 | ||
| Austrian National Library Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary... |
Vienna | 8,000 | ||
| Württembergische Landesbibliothek Württembergische Landesbibliothek The Württembergische Landesbibliothek is a large library in Stuttgart, Germany, which traces its history back to the ducal public library of Württemberg, founded in 1765. It holds c. 3.4 million volumes and is thus the fourth-largest library in the state of Baden-Württemberg... |
Stuttgart | 7,076 | ||
| National Library of Russia | Saint Petersburg | 7,000 | ||
| Huntington Library | Pasadena, California | 5,600 | ||
| Library of Congress Library of Congress The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and... |
Washington, D.C. | 5,600 | ||
| Bodleian Library Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library... |
Oxford | 7,000 | 5,500 | |
| Russian State Library Russian State Library The Russian State Library is the national library of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest in the country and the third largest in the world for its collection of books . It was named the V. I... |
Moscow | 5,300 | ||
| Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library The Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of Cambridge University in England. It comprises five separate libraries:* the University Library main building * the Medical Library... |
Cambridge | 4,600 | ||
| Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III The Biblioteca nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III is a national library of Italy. It occupies the eastern wing of the 18th century Palazzo Reale in Naples, at 1 Piazza del Plebiscito, and has entrances from piazza Trieste e Trento... |
Naples | 4563 | ||
| John Rylands Library John Rylands Library The John Rylands Library is a Victorian Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, John Rylands... |
Manchester | 4,500 | ||
| Danish Royal Library Danish Royal Library The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and university library of University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries.... |
Copenhagen | 4,500 | ||
| Berlin State Library Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library is a library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.-Buildings:The State Library runs several premises, three of which are open for users, namely House 1 in Unter den Linden 8, House 2 in Potsdamer Straße 33 and the newspaper archive... |
Berlin | 4,431 | ||
| National Central Library (Florence) National Central Library (Florence) The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze is a public national library in Florence, the largest in Italy and one of most important in Europe, one of the two central libraries of Italy, along with the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Rome.-History:... |
Florence | 4,000 | ||
| Jagiellonian Library Jagiellonian Library Jagiellonian Library is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 6.7 million volumes, one of the biggest libraries in Poland, serving as a public library, university library and part of the Polish national library system... |
Cracow | 3,671 | ||
| Harvard University Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country... |
Cambridge, Massachusetts | 4,389 | 3,627 | |
| Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... (Beinecke Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library was a 1963 gift of the Beinecke family. The building was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft of the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books... ) |
New Haven, Connecticut | 3,100, others 425 | ||
| Biblioteca Nacional de España Biblioteca Nacional de España The Biblioteca Nacional de España is a major public library, the largest in Spain.It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos.-History:... |
Madrid | 3,300 | ||
| Herzog August Library | Wolfenbüttel | 3,000 | ||
| Biblioteca Marciana Biblioteca Marciana The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana is a library and Renaissance building in Venice, northern Italy; it is one of the earliest surviving public manuscript depositories in the country, holding one of the greatest classical texts collections in the world. The library is named after St. Mark, the... |
Venice | 2,883 | ||
| Uppsala University Uppsala University Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of... |
Uppsala | 2,500 | ||
| Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio | Bologna | 2,500 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Colmar | 2,500 | ||
| Bibliothèque Mazarine Bibliothèque Mazarine The Bibliothèque Mazarine is the oldest public library in France.- History :The Bibliothèque Mazarine was initially the personal library of cardinal Mazarin , who was a great bibliophile... |
Paris | 2,370 | ||
| Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire The Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire , is a public library in Strasbourg, France. It is located on Place de la République, the former Kaiserplatz, and faces the Palais du Rhin.- History :... |
Strasbourg | circa 2,300 | ||
| Morgan Library Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum is a museum and research library in New York City, USA. It was founded to house the private library of J. P. Morgan in 1906, which included, besides the manuscripts and printed books, some of them in rare bindings, his collection of prints and drawings... |
New York | 2,000 (more than) | ||
| National Central Library (Rome) | Rome | 2,000 | ||
| National Library of the Netherlands | The Hague | 2,000 | ||
| National Széchényi Library National Széchényi Library The National Széchényi Library is a library in Budapest, Hungary. It is one of the two Hungarian national libraries, the other being the University of Debrecen Library.-History:... |
Budapest | 1,814 | ||
| University Library Heidelberg University Library Heidelberg The University Library Heidelberg is the central library of the University of Heidelberg. It constitutes together with the 83 decentralized libraries of the faculties and institutes the University Library System, which is headed by the director of the University Library... |
Heidelberg | 1,800 | ||
| Abbey library of Saint Gall | St. Gallen | 1,650 | ||
| Turin National University Library Turin National University Library The National University Library in Turin, Italy, is one of the country's main libraries.It was founded in 1720 as the Royal University Library by Victor Amadeus II, who unified collections from the library of the University of Turin and from the library of the Dukes of Savoy... |
Turin | 1,600 | ||
| Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal The ' is the Portuguese national library, fulfilling the function of legal deposit and copyright.-External links:*... |
Lisbon | 1,597 | ||
| Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova | Padua | 1,583 | ||
| Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève inherited the writings and collections of one of the largest and oldest abbeys in Paris. Founded in the sixth century by Clovis I and subject to the rule of St. Benedict Abbey, initially devoted to the apostles Peter and Paul, in 512 received the body of the St... |
Paris | 1,450 | ||
| Walters Art Gallery | Baltimore | 1,250 | ||
| Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh.... |
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | 1,214 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Lyon | 1,200 | ||
| Biblioteca Colombina | Seville | 1,194 | ||
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Urbana, Illinois, USA | 1,100 (more than) | ||
| Bridwell Library | Dallas | 1,000 (more than) | ||
| Newberry Library Newberry Library The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public... |
Chicago | 1,000 (more than) | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon is the most important library in Besançon, but also the first French building which was constructed to be the public library.- History :... |
Besançon | about 1,000 | ||
| Free Library of Philadelphia Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:History of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Initiated by the efforts of Dr... |
Philadelphia | 800 (more than) | ||
| Princeton University Library Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 37,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is headquartered in the Harvey S... |
Princeton, New Jersey | 750 including the Scheide Collection | ||
| Leiden University Library Leiden University Library Leiden University Library is a library founded in 1575 in Leiden, Netherlands. It is regarded as a significant place in the development of European culture: it is a part of a small number of cultural centres that gave direction to the development and spread of knowledge during the Enlightenment... |
Leiden | 700 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale Bibliothèque municipale de Grenoble The Bibliothèque municipale de Grenoble is a library in Grenoble, France.... |
Grenoble | 654 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Avignon | 624 | ||
| Bibliothèque de la Sorbonne Collège de Sorbonne The Collège de Sorbonne was a theological college of the University of Paris, founded in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon, after whom it is named. With the rest of the Paris colleges, it was suppressed during the French Revolution. It was restored in 1808 but finally closed in 1882. The name Sorbonne... |
Paris | 614 including the Victor Cousin collection | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Cambrai | 600 | ||
| Humanist Library of Sélestat Humanist Library of Sélestat The Humanist Library in Sélestat is one of the most important cultural treasures of Alsace, France. According to a traditional saying, Alsace has three great treasures: Strasbourg Cathedral, the Isenheim Altarpiece in Colmar and the Humanist Library in Sélestat.... |
Sélestat | 550 | ||
| Médiathèque de la Vieille Ile | Haguenau | 541 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Rouen | 535 | ||
| Boston Public Library Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to... |
Boston | 525 | ||
| Biblioteca del Seminario Vescovile | Padua | 483 | ||
| Univerzitná knižnica v Bratislave | Bratislava | 465 | ||
| Bibliothèque de Genève Bibliothèque Publique et Universitaire (Geneva) The Library of Geneva , known until 2006 under the name Public and University Library , is one of the oldest university libraries of Switzerland... |
Geneva | 464 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Metz | 463 | ||
| Fondazione Ugo Da Como | Lonato del Garda, Italy | 450 | ||
| Bancroft Library Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired as a gift/purchase from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity... |
Berkeley, California | 430 | ||
| University of Zaragoza University of Zaragoza The University of Zaragoza or sometimes Saragossa University is a university located in Zaragoza, in the Aragon region of Spain... |
Zaragoza | 406 | ||
| The College of Physicians of Philadelphia The College of Physicians of Philadelphia The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is the oldest private medical society in the United States. Founded in 1787 by 24 Philadelphia physicians "to advance the Science of Medicine, and thereby lessen human misery, by investigating the diseases and remedies which are peculiar to our country"... |
Philadelphia | 400 (more than) | ||
| Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin... |
Austin, Texas | 380 | ||
| University of Chicago Library University of Chicago Library University of Chicago Library is the library of the University of Chicago, located on the university's campus in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is one of the largest university libraries in the United States.... |
Chicago | 350 (more than) | ||
| Médiathèque de la ville et de la communauté urbaine | Strasbourg | 349; 5,000 destroyed in the fire of 1870 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Bordeaux | 333 | ||
| Smithsonian Institution Libraries Smithsonian Institution Libraries The Smithsonian Institution Libraries system comprises 20 libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. SIL's holdings include 1.5 million volumes as well as a wide array of digital resources. The collections focus primarily on science, art, history and... |
USA | 320 | ||
| Bibliothèque universitaire de Médecine University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university... |
Montpellier | 300 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale Bibliothèque municipale de Douai The Bibliothèque municipale de Douai is a library in Douai, France. It was bombed in August 11, 1944.... |
Douai | 300 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Amiens | 300 | ||
| University of Seville University of Seville The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country... |
Seville | 298 | ||
| Bibliothèque municipale | Poitiers | 289 | ||
| Bibliothèque du Grand Séminaire | Strasbourg | 237 | ||
| Library of the Castle Kynžvart Castle Kynžvart Castle Kynžvart is located in the District of Okres Cheb in the Czech Republic and is built in neoclassical archytectural style.... |
Bohemia | 230 | ||
| Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A... |
USA | 216 | ||
Statistical data
The data in this section were derived from the Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue.- Printing towns: The number of printing cities stands at 282. These are situated in some 20 countries in terms of present-day boundaries. In descending order of the number of editions printed in each, these are: Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, England, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, Balearic Islands, Hungary, and Sicily (see diagram below).
- Languages: The 18 languages that incunabula are printed in, in descending order, are: Latin, German, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish, English, Hebrew, Catalan, Czech, Greek, Church Slavonic, Portuguese, Swedish, Breton, Danish, Frisian, and Sardinian (see diagram below).
- Illustrations: Only about one edition in ten (i.e. just over 3000) has any illustrations, woodcutWoodcutWoodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s or metalcutMetalcutMetalcut is a relief printmaking technique, belonging to the category of old master prints. It was almost entirely restricted to the period from about 1450 to 1540, and mostly to the region around the Rhine in Northern Europe, the Low Countries, Germany, France and Switzerland; the technique...
s. - Survival: The 'commonest' incunable is Schedel's Nuremberg ChronicleNuremberg Chronicleright|thumbnail|240px|Fifth dayThe Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated Biblical paraphrase and world history that follows the story of human history related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in...
("Liber Chronicarum") of 1493, with c 1250 surviving copies (which is also the most heavily illustrated). Very many incunabula are unique, but on average about 18 copies survive of each. This makes the Gutenberg BibleGutenberg BibleThe Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed with a movable type printing press, and marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status...
, at 48 or 49 known copies, a rather common (though extremely valuable) edition. - Total number of volumes: Counting extant incunabula is complicated by the fact that most libraries consider a single volume of a multi-volume work as a separate item, as well as fragments or copies lacking more than half the total leaves. A complete incunable may consist of a slip, or up to ten volumes.
- Formats: In terms of formatBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
, the 29,000 odd editions comprise: 2000 broadsidesBroadside (printing)A broadside is a large sheet of paper printed on one side only. Historically, broadsides were posters, announcing events or proclamations, or simply advertisements...
, 9000 folios, 15,000 quartoQuartoQuarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
s, 3000 octavoOctavoOctavo to is a technical term describing the format of a book.Octavo may also refer to:* Octavo is a grimoire in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett...
s, 18 12mosBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
, 230 16mosBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
, 20 32mosBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
, and 3 64mosBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
. - Caxton: ISTC at present cites 528 extant copies of books printed by Caxton, which together with 128 fragments makes 656 in total, though many are broadsides or very imperfect (incomplete).
- Dispersal: Apart from migration to mainly North American and Japanese universities, there has been remarkably little movement of incunabula in the last five centuries. None were printed in the Southern HemisphereSouthern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, and the latter appears to possess less than 2000 copies – i.e. about 97.75% remain north of the equator. However many incunabula are sold at auction or through the rare book trade every year.
Post-incunable
The end date for identifying a printed book as an incunable is convenient but was chosen arbitrarily. It does not reflect any notable developments in the printing process around the year 1500. Books printed for a number of years after 1500 continued to look much like incunables, with the notable exception of the small format books printed in italic typeItalic type
In typography, italic type is a cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting. Owing to the influence from calligraphy, such typefaces often slant slightly to the right. Different glyph shapes from roman type are also usually used—another influence from calligraphy...
introduced by Aldus Manutius
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius , the Latinised name of Aldo Manuzio —sometimes called Aldus Manutius, the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Aldus Manutius, the Younger—was an Italian humanist who became a printer and publisher when he founded the Aldine Press at Venice.His publishing legacy includes...
in 1501. The term post-incunable is sometimes used to refer to books printed "after 1500 — how long after, the experts have not yet agreed." For books printed on the Continent, the term generally covers 1501–1540, and for books printed in England, 1501–1520.
External links
- Centre for the History of the Book
- British Library worldwide Incunabula Short Title Catalogue
- Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (GW), partially English version
- History of Incunabula Studies
- UIUC Rare Book & Manuscript Library
- Grand Valley State University Incunabula & 16th Century Printing digital collections