Book Rarities: Exhibition "The Gutenberg Bible. Early Modern Books" opened at the State Hermitage Museum

On December 9, 2021, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg launched an exhibition, whose core exhibit is the Gutenberg Bible from the collections of the Russian State Library - the first large-format printed book.

This publication began the history of printing with movable type – the tremendous invention by Johannes Gutenberg. The two-volume Latin Bible was printed on parchment and decorated by hand with multi-coloured borders and illustrations.

The first appearance of printed books can be considered the starting point of the Modern Era. Printing technology became an effective means of presenting new ideas, shaping people’s way of thinking and spreading information with unprecedented speed. The exposition tells about those changes. Besides the Bible, it presents over a hundred early printed books and manuscripts from the collections of the State Hermitage Museum and Russian State Library.

The exhibition will run until March 13, 2022.