I’m a book lover. Always have been, always will be. For me, the physicality of a book—the tactile qualities of holding it in my hands, the smell of the paper and ink, and the sound of turning the pages—it is part of a complete experience that I never want to give up. And I’m not the only one. Although e-readers have taken part of the book market, readers still prefer physical books and physical books outsell e-books.
I don’t own an e-reader, but I do a lot of reading on screens, usually on my computer. Compared to even ten years ago, an enormous amount of important scholarship for the art historian is on the internet. I still conduct good and thorough research using printed books, but it’s amazing what is available with a few taps of the keyboard.
Recently, I was able to combine my love of physical books and the abundance of digital resources online while preparing for the exhibition First Impressions: Early Printed Books in Europe. On view in gallery S202, in the Museum’s second-floor European galleries, in summer 2021, this exhibition explores the art and context of early printed books. The development of the printing press, in 1450s Germany, revolutionized the production and dissemination of the written word. No longer dependent on time-consuming, handwritten manuscripts, communication went through a major transformation. The individual leaves and bound books in this exhibition were created during the first century after the adoption of the printing press in Europe. Most of them are from the Museum’s collection. For a book lover like me, this is a dream exhibition!
However, to protect what are old and very delicate books for generations to come, we have to place the materials under Plexiglas. A library we are not. Not being able to touch the books aside, seeing them up close in person is amazing: the texture of the handmade paper, the imprint of the type on the page, the discolorations from the hands that turned the leaves, and the uneven ink from the handwritten notes of former owners are nearly impossible to fully capture in a digital format and make for a unique viewing experience.
We are lucky, however, to live in a time when technology makes it possible to page through the books in the exhibition and see the leaves within their original context. Institutions from around the world digitize their books so that you can page through them virtually. These digital books are what allowed me to conduct the research for the exhibition, and I’m delighted to compile them all in one place here and share them with you, so that you, too, can deepen your experience of these early printed books.
Below you’ll find links to the digitized books. Enjoy!
Printed by Kaspar Hochfeder (German, active 1490–1517)
Leaf from the book The Works and Life of Brother Thomas à Kempis (Opera et libri vite Fratris Thome de Kempis), 1494
Letterpress and tempera with annotations in ink
Gift of Mrs. Louis R. Taylor M1929.106
Digital copy at Biblioteca Digital Hispánica, Madrid, Spain
Printed by Erhard Ratdolt (German, ca. 1447–ca. 1528, active in Venice and Augsburg)
Leaf from the book Little Bundles of Time (Fasciculus temporum), with a woodcut of Capua, 1485
Woodcut and letterpress
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.15
Digital copy at Biblioteca Digital Hispánica, Madrid, Spain
Woodcut by Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528)
Printed by Jodocus Badius Ascensius (Netherlandish, d. 1535)
Printed by Nikolaus Lamparter (Swiss, active 1500–1521)
Leaf from the book Ship of Fools (Navis Stultifera), with a woodcut (dated 1494) of Slandering the Good, 1507
Woodcut and letterpress
MAI Purchase M1929.105
Digital copy at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany
Printed by Anton Koberger (German, ca. 1445–1513)
Leaf from the book Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints (Passional or Leben der Heiligen), with a woodcut of the martyrdom of St. Leodegarius, originally published 1488
Hand-colored woodcut and letterpress
Purchase M1964.134
Digital copy at Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Woodcut by Michael Wolgemut (German, 1434/37–1519)
Woodcut by Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (German, ca. 1460–ca. 1494)
Printed by Anton Koberger (German, ca. 1445–1513)
Printed by Johannes Schoensperger (German, active ca. 1480–1520)
Two leaves from the book The Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum or Weltchronik) with a woodcut of a view of Bamberg, 1493
Woodcut and letterpress
Purchase, Gertrude Nunnemacher Schuchardt Fund, presented by William H. Schuchardt M1970.51
Digital copy at the The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California, via Hathitrust
Printed by Gregorio de’ Gregoriis (Italian, active ca. 1480–1528)
Published by Alessandro Calcedonius (Italian, active 1492–1514)
Leaf from the book Selections from the Work of Aristotle (Prepositiones ex emonibus Aristotelis libris), 1493
Letterpress in black and red
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.96
Digital copy at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
Woodcut by Michael Wolgemut (German, 1434/37–1519)
Published by Anton Koberger (German, ca. 1445–1513)
Leaf from the Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation (Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtümer des Heils), with a woodcut of the Last Supper, 1491
Woodcut and letterpress with annotations in ink
Lent by Miles Vilski
Digital copy at The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California, via Hathitrust
Printed by Andrea Torresani (Italian, 1451–1529)
Published by Aldine Press (Italian, founded 1495)
Leaf from a Digest of Civil Law (Corpus iuris civilis. Digestum vetus), 1491
Letterpress in black and red with tempera
Gift of Mrs. Louis R. Taylor M1929.102
Digital copy at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany
Printed by Reinhard Beck (German, active in Strasburg 1511–1522)
Two leaves from the book Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis), one with woodcut of common plantain and one with a woodcut of sheep and shepherd, 1517
Woodcut and letter press with annotations in ink
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.14,.87
Digital copy at National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic, via Google Books
Printed by Charles Estienne (French, 1504–1564)
Leaf from the book Of Marine Creatures (De aquatilibus), with a woodcut of the Mediterranean starry ray, 1553
Woodcut and letterpress
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.25
Digital copy at Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, via the Biodiversity Heritage Library
Printed by Jorge Coci (German, active in Spain, 1499–1543)
Leaf from the book The Fourteen Decades of Titus Livius, Historian of the Romans (Las quatorze decadas de Tito Livio, hystoriador de los Romanos), 1520
Woodcut and letterpress with annotations in ink
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.28
Digital copy at Universitat De València, Valencia, Spain
Printed by Nicholas Hill (English, d. 1557)
Leaf from the Matthew’s Bible, with text from the book of Job, 1551
Woodcut and letterpress
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.92
Digital copy at University of Manchester, Manchester, England
Printed by Joannes Winterburger (Austrian, active 1492–1519)
Leaf from the book Tables of Eclipses of Professor Georg von Peuerbach (Tabulae Eclypsium Magistri Georgii Peurbachii), 1514
Woodcut and letterpress
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.93
Digital copy at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany
Printed by Juan Joffre (Spanish, active 1502–1530)
Leaf from the book The Chronical of Aragon (Crónica de Aragón), with the life of King Peter IV (reigned 1336–1387), 1524
Woodcut and letterpress
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.100
Digital copy at The British Library, London, England, via Google Books
Woodcut by Erhard Schön (German, ca. 1491–1542)
Printed by Jean Marion (French, active in Lyon 1516–1520)
Published by Anton Koberger (German, ca. 1445–1513)
Leaf from an illustrated Latin Bible (Biblia cum Concordantiis), with a woodcut of Elijah Carried to Heaven in a Fiery Chariot, 1520
Woodcut and letterpress
Gift of Paula Uihlein M1932.110
Digital copy at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Printed by Pavel Severin (Czech, d. 1554)
Czech Bible (Biblii Czeska), open to the story of Samson in the Book of Judges, 1537
Woodcut and letterpress with annotations in ink and two leaves of Photostat reproductions in a modern binding
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stodola M1981.28
Digital copy at Moravian Library in Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic
Catherine Sawinski is the Assistant Curator of European Art. When not handling the day-to-day running of the European art department and the Museum’s Fine Arts Society, she researches the collection of Ancient and European artwork before 1900.