Gutenberg Bible Mainz digitized with Cobra A2

11.03.2024 Press event at the Gutenberg Museum on the occasion of the digitization of the Gutenberg Bible
11.03.2024 Press event at the Gutenberg Museum on the occasion of the digitization of the Gutenberg Bible / © D. Ghemires

The famous 42-line Gutenberg Bible is considered to be the first book printed with movable type in the western world. It was created between 1452 and 1454 in Johannes Gutenberg’s printing workshop in Mainz, from which around 180 copies were produced. Of these, 30 were probably printed on precious parchment and around 150 on paper.

The Gutenberg Museum in Mainz owns two editions of the Bible on paper, bound in three volumes. They are on display in the museum’s walk-in vault.

For the project to digitize these precious Mainz editions, our company MICROBOX is providing the Gutenberg Museum with our special scanner book2net Cobra A2. This scanner with its gentle V-pressure and conservational lighting system was developed specifically for the digitization of the most precious illuminated manuscripts and incunabula.

We are proud to contribute to making this unique and valuable cultural treasure available online to the general public and to scientific research.

Further information on the press conference at the Gutenberg Museum on 11.03.2024 can be found at  https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/gutenberg-bibel-mainz-wird-digitalisiert-100.html

Digitization of the Gutenberg Bible by an employee of the museum
Digitization of the Gutenberg Bible by an employee of the museum / © D. Ghemires