[GUTENBERG, Johann (d. 1468)] Biblia Latina. [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust, c.1455.]

A leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, the first substantial book printed with moveable type. This leaf contains part of the First Letter of John, being the end of Chapter 2 through the middle of Chapter 4, on the love of God's children for another. In part, in the NRSV translation, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). Chalmers Disbound and Dispersed 18; Hain *3031; Needham P18; Goff B-526.

Folio (387 x 280mm). One leaf. 42 lines, double column, Gothic type. Two 2-line Lombard initials in blue and red, headlines and chapter numbers in alternating red and blue letters, capital strokes in red. (2 cm repaired tear to outer edge, 3 tiny wormholes in blank areas and 2 just touching letters). Tipped into: A Noble Fragment: Being a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, with a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton. New York: Gabriel Wells, 1921. Dark blue morocco gilt, by Stikeman and Co. (spine rubbed; board slipcase present but broken). Provenance: Maria Elisabeth Augusta von Sulzbach (1721-1794, wife of Carl Theodore, Electoral Prince of the Palatinate, subsequently Electoral Prince of Bavaria) – Mannheim, Hofbibliothek – Munich, Royal Library (their duplicate sale, 1832, sold for 350 guilders) – Robert Curzon, Baron Zouche (1810-1873, and by descent until sold Sotheby's 9 November 1920, lot 70, to:) – Joseph Sabin (sold by him to:) – Gabriel Wells.