Bible. Latin

Royal folio (397 x 287mm.), 2 leaves only (volume I, ff. 320-321, quire 32/10 and 33/1, from the Psalms), printed on paper, double column, 42 lines, textura type, three 3-line contemporary Mainz decorative initials by the Fust Master with leafy marginal extensions in pink, green, blue, grey and gold with fine detailing on the grounds of the initials, 1- and 2-line initials supplied in red or blue with manuscript guide letters, red manuscript titles and numbers for each psalm, red manuscript foliation in upper corner (cccxxi and cccxxii), watermark of a bull's head [Briquet 15096 or similar; see below] on centre of first leaf, a few light marginal stains and tears, small wormholes

Goff B526; H 3031; BMC i 17; BSB-Ink B-408; Bod-inc B-237; GW 4201; PMM 1

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A TALL PAIR OF ILLUMINATED LEAVES FROM THE GUTENBERG BIBLE, THE FIRST BOOK TO BE PRINTED WITH MOVEABLE TYPE.

The decorative initials are the work of the Fust Master, an artist working in Fust's workshop in Mainz who illuminated not just copies of the 42-line Bible but other works printed later by Fust and Schöffer. He used a distinctive colour palette (muted pink, grey, green and blue) with pointy ends to some of the foliate decoration, and the initials have leafy decoration forming the shape of each initial with delicate swirls on the grounds of the initials. One of his identifying features is the use of a trompe-l'oeil effect on leaves and stems, where the stems seem to disappear into the page and reappear further down, which is used here beneath the decorated initial L.

The Fust Master is known to have illuminated two paper copies of B-42, which are now in the public library in Burgos (Hubay 31; Needham P35) and in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York (PML 12; Hubay 44; Needham P38). The simpler Lombard initials and both the hand and the form of rubrication are also matching in these two copies. Mayumi Ikeda ("Illumination and rubrication of two Gutenberg Bibles: unravelling their links to the Fust and Schöffer office", Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 2012, 71-92) has studied the decoration of both these copies and opines that they were illuminated and rubricated together, though the Morgan copy was decorated first, and the rubrics used for the Old Testament match the tabula produced for the 48-line Bible which Fust and Schöffer printed in 1462, rather than the B-42 tabula. Both copies were partly used as compositor's exemplars in the Fust and Schöffer workshop, and it is likely that these copies were put together for sale (and perhaps decorated) nearer to the date of the B-48 (1462).

According to Paul Needham's study ("The paper supply of the Gutenberg Bible", Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 79 (1985), 303-374), the paper stocks with the bull's head watermark were the first to be bought for Gutenberg's project, followed by paper with two grape watermarks (see lot 110) and finally paper with an ox watermark. Needham estimates that about 70% of the printed sheets had the bull's head watermarks, and about 20% with one of the grape watermarks (p. 307). This quire was printed using the final supply of bull's head watermarked paper (Needham's BH IIc; p. 325).

The text of the Psalms on these leaves runs from Psalm 119 verse 100 to Psalm 135 verse 5 (here numbered 118 to 134), and includes the heartfelt Psalm 130, "De profundis clamavi ad te domine".