This Bible dates from among the first generations of printed books, when the art was still new and partially mixed with the craftsmanship of the illuminated Bibles of the Middle Ages. Note the hand-drawn illumination adorning the margins of the page. The cover binding has been supplemented with medieval sheet music manuscripts in order to help preserve the book’s integrity.
The printer, Anton Koberger (c.1440-1513) was a Nuremberger who made his mark on the early printing world with an illustrated printing of the Bible in High German in 1483—a full 39 years before Martin Luther’s own translation into German. However, Koberger still produced Bibles in Latin, the official language of the Vatican at this time. This edition, printed in Strasbourg under the care of Adolf Rusch, is accompanied by the Glossa Ordinaria, credited to Walafrid Strabo (c.808-849) and Anselm of Laon (d. 1117). This Biblical commentary was an important scholarly work which made the scripture more relatable and approachable to the reader of the day.