The Gutenberg Bible is composed of 1,282 pages. Each page measures 17 x 12 inches. The type is set in two columns, forty-two lines each, from which it has become known as the “forty-two-line Bible,” or “B42.” In this section, explore the structure of this Bible’s pages by looking for the following:
Running titles (line of text at the top of a page indicating the title of a book, which repeats on every page or every other page)
Repairs
Catchwords (words written in the lower right margin). A catchword was used to tell the binder the opening phrase on the next grouping of pages, known as a “quire.”
The size of the margins is based upon proportions used by scribes in creating manuscript books. Only one page of type was set up at a time and then printed.
Biblia latina (Bible in Latin), Mainz, Johann Gutenberg, 1455. Otto Vollbehr Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
