Item Summary

Many of the Donatus editions printed with the Gutenberg Bible type contain either red-printed or, as here, red and blue-printed initials. The initials are those originally used in printing the Fust and Schoeffer Mainz Psalters of 1457 and 1459. The 5-line initial of the present fragment consists of two parts: the lombard initial proper, printed in red; and a background plate printed in blue, decorated with raised ornament in the manner of manuscript pen-flourishing. The three colors of the page, black, red, and blue, were printed at a single pull of the press. After each impression, the initial was apparently removed from the type page, and each of its two parts was carefully re-inked, and then reinserted: a slow process. Although the present fragment has a gap of about 3 cm between the two halves of the leaf, it is clear that when new, this edition, although of a utilitarian schoolbook, would have been an elegant and imposing work.

Descriptive Information

Title
Ars minor.
Call Number
113.9
Identifier
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/mk61rh01s
Publisher
[Mainz : Peter Schoeffer, after 1466].
Language
Latin
Date Created
1455-1499
Extent
1 vellum leaf 28.3 x about 20 cm
Provenance
Provenance: acquired October, 1980.
References
GW 8720
Rights Statement
No Known Copyright
Notes
Two vertical strips of f. 3 (Schwenke 15, 24-16, 46) of a 35-line edition; small Psalter initial printed in red and blue.

Discovery Information

Subject
Latin language—Grammar—Early works to 1500
Type and type-founding—Specimens

Physical Characteristics

File Count
4

Institutional Information

Collection
In Principio: Europe's First Printers, 1450-1470
IIIF Manifest URL

https://figgy.princeton.edu/concern/scanned_resources/54b15091-5831-401a-8ee3-62d003d82f6b/manifest