However, the chronicle does not mention the name of coster, while it actually credits gutenberg as the first inventor of printing in the very same passage fol. The first securely dated book by dutch printers is from 1471, and the coster connection is today regarded as a mere legend. Truth in history is a weekly halfhour television program featuring charles a. Why did gutenberg chose the bible as the first book to be. Called the diamond sutra, it was a copy of a sacred buddhist text, in a 17footlong scroll printed with wooden blocks. What was the first book to be printed by the printing press. It marked the start of the gutenberg revolution and the age of printed books in the west.
The gutenberg bible in latin was the first book printed in europe with movable metal type, by johannes gutenberg. Gutenbergs masterpiece, and the first book ever printed in europe from movable type, is the fortytwoline bible, completed no later than 1455. It is an edition of the latin vulgate printed in the 1450s by johannes gutenberg in mainz, in presentday germany. What was the first book printed by gutenberg answers. The gutenberg bible was among the earliest major books printed using massproduced movable metal type in europe. But neither printing nor movable type was actually invented by johannes gutenberg, nor did he print the first book. Its estimated he printed 180 copies of the 1,300paged gutenberg bible. What was the first fullsized book gutenberg printed answers. The chinese actually printed from movable type in 1040, but later discarding the method. The gutenberg bible is an edition of the vulgate, printed by johannes gutenberg, in mainz, germany, in the 1450s.
The book is valued and revered for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities as well as its historic significance. No one knows when the first printing press was invented or who invented it, but the oldest known printed text originated in china during the first millennium a. In 1452, gutenberg produced the one book to come out of his shop. Johannes gutenberg is often credited as the inventor of the printing press in 1454. Although historians cant pinpoint when the first book was created, the oldest known book in existence was printed in china in 868 ce. The first book printed in europe from movable types was the bible, printed by gutenberg, at strasburg, in 1455.