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The Lost Gutenberg
The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey | Margaret Leslie Davis
10 posts | 5 read | 30 to read
The never-before-told story of one extremely rare copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and its impact on the lives of the fanatical few who were lucky enough to own it. For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible--of which there are fewer than 50 in existence--represents the ultimate prize. Here, Margaret Leslie Davis recounts five centuries in the life of one copy, from its creation by Johannes Gutenberg, through the hands of monks, an earl, the Worcestershire sauce king, and a nuclear physicist to its ultimate resting place, in a steel vault in Tokyo. Estelle Doheny, the first woman collector to add the book to her library and its last private owner, tipped the Bible onto a trajectory that forever changed our understanding of the first mechanically printed book. The Lost Gutenberg draws readers into this incredible saga, immersing them in the lust for beauty, prestige, and knowledge that this rarest of books sparked in its owners. Exploring books as objects of obsession across centuries, this is a must-read for history buffs, book collectors, seekers of hidden treasures, and anyone who has ever craved a remarkable book--and its untold stories.
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StaceyKondla
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 253 #bookstoread #tbrpile #bookstagram

LeahBergen This is a good read! 👍🏻 3y
48 likes1 stack add1 comment
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LeahBergen
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Fascinating stuff.

(And I‘d like to be the second woman collector 😉).

#BooksAboutBooks

Centique Wow! I never realised just how old they were 😍 4y
LeahBergen @Centique It‘s such a fascinating read! 4y
CarolynM I went to the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz a few years ago. It's fascinating. Have you been there? 4y
LeahBergen @CarolynM I have! It was so cool. I bought this bookmark there and the teeny plastic bust of Gutenberg in the previous post. 😆😆 Oh, and paper napkins printed with a sheet of a Gutenberg Bible to use for my book club meetings. 😆 4y
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LeahBergen
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Currently reading (and thoroughly enjoying)!

#BooksAboutBooks

Leftcoastzen Pretty cool! 4y
Aimeesue Gorgeous fleurs. ❤️ 4y
LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen I‘m really enjoying it so far! 4y
LeahBergen @Aimeesue Aren‘t they, though? 💕 4y
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TheBookDream
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Couldn‘t work tonight so chilling

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VickieC
Pickpick

I am about 1/3 through and am loving the book! I sit and read it with my iPad nearby so I can look up people, books, words that I don‘t understand, etc! The only negative is that I wish the book had come with colored plates of #45!

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Librarybelle
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Mehso-so

Davis tells the story of a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, known as Number 45. It took me forever to figure out why this was called the “lost” Gutenberg - and no, it wasn‘t technically lost. I wasn‘t fully engaged with the narrative of this, though it is narrative nonfiction. There‘s something that just didn‘t grab me with this, and I can‘t quite put my finger on it exactly. I‘ll use this one for #SomethingWrittenByAWoman for #Nonfiction2019 .

VickieC Just started reading this tonight. I love old books so I thought this might be an interesting read. Will see how it goes. So many books and so little time leads me to stop reading if a book doesn‘t catch me in the first chapter or two. 5y
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Librarybelle
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I‘m not sure if there was really #missing , but the title suggests a copy of the Gutenberg Bible certainly has a rich history. This is due to the library soon...hoping to tackle it this weekend. #ayupaugust

squirrelbrain Clever choice! 😁❤️👍 5y
Cinfhen Sounds fascinating!!!! Curious to hear your final thoughts 5y
LibrarianRyan My library has a guttenburg. But I think it was like the second or third run. Not a first run like NYPL. 5y
Librarybelle @Cinfhen I‘ll let you know! 5y
Librarybelle @LibrarianRyan That‘s really neat! 5y
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BookishMarginalia
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Pickpick

Very interesting book about book collectors, sellers, and collections, mostly centered around surviving Gutenberg Bible number 45 (the so-called “lost” Gutenberg, which was actually never lost, so the title 👎🏼). Despite the misleading title, bibliophiles will love this book. Recommended! (I listened to the audiobook).

LeahBergen I recently bought this, too. 👍🏻 5y
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Redwritinghood
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Mehso-so

The title of this is a little misleading-the book is not really lost, but a number of its owners over the last ~200 years have had to sell it to make ends meet. Also, before the 1800s, we don‘t really know where it was, so the focus is really only on the more recent history of the book, particularly American oil heiress Estelle Doheny, her quest to obtain a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, among other valuable books, and its final destination (Japan).

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Librarybelle
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#Zeke is surveying the new books from the library. #catsoflitsy #libraryhaul

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