The Lost Gutenberg : The astounding true story of one book's five hundred year odyssey

The Lost Gutenberg : The astounding true story of one book's five hundred year odyssey
ISBN: 9781760529611
Publication Date: 6 May 2019

A gripping exploration of the life of the world's oldest and most famous printed book.

For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible - of which there are fewer than 50 in existence - represents the ultimate prize. In this brilliant researched and fascinating account, 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.

About the Author

Margaret Leslie Davis lives in California. She is the author of several previous award-winning narrative non-fiction books.