You Can Now Buy a Rare Reprint of the Gutenberg Bible

The Gutenberg Bible is one of the rarest books in the world. Only 49 copies of the original 180 bibles are thought to survive today, and not all of those are complete texts. Since you probably can't get your hands on one of the originals, Taschen is offering the next best thing. The publisher is releasing a facsimile of the historic text as it appeared when it was first printed in the 15th century.

The printing of the Gutenberg Bible in 1454 was radical—not because of the book's contents, but because of the way the book itself was made. It marked the first time a major Western publication was produced using movable metal type. Prior to that, every book published in Europe was transcribed by hand.

The reprint of the Gutenberg Bible from Taschen is modeled after the Göttingen Library edition, one of the few copies of the book that remains fully intact. Like the original, the 1282 pages of the Taschen version are printed in Latin. The text comes with a companion book outlining the Gutenberg Bible's impact on the history of publishing.

"Not only did Gutenberg’s innovation of mechanical movable type significantly speed up production without sacrificing quality," Taschen's product description explains, "it irreversibly enriched public knowledge, pioneering mass communication and allowing people to access ideas and participate in discussions like never before."

While there are other facsimiles of the Gutenberg Bible out there, they're not common, and they can cost hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars. At $150, Taschen's is a steal.

The book is available for pre-order now from Taschen's website and Amazon, and will ship in July.

All images courtesy Taschen