Turns out we didn’t see THE Gutenberg Bible, but rather one of the 47 remaining copies of a Gutenberg Bible. After studying Johannes Gutenberg and learning about the religious wars taking place during the Reformation, it is pretty amazing that any copies still remain 500 years after their creation.
We were also surprised by the largeness of the book! About three feet by two feet closed, it is a hefty book. The copy at the Huntington Library was purchased in 1911 for $50,000—an unheard of amount for a book at the time.
Johannes Gutenberg had art added to all of his books because he didn’t feel anyone would want to buy a book without handwork. All of the artwork is still colorful and beautiful.
To prevent damage to the book from sitting in the same position, the pages are turned once a week. How cool would that job be?
Just as impressive as the Gutenberg Bible is the copy of the Ellemeres Chaucer Manuscript. An early 1500s illuminated manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, it was gorgeous!
This book was also huge! And the art work—unbelievable!
Another book that caught our eye was the first edition of Micrographia by Robert Hooke.
This book was the first presentation of the microscopic world to the general public. There is so much we take for granted now days. It takes us seconds to look up a microscopic picture of anything online. Many people own microscopes. Imagine the brand-new world that opened up to after books like these were published.
In addition to the wonderful library at The Huntington Library the property houses some amazing art work.
We were able to view the charming Blue Boy
and the lovely Pinkie.
This gentleman gave us a little smile.
And we all agreed we secretly wanted to be this lady.
The Huntington Library was pretty amazing. We also enjoyed ourselves in the gardens and can’t wait to return to see some more of this impressive place!
I want to go to California every time you post about the Huntington Library! What a fabulous field trip!
ReplyDeleteI've got a cousin in San Diego and we're thinking about heading there sometime to see her and her family. Maybe it will be sooner rather than later!
p.s. I love the new look!
Wow! What an amazing field trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cellista and Jacqueline--we really enjoyed it and want to go back again. Cellista, I learn so much from where you live by reading your post--your family is always up to such neat things. In fact, because of your blog I knew about the things available to do when we visited the area in the fall. Drop me a note when you head to San Diego, we'd love to meet up with your family--perhaps at the Huntington!
ReplyDeletehow amazing to see this book. I have been fortunate to see the book of Kells and the art work inside these books are amazing. So glad your family got to experience this amazing site. This sounds like a great place for field trips. Thanks for linking up to the Home school field trip hop and sharing this great find:)
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