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The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey
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.
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.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 19, 2019
129 people are currently reading
1714 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Leslie Davis
13 books13 followersMargaret Leslie Davis is a graduate of Georgetown University and earned her master's in professional writing at the University of Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
April 27, 2019
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).
July 2, 2019
With less than 50 copies of the Gutenberg Bible in existence, to acquire one was always going to be a major coup. This book tells the story of number 45, purported to be one of the finest copies of the Gutenberg Bibles. The story is not so much about the printing and early history of the book, although there is a little of that. Rather, it reveals more about those who acquired the book at various times since the nineteenth century. For the most part it’s viewed more as a status symbol than for its spiritual content. At times those in possession had to sell the treasure to meet debts. One of the main people who spent a lot of time and effort to acquire this Bible to add to her rare books collection was Estelle Doheny. Sadly, through circumstances after Estelle’s death the book was sold. Its final resting place means the original is lost to the public’s eyes. However thanks to modern technology, you can go online and view the pages.
I was so excited to win a copy of this book from the publisher. Thanks Allen & Unwin. While I found it to be well researched and interesting, I guess the book did not end up being exactly what I anticipated. Much of the information was interesting, but it just didn’t live up to the pronouncement on the cover which said ’the astounding true story on one book’s five hundred year odyssey.’
Readers who have an interest in history and rare books will appreciate this well researched book. I was glad I got to read it and love the beautiful cover. It just didn’t enthrall me as much as I expected it to and I didn’t like the shifts in tenses at times.
I was so excited to win a copy of this book from the publisher. Thanks Allen & Unwin. While I found it to be well researched and interesting, I guess the book did not end up being exactly what I anticipated. Much of the information was interesting, but it just didn’t live up to the pronouncement on the cover which said ’the astounding true story on one book’s five hundred year odyssey.’
Readers who have an interest in history and rare books will appreciate this well researched book. I was glad I got to read it and love the beautiful cover. It just didn’t enthrall me as much as I expected it to and I didn’t like the shifts in tenses at times.
May 2, 2019
Very readable and interesting with good explanations of issues in the rare books world. The subtitle is somewhat misleading in that aside from the original printing techniques of the 1450s, only the last 183 years of the Bible are discussed. (Not the Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey of the subtitle.) Apparently its whereabouts from the 1450s to 1836 are not known. Recommended for anyone interested in rare books.
May 29, 2019
I first heard about this book a few weeks ago on a trip to Michigan and picked up a copy at a local bookstore. It is an odd but intriguing story. The book is a biography of a book - Gutenberg Bible #45. Ms. Davis tells of the story of the book through the story of its owners moving from the British aristocracy to the world of big time book collectors and eventually into the Downey collection as part of a bequest to a Catholic seminary in Southern California.
But there is more. I thought the story would end there and was thinking about how to visit the library. Events moved on, however, and decades later some of the highlights of the story come at the end, when the volume becomes the subject of high technology analysis and finds a new home in Asia and online. I will not say anything else except that the plot involves the Catholic Church selling off its endowment in order to raise some much needed cash. Shocking.
The book is also, probably not by intent, a story about time and value as they apply to books. Gutenberg’s innovation was real but different from the standardized production process it has been made out as over the years. As Pettegree and others have shown, the production of large high quality masterpieces like the Bible posed significant production and cost issues for printers. Their production was not commercially successful at first. Gutenberg was soon bankrupted and only a few of his bibles were printed. It is only recently that Gutenberg’s name was strongly attached to the books, themselves, and their value has skyrocketed only in the last century. As to the fine quality of the book and its paper, ink, and bindings, there may be a consensus, but what is meant by quality here? After 500 years, the volume itself is not intended to be paged through by individuals reading it. Most of us viewing rare books in person will see one or two pages at most at one time. So it is a bit odd that books like the Gutenberg Bible reach their highest monetary value when they are least likely to be used by anyone beyond a small set of scholars, perhaps. This question can be engaged again, thankfully, with the coming of digitization, which will make the contents of the book open to those with access to a web browser.
Ms. Davis tells a good story and the book reads quickly. The story itself is engaging and her book is filled with lots of details about which I knew nothing (cuneiform printing?). Book lovers will love this book.
But there is more. I thought the story would end there and was thinking about how to visit the library. Events moved on, however, and decades later some of the highlights of the story come at the end, when the volume becomes the subject of high technology analysis and finds a new home in Asia and online. I will not say anything else except that the plot involves the Catholic Church selling off its endowment in order to raise some much needed cash. Shocking.
The book is also, probably not by intent, a story about time and value as they apply to books. Gutenberg’s innovation was real but different from the standardized production process it has been made out as over the years. As Pettegree and others have shown, the production of large high quality masterpieces like the Bible posed significant production and cost issues for printers. Their production was not commercially successful at first. Gutenberg was soon bankrupted and only a few of his bibles were printed. It is only recently that Gutenberg’s name was strongly attached to the books, themselves, and their value has skyrocketed only in the last century. As to the fine quality of the book and its paper, ink, and bindings, there may be a consensus, but what is meant by quality here? After 500 years, the volume itself is not intended to be paged through by individuals reading it. Most of us viewing rare books in person will see one or two pages at most at one time. So it is a bit odd that books like the Gutenberg Bible reach their highest monetary value when they are least likely to be used by anyone beyond a small set of scholars, perhaps. This question can be engaged again, thankfully, with the coming of digitization, which will make the contents of the book open to those with access to a web browser.
Ms. Davis tells a good story and the book reads quickly. The story itself is engaging and her book is filled with lots of details about which I knew nothing (cuneiform printing?). Book lovers will love this book.
July 4, 2019
I enjoy books about books, so I was looking forward to what promised to be a compelling tale of one of the most important books in history. There's no question that there is a lot of interesting information in Davis's telling of the story of a particular Gutenberg Bible referred to as No. 43, and I learned quite a lot about its historical underpinnings and the rare book trade in reading it.
Ultimately, however, my feelings about the book suffered from the false advertising of the title and subtitle. While the life of the book between its original printing and its first appearance on the auction circuit is unknown, its early history is plausibly assumed to have passed in a monastery and there is little exploration beyond that assumption. Once it appears for sale 200 years ago, however, there is even less mystery to be explored. Davis focuses instead on the rise and fall of the fortunes of the book's owners, particularly Estelle Dahoney, a devout Catholic who was its last individual custodian and first woman to purchase one of the 49 known copies available.
I found the section covering the scientific examination of the book and what it revealed about Gutenberg's methods to be one of the more interesting parts of the book. It's a quick and somewhat interesting read, but not everything I had hoped for.
Ultimately, however, my feelings about the book suffered from the false advertising of the title and subtitle. While the life of the book between its original printing and its first appearance on the auction circuit is unknown, its early history is plausibly assumed to have passed in a monastery and there is little exploration beyond that assumption. Once it appears for sale 200 years ago, however, there is even less mystery to be explored. Davis focuses instead on the rise and fall of the fortunes of the book's owners, particularly Estelle Dahoney, a devout Catholic who was its last individual custodian and first woman to purchase one of the 49 known copies available.
I found the section covering the scientific examination of the book and what it revealed about Gutenberg's methods to be one of the more interesting parts of the book. It's a quick and somewhat interesting read, but not everything I had hoped for.
May 18, 2019
The Gutenberg Bible may have been the first substantial book in the West printed with moveable type. Forty-nine, more or less complete, copies are known to exist. This is the story of one of them, the last of them to have been sold by a private collector to this date.
Actually, most of the text concerns itself with the bible's owners since the early 19th century, two lesser foci being its scientific examination and digital representation in recent years. There isn't much about the history of printing or about Gutenberg's printshop itself nor is there much about the history of the Latin text, it being an edition derived from Jerome's translation. Rather, attention is paid to the culture and economics of rare book collecting during the last two centuries--a theme which obviously relates to commodification and class as such astronomically expensive objects serve as a means of 'banking' excess capital--this another topic of interest only cursorily treated.
Though shallow, perhaps because it is so shallow, this book reads very quickly. I enjoyed it but I suspect there are much better books about this book that I'd prefer to recommend.
Actually, most of the text concerns itself with the bible's owners since the early 19th century, two lesser foci being its scientific examination and digital representation in recent years. There isn't much about the history of printing or about Gutenberg's printshop itself nor is there much about the history of the Latin text, it being an edition derived from Jerome's translation. Rather, attention is paid to the culture and economics of rare book collecting during the last two centuries--a theme which obviously relates to commodification and class as such astronomically expensive objects serve as a means of 'banking' excess capital--this another topic of interest only cursorily treated.
Though shallow, perhaps because it is so shallow, this book reads very quickly. I enjoyed it but I suspect there are much better books about this book that I'd prefer to recommend.
March 28, 2019
Though Margaret Leslie Davis's book is centered around a copy of the famous Gutenberg Bible (designated Number 45), it's really about the people who have sought, owned, and studied it over the course of two centuries. After a short description of the book's origins in the 15th century, she picks up the story with Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford, who purchases the book in 1836. While her reasons for starting with him go largely unmentioned (she does reference the book's previous owner, a Henry Perkins), the earl's purchase occurred at a time when the rare book market had emerged and copies of such books were increasingly prized by the growing group of collectors. As Davis notes, though, the Gutenberg was initially not as greatly valued as other works, with the earl acquiring his prize for a surprisingly modest sum.
That would change over the course of the 19th century, as the Gutenberg Bible became increasingly prized for its beauty, its rarity, and its historical significance. Davis charts this development through a succession of owners, from the earl through Lord William Tyssen-Amherst (who added the volume to his collection in 1884) to Charles William Dyson Perrins (a condiment manufacturer) before the book's eventual purchase by the wife of an American oil tycoon, Estelle Doheny, in 1950. As she traces the course of its ownership, she describes the motivations of each collector, their various views of the Bible, and their treatment of the book, all of which she makes engaging with a fine appreciation for engaging details. The increasing reverence in which the book is held is perhaps best embodied by Doheny, who upon her death donated it and the rest of her extensive collection to St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. This is where Davis tells what is perhaps the most tragic part of the book's tale, for upon the expiration of the restriction on Doheny's donation the Roman Catholic Church sold the Bible along with most of the other books and artwork she gifted them.
Today the Gutenberg Davis describes resides in a vault at Keio University in Japan, where it remains physically inaccessible to the public. Yet Davis ends the book on a surprisingly optimistic note, as she describes how, thanks to digitization efforts, anyone on the Internet today can read Number 45 for themselves, as digital scans of it are online at http://dcollections.lib.keio.ac.jp/en.... Hopefully Davis's book will encourage more people to visit the site to see this historical treasure for themselves, especially given the winding journey it took to go from closeted collections to readability by the world.
That would change over the course of the 19th century, as the Gutenberg Bible became increasingly prized for its beauty, its rarity, and its historical significance. Davis charts this development through a succession of owners, from the earl through Lord William Tyssen-Amherst (who added the volume to his collection in 1884) to Charles William Dyson Perrins (a condiment manufacturer) before the book's eventual purchase by the wife of an American oil tycoon, Estelle Doheny, in 1950. As she traces the course of its ownership, she describes the motivations of each collector, their various views of the Bible, and their treatment of the book, all of which she makes engaging with a fine appreciation for engaging details. The increasing reverence in which the book is held is perhaps best embodied by Doheny, who upon her death donated it and the rest of her extensive collection to St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. This is where Davis tells what is perhaps the most tragic part of the book's tale, for upon the expiration of the restriction on Doheny's donation the Roman Catholic Church sold the Bible along with most of the other books and artwork she gifted them.
Today the Gutenberg Davis describes resides in a vault at Keio University in Japan, where it remains physically inaccessible to the public. Yet Davis ends the book on a surprisingly optimistic note, as she describes how, thanks to digitization efforts, anyone on the Internet today can read Number 45 for themselves, as digital scans of it are online at http://dcollections.lib.keio.ac.jp/en.... Hopefully Davis's book will encourage more people to visit the site to see this historical treasure for themselves, especially given the winding journey it took to go from closeted collections to readability by the world.
did-not-finish
January 15, 2020I was bored from the beginning and never grew interested in what she was saying, so I decided to stop. Not worth my time. This copy of a Gutenberg wasn’t lost, and the author doesn’t write about its 500 year history. She mostly gives biographies for the people who owned it within the last 150 years — full of boring trivia that doesn’t have to do with books. The history of book printing can be interesting if told well. This isn’t it.
September 23, 2025
I think my biggest issue with some historical books at the moment is simply how little information is contained in the slimmer volumes. This book promises to detail the history of one of our oldest pieces of literature, and alludes to a lost Gutenberg.
What we get is not so much a lost Bible, but rather the history of said Bible throughout time, which is fascinating, but not quite what it says on the tin. The history was good, but I found some more interesting than others.
The modern day was not quite as fascinating as it promised to be, and I kind of wish that we saw more of the story in the older eras. I appreciate the historical value of the Gutenbergs, but I think in this case we could have done with a little more book and a little less of the modern history.
What we get is not so much a lost Bible, but rather the history of said Bible throughout time, which is fascinating, but not quite what it says on the tin. The history was good, but I found some more interesting than others.
The modern day was not quite as fascinating as it promised to be, and I kind of wish that we saw more of the story in the older eras. I appreciate the historical value of the Gutenbergs, but I think in this case we could have done with a little more book and a little less of the modern history.
October 22, 2025
This is the fascinating story of the history of one particular Gutenberg Bible, the one known as No. 45. Margaret Leslie Davis expertly and painstakingly unfolds its history from the time of its history-making and culturally significant creation by Gutenberg in 1443 , then, as it journeyed from one bibliophile to the next, recounting especially it's history from the late 1800s through the 20th century and into the 21st, from being reverently handled and very sparingly held or exhibited by most owners to now being locked away in a vault by its most recent owner, Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, but not until after it was made available potentially to anyone across the globe when it was fully digitized in the 1990s. I highly recommend this well-researched account for any fellow bibliophile or, for that matter, anyone who is fascinated by key moments in the humanities and in the evolution of our Western Civilization and its key junctures in history.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2019
These are the stories that intrigue me most! A bit of real mystery being unraveled, the overlapping stories of people involved, and amazing amounts of research to weave it all together. The writing was well done, making an unusual story a great one.
January 31, 2021
“The Lost Gutenberg” isn’t so much a mystery surrounding one of these illustrious Bibles, but rather the pursuit of one such rare book, its history and provenance by a very wealthy woman, and those results. It is quite an interesting story for anyone who loves books and who isn’t especially well versed in the realm of the rare book world.
After the French Revolution and the collapse of many monarchies, Gutenberg Bibles began to move out of the possession of the elite Church and royals and be purchased by the secular wealthy. “No. 45” as it was known had a very well charted history, and it was fascinating to follow the course.
In modern times, Gutenberg Bibles are in museums or private collections - but have been made available digitally through the last ownership of No. 45., in Japan. Processes were invented to make this possible.
Fascinating too was the discovery that Gutenberg did not use metal molds for the letters; there were in fact hundreds of versions of each letter, leading “them to theorize that the early foundry created its type not with a metal punch system but individually, by hand.”
Gutenberg DID “devise the first Western moveable type system that worked- so well that it remained largely unchanged for the next 350 years.” But, “technology emerges with the contributions of many.” Studying digital versions of this Bible gave scholars the chance for an amazing new discovery, in present times.
Very enjoyable.
After the French Revolution and the collapse of many monarchies, Gutenberg Bibles began to move out of the possession of the elite Church and royals and be purchased by the secular wealthy. “No. 45” as it was known had a very well charted history, and it was fascinating to follow the course.
In modern times, Gutenberg Bibles are in museums or private collections - but have been made available digitally through the last ownership of No. 45., in Japan. Processes were invented to make this possible.
Fascinating too was the discovery that Gutenberg did not use metal molds for the letters; there were in fact hundreds of versions of each letter, leading “them to theorize that the early foundry created its type not with a metal punch system but individually, by hand.”
Gutenberg DID “devise the first Western moveable type system that worked- so well that it remained largely unchanged for the next 350 years.” But, “technology emerges with the contributions of many.” Studying digital versions of this Bible gave scholars the chance for an amazing new discovery, in present times.
Very enjoyable.
April 9, 2025
This is a fascinating story well-told. Davis follows the traceable history of the Gutenberg Bible copy known as 45, as it follows its owners through their rise and fall. I met many people in this book whom I am glad to have met. There's a little of everything: a Napoleonic-era naval commander, the house that started Howard Carter's career, an American oil baroness, nuclear scientists, shady priests, and a Japanese Arthurian enthusiast.
I think the person I admire most is Dyson Perrins, of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and also the Worcestershire porcelain factory. He was a book collector, yes, but he selected his collection for what would be fun to browse in the evenings with his paralyzed wife; and when the world wars tore through England, he knew that 150 years worth of skilled artisans and institutional knowledge for his porcelain could never be rebuilt, and he tried everything to keep it afloat, to avoid factory layoffs and closures. He finally sold even the Gutenberg. He was goals.
PS Don't pay attention to the title and subtitle. This copy was never really lost and also Davis covers about the most recent 250 years of its history, which was... not much of an odyssey really. I can only assume the publishers picked it because they thought it would sell better.
I think the person I admire most is Dyson Perrins, of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and also the Worcestershire porcelain factory. He was a book collector, yes, but he selected his collection for what would be fun to browse in the evenings with his paralyzed wife; and when the world wars tore through England, he knew that 150 years worth of skilled artisans and institutional knowledge for his porcelain could never be rebuilt, and he tried everything to keep it afloat, to avoid factory layoffs and closures. He finally sold even the Gutenberg. He was goals.
PS Don't pay attention to the title and subtitle. This copy was never really lost and also Davis covers about the most recent 250 years of its history, which was... not much of an odyssey really. I can only assume the publishers picked it because they thought it would sell better.
December 2, 2022
This is the second book I've read this year regarding book collecting and collectors, and it was just as fascinating as the The Millionaire and the Bard, which I read first. The history of the Gutenberg bible and early printing is so interesting, and as I was reading, I thought a lot about another book I read a year or so ago, The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, which I highly recommend to people who enjoyed this book.
I wish the author hadn't chosen to write about this history in the present tense. I never got used to it, and it irritated and distracted me enough to knock down my rating. I don't know if the choice was to make it all sound more exciting, like someone breathlessly telling a story and painting a picture, but I didn't love it, and I wanted it to stop. Maybe that's picky, but I've been reading for almost 50 years now, and I have my crotchets. It doesn't keep me from recommending this book, because it had a lot of great, well-researched content for people interested in the subject.
I wish the author hadn't chosen to write about this history in the present tense. I never got used to it, and it irritated and distracted me enough to knock down my rating. I don't know if the choice was to make it all sound more exciting, like someone breathlessly telling a story and painting a picture, but I didn't love it, and I wanted it to stop. Maybe that's picky, but I've been reading for almost 50 years now, and I have my crotchets. It doesn't keep me from recommending this book, because it had a lot of great, well-researched content for people interested in the subject.
August 3, 2019
Purchased for me as a random gift by my brother because it “screamed Cassandra,” this story is a wonderful adventure into the long extended history of THE book. It introduced me to the world of high profile book collecting, the acclaim owning books can bring, and the realm of book-fans: bibliophiles. I highly recommend the read if you’re a history buff or love the art of books. It’s enjoyable and informative, educational and intriguing.
Rate Procedure:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I loved the book so much I would reread it again and would recommend to a friend.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Thoroughly enjoyed the book, could not put it down, would recommend to a friend, but do not need to read again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Probably a good book that I enjoyed but there was something about it I did not love (e.g. The writing style, the POV, etc.). I would only recommend to a friend if it was their "type" of book.
⭐️⭐️ - A book I have below average feelings for and it would not come with a recommendation from me but I would mention it in conversation if related to the book topic at issue.
⭐️ - I finished the book but I hated every second of it.
Rate Procedure:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I loved the book so much I would reread it again and would recommend to a friend.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Thoroughly enjoyed the book, could not put it down, would recommend to a friend, but do not need to read again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Probably a good book that I enjoyed but there was something about it I did not love (e.g. The writing style, the POV, etc.). I would only recommend to a friend if it was their "type" of book.
⭐️⭐️ - A book I have below average feelings for and it would not come with a recommendation from me but I would mention it in conversation if related to the book topic at issue.
⭐️ - I finished the book but I hated every second of it.
December 5, 2019
The 45th Gutenberg Bible made on vellum made its journey to different owners around the world in great shape despite its age. This book tells the fascinating story of its journey around the world as wealthy owners auctioned it.
December 20, 2019
2019 bk 417. This book was interesting in that I learned a great deal of what makes up the earliest books, how using the print itself to analyze a book's history to determine what pages are original or not. But mostly I was left sad, sad for the woman who so badly wanted a Gutenberg Bible for her own collection because of the loss of her sight before she could see the book and sad for the other owners who each went through troubles of their own.
February 10, 2020
Not exactly hold-onto-your-chairs exciting, but fascinating in history-is-cool kind of way.
June 12, 2021
VACATION BOOK #2 (goal is 10 over next two weeks) with 30+ hours of driving (Dallas>Colorado>Kansas City>Dallas) over next two week.
Fascinating book on following 1 particular Gutenberg Bible through its history of owners, but the book was much more basically giving bios of the owners, how they acquired, why the got rid of, from owner to owner.
Gave a great history of the Gutenberg Bible and its numbered copies and how each moved around through the years and where many are today (museums and libraries) but also how personally owned bibles move from Europe, to America, now to Asia.
But the book also reveals much on rare book collecting, investigating, searching for, process of auctions and buying. I loved this book.
Fascinating book on following 1 particular Gutenberg Bible through its history of owners, but the book was much more basically giving bios of the owners, how they acquired, why the got rid of, from owner to owner.
Gave a great history of the Gutenberg Bible and its numbered copies and how each moved around through the years and where many are today (museums and libraries) but also how personally owned bibles move from Europe, to America, now to Asia.
But the book also reveals much on rare book collecting, investigating, searching for, process of auctions and buying. I loved this book.
July 12, 2019
If this is your thing, you are going to love this book.
May 7, 2019
This is a history book with a difference. It is about a piece of history, one of the bibles published by Johannes Gutenberg before August 1456. While we learn a good deal about the book and how it was printed, our focus is on the history and ownership from 1836 to the present day.
This richly bound volume is one of the most sought-after pieces of printing in the world, but the stories of its owners over the last 180 years is equally fascinating. The fact that these owners were individuals and not museums, libraries or universities, is what makes this story so special. Known as ‘Number 45’ the Bible is not only one of the first, but also the best preserved of the remaining printed copies. Many have lost their original bindings, with the result that pages have been lost over the centuries, or even deliberately separated and sold off as individual sheets.
One of the things that strikes me so forcibly about this story is the sad fate of so many of the collectors and collections into which ‘Number 45’ was absorbed. These were undoubtedly a series of very rich patrons, many of whom had a love of old books and manuscripts, but none of whom could retain the Gutenberg Bible within their collections.
Archibald Acheson, the Earl of Gosford bought the Bible for £45 in 1836. His love of books was inspired by his mother who was a friend of Lady Byron, the poet’s wife. The Bible is housed in the library of Gosford Castle until 1884. It was a room so large that it required two men and a forty-foot ladder to reach some of the books. When this Earl died, aged 57, his young son and heir had no interest in books, only in drinking and gambling and it would not be long before the library was sold off to pay gambling debts. The sale of books took ten days and the Gutenberg Bible sold for £500, which was £30 more than a first folio of Shakespeare’s plays.
The Bible moves to Didlington Hall in Norfolk, a house of 46 bedrooms on a 7,000-acre estate. The house was demolished in the 1950s and the owner, Lord William Tyssen-Amherst was ruined when his London solicitor embezzled his fortune and ran up huge debts which the Amherst was noble enough to honour. He was forced to sell his books and his collection of Egyptian antiquities. In 1908 the Bible is bought by Dyson Perrins for £2,050. Amherst dies six weeks after the sale. Perrins’ fortune is based on a bottle of sauce. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is famous in the UK for its mix of fermented anchovies, tamarind, pickled garlic and onion.
Another fortune is made and lost and eventually the Bible moves to the USA where the heiress and collector Estelle Doheny buys it for £25,000 in 1950. Her eye-sight is failing by the time she has her hands on a Gutenberg Bible, something that she has been trying to buy for many years. But the sad story does not stop there. Estelle’s will leaves her whole library and collection to the Catholic church, along with the funds to administer the collection. There is a stipulation that collection must remain together for 25 years. She had assumed that would be long enough to ensure survival, but the church had other ideas and the Bible was old for $5.4million in 1987. The Archdiocese of Los Angles pockets $37.8million for the sale of the library and it is only at this point anyone begins to see the tragedy of splitting this unique collection. Alongside manuscripts and bibles are original William Morris hand printed books and Mark Twain’s own copy of Huckleberry Finn. The Bible is no longer accessible by scholars, but heads to a University vault in Japan. Today, only high-quality photos of the manuscript can be viewed, via the internet.
It is an amazing story, any small part of which could justify a whole book in itself, but put together it all makes a fascinating trip through the last 180 years of history. Over that time we have learnt much about the Gutenberg Bible, but what I love most about this book is the story of those individuals who tried to own it.
This richly bound volume is one of the most sought-after pieces of printing in the world, but the stories of its owners over the last 180 years is equally fascinating. The fact that these owners were individuals and not museums, libraries or universities, is what makes this story so special. Known as ‘Number 45’ the Bible is not only one of the first, but also the best preserved of the remaining printed copies. Many have lost their original bindings, with the result that pages have been lost over the centuries, or even deliberately separated and sold off as individual sheets.
One of the things that strikes me so forcibly about this story is the sad fate of so many of the collectors and collections into which ‘Number 45’ was absorbed. These were undoubtedly a series of very rich patrons, many of whom had a love of old books and manuscripts, but none of whom could retain the Gutenberg Bible within their collections.
Archibald Acheson, the Earl of Gosford bought the Bible for £45 in 1836. His love of books was inspired by his mother who was a friend of Lady Byron, the poet’s wife. The Bible is housed in the library of Gosford Castle until 1884. It was a room so large that it required two men and a forty-foot ladder to reach some of the books. When this Earl died, aged 57, his young son and heir had no interest in books, only in drinking and gambling and it would not be long before the library was sold off to pay gambling debts. The sale of books took ten days and the Gutenberg Bible sold for £500, which was £30 more than a first folio of Shakespeare’s plays.
The Bible moves to Didlington Hall in Norfolk, a house of 46 bedrooms on a 7,000-acre estate. The house was demolished in the 1950s and the owner, Lord William Tyssen-Amherst was ruined when his London solicitor embezzled his fortune and ran up huge debts which the Amherst was noble enough to honour. He was forced to sell his books and his collection of Egyptian antiquities. In 1908 the Bible is bought by Dyson Perrins for £2,050. Amherst dies six weeks after the sale. Perrins’ fortune is based on a bottle of sauce. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is famous in the UK for its mix of fermented anchovies, tamarind, pickled garlic and onion.
Another fortune is made and lost and eventually the Bible moves to the USA where the heiress and collector Estelle Doheny buys it for £25,000 in 1950. Her eye-sight is failing by the time she has her hands on a Gutenberg Bible, something that she has been trying to buy for many years. But the sad story does not stop there. Estelle’s will leaves her whole library and collection to the Catholic church, along with the funds to administer the collection. There is a stipulation that collection must remain together for 25 years. She had assumed that would be long enough to ensure survival, but the church had other ideas and the Bible was old for $5.4million in 1987. The Archdiocese of Los Angles pockets $37.8million for the sale of the library and it is only at this point anyone begins to see the tragedy of splitting this unique collection. Alongside manuscripts and bibles are original William Morris hand printed books and Mark Twain’s own copy of Huckleberry Finn. The Bible is no longer accessible by scholars, but heads to a University vault in Japan. Today, only high-quality photos of the manuscript can be viewed, via the internet.
It is an amazing story, any small part of which could justify a whole book in itself, but put together it all makes a fascinating trip through the last 180 years of history. Over that time we have learnt much about the Gutenberg Bible, but what I love most about this book is the story of those individuals who tried to own it.
January 19, 2020
**3.5 stars** (I liked this book better than The Library Book, but not enough to give it 4 stars, ya know?)
The topic of this book is really interesting if you love books and love the history of books. I definitely think it does what it tells you it's going to do: follows the story of this one copy of the Gutenberg Bible through time. And it definitely has a fascinating and mysterious story.
Before I get into the few problems I had with this book, can I just say that the Catholic Church as an institution can GTFO?! I definitely feel like I learned a lot about the history of the Gutenberg Bible and this one in particular. I don't know how much that information will necessarily help me in the future but it was really interesting to read about now!
The main problem I had with this book was I often felt like I couldn't tell WHEN something was happening. For example, the author would often say "the CURRENT librarian" of wherever, which made me think "the librarian in 2020" but what she meant was "the librarian at the time". Current generally indicates we are talking about the present time, so it was a little confusing to read. There were also times where we could be talking about something for pages and pages but I would be like "WHAT YEAR ARE WE IN" or "HOW MUCH TIME HAS PASSED" and that was a little frustrating as well.
Additionally, I couldn't help but feel that the tone of the book was really white. It seemed that although the university in Japan was praised for its work, there was a bit of condescension about Japan's ability to have the book and interest in it. I didn't see much indication that there was a problem with colonial possession of African and Middle Eastern historical artifacts, which (in my opinion there definitely is). The tone seemed to be that white colonialists in Europe are SAVING the artifacts by bringing them to Europe, which seemed a little off-base in 2020 (and 2019). I could be reading too much into it, but that was the way it came off to me.
The topic of this book is really interesting if you love books and love the history of books. I definitely think it does what it tells you it's going to do: follows the story of this one copy of the Gutenberg Bible through time. And it definitely has a fascinating and mysterious story.
Before I get into the few problems I had with this book, can I just say that the Catholic Church as an institution can GTFO?! I definitely feel like I learned a lot about the history of the Gutenberg Bible and this one in particular. I don't know how much that information will necessarily help me in the future but it was really interesting to read about now!
The main problem I had with this book was I often felt like I couldn't tell WHEN something was happening. For example, the author would often say "the CURRENT librarian" of wherever, which made me think "the librarian in 2020" but what she meant was "the librarian at the time". Current generally indicates we are talking about the present time, so it was a little confusing to read. There were also times where we could be talking about something for pages and pages but I would be like "WHAT YEAR ARE WE IN" or "HOW MUCH TIME HAS PASSED" and that was a little frustrating as well.
Additionally, I couldn't help but feel that the tone of the book was really white. It seemed that although the university in Japan was praised for its work, there was a bit of condescension about Japan's ability to have the book and interest in it. I didn't see much indication that there was a problem with colonial possession of African and Middle Eastern historical artifacts, which (in my opinion there definitely is). The tone seemed to be that white colonialists in Europe are SAVING the artifacts by bringing them to Europe, which seemed a little off-base in 2020 (and 2019). I could be reading too much into it, but that was the way it came off to me.
April 30, 2022
The title is a bit of a misnomer. The book wasn't actually "lost;" in fact, the author details owners and whereabouts through the years. It was only lost in terms of people who had to sell and thus lost it from their collections, or lost it to other bidders at auction. The story might have worked better as a long magazine article (like in The Atlantic) as there was too much unnecessary detail about the lives of various owners and WAY too much tedious detail about the delivery and opening of a package containing the book when it was shipped to California. I thought the most interesting parts were in describing how the pages were subjected to a cyclotron to analyze the ink and paper, and digitized for the first time to reveal more details than ever thought possible. The value of the book is no longer as a book, but as a piece of history and art. It's also an example of how people with more money than common sense drive up the value of an art object without appreciating the item for what it was intended in the first place.
October 22, 2020
Interesting story of the Bible numbered as 45, one of only 49 known surviving copies printed by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1450's. Davis discusses the importance of the book as the first printed in the West using moveable type, and traces the modern history of its progression through several owners in the 1800's through the acquisition by Estelle Doheny, widow to a large oil fortune in Southern California. The notion of its being "lost" is never explained, as the chain of custody is well-documented from the time it surfaces in the mid-1800's to its disappearance from public view to a vault at Keio University in Japan, the current owners. The book gives a fascinating look inside the world of rare book collecting through the last couple of hundred years. It's unlikely that another Gutenberg Bible will ever reach an auction house again.
April 22, 2022
The title of this book is a little misleading, since the Gutenberg Bible it profiles was never really "lost" (although most of its owners eventually had to sell it because of economic difficulties), and it only covers about the last 200 years of its existence, when it could be traced to individual private owners.
There's a bit of information about the early history and printing of the book in the first chapter, but it's mostly profiles of the various owners (especially Estelle Doheny, the only American woman to own a Gutenberg Bible as a private collector) and a depiction of the high-stakes world of rare book-collecting.
The author also includes a link to a digital version of this particular Gutenberg, created by the current owner, Keio University in Japan.
Recommended for bibliophiles or book collectors.
There's a bit of information about the early history and printing of the book in the first chapter, but it's mostly profiles of the various owners (especially Estelle Doheny, the only American woman to own a Gutenberg Bible as a private collector) and a depiction of the high-stakes world of rare book-collecting.
The author also includes a link to a digital version of this particular Gutenberg, created by the current owner, Keio University in Japan.
Recommended for bibliophiles or book collectors.
June 20, 2019
Seldom do I say simply, "Wow!" when I finish reading a book, but that was all i could say upon completing The Lost Gutenberg. Margaret Leslie Davis has crafted a masterpiece in her account of the history of the Gutenberg Bible known as No. 45. Her very readable account gives life to the book and its owners through the centuries, creating an emotional connection between subject and reader. Her passion for the story of this bit of cultural and religious history, her meticulous research, and her plunge into the scientific and technical aspects of the craft of printing make this one of the best books of 2019.
July 12, 2019
An enthralling story about a most significant book in the history of books. Certainly the one that was sold for the highest record breaking amount at Auction. A 500 year old book, it was one of the first editions created on a printing press, more recently last century it was one of the first to be examined using a particle accelerator. Eventually digitised and available to all over the internet.
For someone who loves book collecting but hasn't anywhere near the funds to indulge the way I'd like to this is a taste of what happens in the rare book collecting world.
It took 6 years to research and I found it an accessible read.
Recommended if you are into bookish history.
For someone who loves book collecting but hasn't anywhere near the funds to indulge the way I'd like to this is a taste of what happens in the rare book collecting world.
It took 6 years to research and I found it an accessible read.
Recommended if you are into bookish history.
April 19, 2019
“ ‘the collecting of books is . . . the summum bonum [highest good] of the acquisitive desire, for the reason that books brought together by plan and purposely kept together are a social force to be reckoned with, as long as people have clear eyes and free minds.’” - Lawrence Clark Powell
A fascinating unfolding of the frenzy of wealthy collectors and dealers of rare books after the single most valuable book in the world.
A fascinating unfolding of the frenzy of wealthy collectors and dealers of rare books after the single most valuable book in the world.
July 26, 2019
As a lover of books, an amateur but enthusiastic history buff, and a Christian who has read the Bible cover to cover several times, this book ticked all the boxes for me! Davis does a wonderful job tying together the stories of the very different people who are known to have owned a particular copy of the Gutenberg Bible (number 45). The Gutenberg becomes a character in its own right by the end of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
September 24, 2019
This is a fascinating book that follows the ownership and study of Gutenberg Bible #45. The story of those who owned the book and the story of the book itself and the study of it were extraordinary. This is not exactly a page-turner of a book, but it is one you want to keep reading. It carries all the romance, sorrow, failure and success of the lives of the people who own it. If you love books, this is worth you while to read.
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