Gutenberg's Bible launched mass printing in Europe

Johannes Gutenberg completed his great Bible at Mainz, Germany, in about 1455. It is the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type — individually cast letters that could be arranged, inked, pressed, then redistributed and reused.

It is nicknamed the 42-line Bible because its pages were set in columns of 42 lines. Scholars estimate that roughly 180 copies were printed, the majority on paper and the rest on vellum. Around 48 to 49 survive today, only about 20 of them complete.

Gutenberg did not invent printing outright — movable metal type existed earlier in Korea. But his press made the rapid, repeatable production of books practical in Europe, and within decades printing shops had spread across the continent, transforming how knowledge could be copied and shared.