The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42, was the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed books in the West. The book is valued and revered for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities and its historical significance.
The Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Latin Vulgate printed in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, in present-day Germany. Out of either 158 or 180 copies that were originally printed, 49 survive in at least substantial portion, 21 of them in entirety. They are thought to be among the world's most valuable books, although no complete copy has been sold since 1978.
A commemorative stamp honoring the 500th anniversary of the printing of the Gutenberg Bible, the first book to be printed from movable type, was issued on September 30, 1952, in Washington, DC, in a ceremony at the Library of Congress.
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (d. 1468), engraver, printer, and inventor from Mainz, Germany, produced the Bible. His moveable type or printing press started a revolution in printing which eventually transformed the world by making the printed word available to the masses. A painting by Edward Laning (1906-1981) titled "Gutenberg showing a proof to the elector of Mainz" appears on the stamp's left side.
The picture on the left side of the stamp is based on a detail of a mural painted by Edward Lansing (1906-1981) in the New York Public Library. It shows Gutenberg presenting a proof of his Bible to the Archbishop, Duke Adolph Nassau, the Elector of Mainz.
Victor S. McCloskey, Jr., designed the stamp, using a photograph of Laning's painting as a model. Arthur W. Dintaman engraved the vignette, and John S. Edmondson engraved the frame, numerals, and lettering. Six 200-subject electric-eye printing plates (#24687-24692) were used on the rotary Stickney Press. Plates were used in pairs on the press, so each rotation of the press produced two sheets of 200 stamps, each of which was divided into four fifty-subject panes for distribution to post offices. Stamps were perforated 11x10.5 and printed on unwatermarked paper.
The 3-cent Gutenberg Bible stamp paid the postage rate for a one ounce first-class domestic letter.
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