incunable
Sign in to savethumb|Page from Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia, printed in red and black by [[Peter Schöffer (Mainz, 1471). The page exhibits a rubricated initial letter "U" and decorations, marginalia, and ownership stamps of the "Bibliotheca Gymnasii Altonani" (Hamburg).]] thumb|Illumination with doodles and drawings (marginalia), including an open-mouthed human profile, with multiple tongues sticking out. Copulata, "De Anima", f. 2a. HMD Collection, WZ 230 M772c 1485 thumb|Image of two facing pages from "Phisicorum", fols. 57b and 58a, with doodles and drawings. HMD Collection, WZ 230 M772c 1
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An incunabule is a book printed in the early period of printing technology, as exemplified by works from the 1470s and 1480s that combined printed text with hand-added decorative elements like illuminated letters and marginalia. These early printed books matter because they represent a transitional moment in the history of written communication, showing how printing technology was initially integrated with traditional manuscript practices.
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Article
9 sectionsContents
- Terminology
- Types
- Famous examples
- Post-incunable
- Statistical data
- Major collections
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Page from Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia, printed in red and black by [[Peter Schöffer (Mainz, 1471). The page exhibits a rubricated initial letter "U" and decorations, marginalia, and ownership stamps of the "Bibliotheca Gymnasii Altonani" (Hamburg).]] thumb|Illumination with doodles and drawings (marginalia), including an open-mouthed human profile, with multiple tongues sticking out. Copulata, "De Anima", f. 2a. HMD Collection, WZ 230 M772c 1485 thumb|Image of two facing pages from "Phisicorum", fols. 57b and 58a, with doodles and drawings. HMD Collection, WZ 230 M772c 1485 An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the number of printed book editions exploded in the following century, so that all incunabula, produced before the printing press became widespread in Europe, are rare, where even some early 16th-century books are relatively common.
They are distinct from manuscripts, which are documents written by hand. Some authorities on the history of printing include block books from the same time period as incunabula, whereas others limit the term to works printed using movable type.