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There are two types of incunabula: the xylographic (made from a single carved or sculpted block for each page) and the typographic (made with movable type on a printing press in the style of Johann Gutenberg). Many authors reserve the term incunabulum for the typographic ones only.
The gradual spread of printing ensured that there was great variety in the texts chosen for printing and the styles in which they appeared. Many early typefaces were modelled on local forms of writing or derived from the various European forms of Gothic script, but there were also some derived from documentary scripts (such as most of Caxton's types), and, particularly in Italy, types modelled on humanistic hands. These humanistic typefaces are often used today, barely modified, in digital form.
Printers tended to congregate in urban centres where there were scholars, ecclesiastics, lawyers, nobles and professionA profession is a specialized work function within society, generally performed by a professional. Definitions In a more restrictive sense, profession often refers specifically to fields that require extensive study and mastery of specialized knowledge, sals who formed their major customer-base. Standard works in Latin inherited from the medieval tradition formed the bulk of the earliest printing, but as books became cheaper, works in the various vernacularThis article treats vernacular language; see also vernacular architecture. The vernacular is the standard native language of a country or locality. In previous centuries scholarly work in western Europe was typically written in Latin, so the unusual workss (or translations of standard works) began to appear.
Famous incunabula include the Gutenberg BibleThe Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible is a print of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible that was printed by its namesake, Johann Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany around 1454- 1455 using moveable type. This Bible is the most famous incuna of 1455Events February 9 Wars of the Roses: Richard, Duke of York dismissed as Protector February 23 Johannes Gutenberg prints the first Bible on a printing press May 22 Wars of the Roses: First Battle of St Albans Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard Nev and the Liber chronicarum of Hartmann SchedelHartmann Schedel of Nuremberg was one of the first cartographers to make use of the printing press. Many of the cities featured in his "Schedelsche Welt Chronik ", or world chronicle are maps of cities and countries illustrated for the first time ever., printed by Anton Koberger in 1493Events January 4 Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey. March 15 Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas. July 28 Great fire in Moscow November 19 Christopher Columbus becomes the first Euro. Other well-known incunabula printers were Albrecht Pfister of BambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the Regnitz River, close to its confluence with the Main River. Population: 69,200 (2001). History The town was first mentioned in 902. Henry II of Germany made Bamberg the seat of, Günther Zainer of AugsburgAugsburg is a city in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Swabia region of Bavaria, and is located on the Lech river. Population: 276,193 (2004). Districts There are 17 districts Stadteile in Augsburg: Innenstadt Antonsviertel Barenkeller Berg, Johann Mentelin of Straßburg and William Caxton of Bruges and London.
The tally of editions and titles issued before 1500 runs into thousands, and the most authoritative listing is in the German catalogue, the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke which is still being compiled at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin . The British Library has compiled the Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue which includes the holdings of most libraries world-wide.
The largest collections, with the approximate numbers of incunabula held, include: