Incunabula in Russian libraries. Incunabula What is an incunabula definition

Incunabula (from Latin incunabula - cradle, beginning) - books or individual sheets printed in Europe from the beginning of printing until January 1, 1501.

It is customary to distinguish two types of incunabula: woodcut and typographic, although, according to some researchers, only publications created by typographic methods can be called incunabula.

It is estimated that about 40,000 incunabula were produced in total (of which about 30,000 are books), and approximately 500,000 copies survive.

When considering the incunabula, it becomes clear that Gutenberg and other early printers did not consider what they were doing as a qualitatively new stage in the development of the book business. Instead, they view printing as a faster way to copy, and try to make a printed book as similar to a handwritten book as possible.

Mainz Psalter. Edition by Fust and Schöffer

Early printed books were strongly influenced by the culture of manuscripts: places were left in the text for illustrations, which would later be created by portholes, capital letters were omitted, and rubricators had to take care of their design.

Fonts for printing are created as similar as possible to handwritten ones, and in the font designs it was necessary to reproduce at least the simplest calligraphic techniques of the scribes.

This required repeated castings in different variations of the same letters. Thus, in Gutenberg’s publications you can find from 150 to 300 font characters, although the Latin alphabet has only about 25 lowercase letters and, accordingly, the same number of uppercase letters.

About half of the incunabula that have come down to us were printed on parchment, which indirectly confirms the desire of the first printers to give more “seriousness” and similarity to manuscripts to their books

It should be noted that initially printed books were negatively received by the church. There is a completely ordinary explanation for this - the press undermined the monopoly of monastic scriptoria on the production of religious literature. Printed Bibles sold poorly because purchasing them for churches depended, again, on the clergy.

According to legend, Johann Fust traveled to plague-stricken Paris to sell printed Bibles, claiming that they protected against the plague. This, however, did not prevent him from becoming infected and dying. There is no confirmation of the legend, but the very fact of its existence clearly shows the attitude towards the first printed Bibles, and what lengths had to be taken to sell them.

Printers are returning to the production of secular books: philosophical, legal, educational, everyday literature. Thus, one of Gutenberg’s first printed books is Donatus’s Latin grammar, calendars are also printed, an appeal about the campaign of Christians against the Turks in 1454 - for the return of Constantinople taken by the troops of Mohammed II in 1453, papal indulgences (Catholic letters of absolution, sold for money) . In the text of indulgences, empty spaces are left for entering the names of sinners who inexpensively purchased a place in heaven by purchasing these pieces of paper.

Yet the greatest treasure among rare incunabula is the 42-line Gutenberg Bible (1456). Now in the world there are approx. 40 copies of this publication.

Most of the early editions were in Latin, but towards the end of the century editions appeared in both living languages ​​and in ancient Greek (in 1479) and Hebrew.

INCUNABULA(from Latin incunabula - “cradle”), any book printed at the initial stage of printing (1450–1500), after the invention of movable metal type by Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–1468). It is estimated that about 40,000 incunabula were produced (of which about 30,000 are books), with approximately 500,000 surviving copies. About a third of the publications are available to collectors and libraries in North America.

Incunabula are interesting as forerunners of modern typography and publishing. Bringing to an end the age of handwritten books, or manuscripts, incunabula set the pattern for modern books. The greatest treasure among rare incunabula is the 42-line Gutenberg Bible(1456). Nowadays in the world there are approx. 40 copies of this publication. Many researchers are inclined to believe that the recently discovered Breviary Constance, three copies of which are known, was ahead of Gutenberg Bible for three or four years.

The first incunabula are characterized by a heavy font design and rough paper and bindings. But by the end of the 15th century. More sophisticated fonts began to be used. Many experts consider it the most beautiful publication of the Renaissance. Hypnerotomachia Poliphylos (Hypnerotomachia Poliphili) Francesco Colonna, published in 1499 with illustrations in the printing house of Aldo Manucci. Among the first incunabula - Indulgence of Pope Nicholas V (1455), Benedictine Psalter (1459), Catholicon Johann Balbus, as well as Donatus, Seneca, Cicero and other ancient authors. During this period, books were published exclusively in Latin. Towards the end of the century, publications appeared in living languages, Ancient Greek (in 1479) and Hebrew. Thematically they are very different - mathematics, medicine, astrology, music, travel and law. As for the characteristic features of incunabula, the publishing mark was introduced in Cologne by Johann Koelhoff the Elder (d. c. 1493), color printing was invented by Peter Schöffer (c. 1425 - c. 1505), and later by Erhard Ratdolt (c. 1442–1528 ); something similar to modern title pages first appeared in Schöffer. Colored initials (sometimes written by hand) are a relic of handwritten medieval books.

The Vatican Library, the Library of Congress, the British Museum, the National Library in Paris, the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, the Pierpont Morgan and G. E. Huntington libraries have rich collections of incunabula. Valuable incunabula are kept in other libraries. A devastating earthquake and subsequent fire in San Francisco led to the destruction of the Sutra collection of 4,000 incunabula in 1906; many incunabula died in the fire of the old Harvard University library.

Identification and cataloging of incunabula require extensive knowledge on the part of collectors and librarians. Among the sources helping to establish incunabula are German Union catalog of incunabula (Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke, 8 vols., 1925–1940, revised edition published since 1968), Catalog of books printed in the 15th century, now in the British Museum (Catalog of Books Printed in the 15th Century Now in the British Museum).

What is "INCUNABULA"? How to spell this word correctly. Concept and interpretation.

INCUNABULA (from Latin incunabula - “cradle”), any book printed at the initial stage of printing (1450-1500), after the invention of movable metal type by Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400-1468). It is estimated that about 40,000 incunabula were produced (of which about 30,000 are books), with approximately 500,000 surviving copies. About a third of the publications are available to collectors and libraries in North America. Incunabula are interesting as forerunners of modern typography and publishing. Bringing to an end the age of handwritten books, or manuscripts, incunabula set the pattern for modern books. The greatest treasure among rare incunabula is the 42-line Gutenberg Bible (1456). Nowadays in the world there are approx. 40 copies of this publication. Many researchers are inclined to believe that the recently discovered Constance's Breviary, of which three copies are known, preceded the Gutenberg Bible by three or four years. The first incunabula are characterized by a heavy font design and rough paper and bindings. But by the end of the 15th century. More sophisticated fonts began to be used. Many experts consider the most beautiful edition of the Renaissance to be Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by Francesco Colonna, published in 1499 with illustrations in the printing house of Aldo Manucci. Among the first incunabula are the Indulgence of Pope Nicholas V (1455), the Benedictine Psalter (1459), the Catholicon of Johann Balbus, as well as Donatus, Seneca, Cicero and other ancient authors. During this period, books were published exclusively in Latin. Towards the end of the century, publications appeared in living languages, Ancient Greek (in 1479) and Hebrew. Thematically they are very different - mathematics, medicine, astrology, music, travel and law. As for the characteristic features of incunabula, the publishing mark was introduced in Cologne by Johann Kelhoff the Elder (d. c. 1493), color printing was invented by Peter Schaeffer (c. 1425 - c. 1505), and later by Erhard Ratdolt (c. 1442-1528 ); something similar to modern title pages first appeared in Schaeffer. Colored initials (sometimes written by hand) are a relic of handwritten medieval books. The Vatican Library, the Library of Congress, the British Museum, the National Library in Paris, the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, the Pierpont Morgan and G. E. Huntington libraries have rich collections of incunabula. Valuable incunabula are kept in other libraries. A devastating earthquake and subsequent fire in San Francisco led to the destruction of the Sutra collection of 4,000 incunabula in 1906; many incunabula died in the fire of the old Harvard University library. Identification and cataloging of incunabula require extensive knowledge on the part of collectors and librarians. Among the sources helping to establish incunabula, one can name the German Union Catalog of Incunabula (Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke, 8 vols., 1925-1940, revised edition published in 1968), Catalog of books printed in the 15th century, now located in the British Museum (Catalogue of Books Printed in the 15th Century Now in the British Museum).

And until January 1, 1501. Publications from this period are very rare, as their circulation was 100-300 copies.

Description and history

History of the term

The term was first used by Bernard von Malinckrodt in 1639 in the pamphlet “De ortu et progressu artis typographicae” (“On the development and progress of the art of typography”) and was established in the 18th century. Incunabula are divided into two types: woodcut and typographic. The Gutenberg Bible was printed using a typographic method. Some authors consider publications made only typographically to be incunabula.

Most publications were in Latin, but books were also published in other languages. The main buyers of incunabula were scientists, nobles, lawyers and clergy. As a rule, incunabula were printed in Gothic script without paragraphs.

The most famous publishers of incunabula

The most famous publishers of incunabula were:

• Albrecht Pfister from Bamberg
• Günther Zeiner from Augsburg
• Johann Mentelin from Strasbourg
• William Caxton, who worked in London and Bruges.

An excellent example of incunabula is Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, published by Anton Koberger.

Cataloging of incunabula

The first incunabula catalogs appeared in the 19th century. A comprehensive catalog of this kind is the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendruck, compiled by the State Library in Berlin. Also relevant is the British Library's Incunabula Short-Title Catalog. Incunabula stored in libraries in Lithuania are described in the catalog of Noyus Feigelman “Lietuvos inkunabulai” (Vilnius, 1975).

Incunabula in Russian libraries

The Russian National Library also has a collection of incunabula - one of the largest in the world, according to the library's official website. The collection of incunabula began with the creation of the famous Załuski Library, taken from Warsaw at the end of the 18th century. Subsequently, the collection was replenished many times - both through the acquisition of private libraries (for example, the library of Count Pyotr Kornilovich Sukhtelen in 1836), and through individual purchases, including at international auctions.

List of libraries with incunabula collections

The largest collections of incunabula are located in:

• Bavarian State Library (19900)
• French National Library (12000)
• Austrian National Library (8000)
• Stuttgart State Library (7076)
• Russian National Library (7000)
• Huntington Library in the USA (5600)
• Library of Congress (5600)
• Bodleian Library (5500 in 7000 copies)
• Russian State Library (5300)
• Cambridge University Library (4600)
• John Ryland Library (4500)
• Berlin State Library (4400)
• Jagiellonian Library in Krakow (3671)
• Harvard University (3627 in 4389 copies)
• Yale University (3525)

Most editions were in Latin, but books were also printed in other languages, for example the Italian collection Canzoniere by Petrarch, printed in Venice in 1470. The main buyers of incunabula were scientists, nobles, lawyers and clergy. As a rule, incunabula were printed in Gothic script without paragraphs.

An excellent example of incunabula is the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel, published by Anton Koberger.

The most famous publishers of incunabula

The most famous publishers of incunabula were:

• Albrecht Pfister from Bamberg;
• Günther Zeiner from Augsburg;
• Johann Mentelin from Strasbourg;
• William Caxton, active in London and Bruges.

Cataloging of incunabula

Incunabula in Russian libraries

The Russian National Library also has a collection of incunabula - one of the largest in the world, according to the library's official website. The collection of incunabula began with the creation of the famous Załuski Library, taken from Warsaw at the end of the 18th century. Subsequently, the collection was replenished many times - both through the acquisition of private libraries (for example, the library of Count Pyotr Kornilovich Sukhtelen in 1836), and through individual purchases, including at international auctions.

List of libraries with incunabula collections

The largest collections of incunabula are located in:

• Bavarian State Library (19.9 thousand)
• British Library (12.5 thousand)
• French National Library (12 thousand)
• Russian National Library (7302)
• (7076)
• Huntington Library in the USA (5600)
• Bodleian Library (5500 in 7000 copies)
• Harvard University (3627 in 4389 copies)

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Excerpt characterizing Incunabula