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Perhaps the most treasured piece of printed material is the Gutenberg Bible. It was the German printer Johann Gutenberg who began printing these Bibles way back in 1455. He used a hand made printing press with movable type. These 42 line Bibles are historic manuscripts that mark the end of the phase of hand copied books and the beginning of publications that could be mass produced.

Gutenberg originally printed 180 copies of the Bible, which were bound in leather in two volumes and sold to wealthy patrons around the European continent. The most expensive of these Bibles were printed on vellum. The rest of Gutenberg’s Bibles were printed on a controversial hemp based paper product that many believed would not withstand the test of time.

Many of these Bibles are no longer in existence. Only a few complete copies of the 42 line bible are currently known to exist. In addition to these complete works, there is only one complete version of the New Testament outside of the eleven complete works. This version is on vellum. Additionally, there are 48 other copies of Gutenberg’s Bibles that were printed on the hemp based paper.

The three perfect vellum copies still in existence are located in France, England, and the United States. In France, you can see the complete vellum version in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris besides a variety of rare and costly books. England's copy of the complete vellum Gutenberg Bible is located in the British Library in London. Here you will find an astounding collection of books that includes the original works of William Shakespeare. The third perfect vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible is in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A fourth and final perfect vellum copy of the Bible is in Goettigen, Germany's Universitaetsbibliothek.

Some of the other perfect copies of the Gutenberg Bible on paper are located in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. In all, there are about eighteen perfect copies printed on hemp based paper which was at one time considered not durable enough.

One of the versions of the Gutenberg's Bible is also present in Asia in Tokyo's Keio University Library. This Bible happens to be an imperfect copy that was printed on the hemp-based paper. It was purchased for a whopping amount of $4.9 million by the Maruzen Company of Tokyo. In the year 1996 this Bible was given to the University.

Apart from these, many imperfect copies of Gutenberg Bibles exist in the universities, libraries, and private collections all over Europe. You can have a look at them when you travel in Europe.

If you are interested in seeing a copy—complete or incomplete—of a Gutenberg Bible, look to the World Wide Web. Many of these Bibles have been digitized and are available for viewing in the comfort of your own home. Look at the Gutenberg Bible census (http://clausenbooks. com/gutenbergcensus.htm) to find a Bible in an area near you or where you plan to travel.