Incunabula and Their Readers: Printing, Selling and Using Books in the Fifteenth Century

The printed book became the first successful mechanically mass-produced, marketable product. In the 50 years following the creation of the Gutenberg Bible, a major new industry became established, with huge implications for culture, religion, and politics. A unifying concern of most of the papers in this stimulating and well-illustrated volume is the complex relationship between producers – be they authors, printers, or decorators – the economic conditions of book distribution, and the requirements of readers and other users of books.