Lithuania’s National Library has identified a rare incunabulum, a book printed during the initial phase of printing in Europe, up until the year 1500, adding to its collection of early printed works.
The book is a Latin work titled Commentaries on the Psalms (Postilla super Psalterium), written by French 13th-century theologian Hugo de Sancto Caro.
The discovery was made by researcher Viktorija Bargailienė, who determined that the book was printed in folio format by the Venetian printing house of Giovanni and Gregorio de Gregori.
The workshop operated between 1480 and 1505, mainly producing academic texts. According to the Berlin State Library, it published around 330 books, notable for their woodcut illustrations and diverse typefaces.
Lithuanian libraries hold only six incunabula printed in Venice, making this a rare find.
The book is decorated with printed initials in the Venetian style but is missing four pages at the beginning and seven at the end, which, along with a 20th-century binding, contributed to the long delay in identifying it as an incunabulum.
A stamp on the book indicates its last known owner was the Vilnius Diocesan Seminary.
With this addition, the library now holds 93 incunabula.
The discovery was made by researcher Viktorija Bargailienė, who determined that the book was printed in folio format by the Venetian printing house of Giovanni and Gregorio de Gregori.
The workshop operated between 1480 and 1505, mainly producing academic texts. According to the Berlin State Library, it published around 330 books, notable for their woodcut illustrations and diverse typefaces.
Lithuanian libraries hold only six incunabula printed in Venice, making this a rare find.
The book is decorated with printed initials in the Venetian style but is missing four pages at the beginning and seven at the end, which, along with a 20th-century binding, contributed to the long delay in identifying it as an incunabulum.
A stamp on the book indicates its last known owner was the Vilnius Diocesan Seminary.
With this addition, the library now holds 93 incunabula.
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