Gutenberg's Second Invention: The 1460 Mainz Catholicon
- Event Type
- Lecture
- Sponsor
- The Rare Book & Manuscript Library
- Location
- Main Library Room 346 — 1408 W. Gregory Dr, Urbana, IL 61801
- Date
- Oct 23, 2025 3:00 - 5:00 pm
- Speaker
- Paul Needham
- Contact
- Carrie Lingscheit
- carriel@illinois.edu
- Views
- 289
More than 500 years after its printing, the production details of the 13th-century Latin dictionary known as the Catholicon are still a hotly debated topic in incunabula research. Scheide Librarian Emeritus (Princeton) Paul Needham will present his newest findings that it was printed not from movable type, as had been presumed, but instead by means of two-line stereotypes – a printing technology previously thought not to have been invented until several hundred years later. The RBML’s recently acquired copy of the 1469 edition will be on display.
This event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.