sections, for the most part of 10 leaves each. To facilitate the division of the book in parts (so that it could be bound, if necessary for the convenience of the reader, in ten thin volumes), some of the sections have but 4, some 11, and some 12 leaves. The book proper, without the summary of contents, consists of 1282 printed pages, 2 columns to the page, and, for the most part, with 42 lines to the column.[1]
A wide margin was allowed for the ornamental borders, without which no book of that time was complete, and large spaces were also left in the text for the great initial letters. It was expected that the purchaser of the book would have the margins and spaces covered with the fanciful designs and bright colors of the illuminator. In some copies, this work of illumination was admirably done; in others it was badly done or entirely neglected. The rubrics were roughly made by dabbing a brush filled with red ink over a letter printed in black. On the pages of 40 lines, the summaries of chapters were printed in red ink; on other pages the summaries were written, sometimes in red and sometimes in black ink.
- ↑ There are two kinds of copies, with differences which seem to justify the opinion that they belong to two distinct editions. In one kind, all the copies have 42 lines to the column, and all the summaries of chapters are written and not printed. In the other kind, the first eight pages of the first section have 40 lines to the column; the ninth page has 41 lines; the tenth and all other pages (except two 40-line pages in the book of Maccabees) have 42 lines; and the pages of 40 and 41 lines have their five summaries printed in red ink. The same face of type is used in both kinds of copies, but the pages of 40 and 41 lines occupy the same space as the pages of 42 lines, begining and ending, for the most part, with the same words. Bernard says that the 40-line pages were reset by Peter Schœffer after Fust had acquired the unsold copies of the Bible, with intent to lead the purchaser of the book to form the belief that it was an entirely new edition. Other writers suggest that a portion of the first section may have been spoiled, and replaced by a subsequent reprinting. But the differences are not confined to the first section. In many other sections there are differences in the spelling and abbreviation of words which clearly prove that the two kinds of copies were printed from separately composed and distinct forms. The double composition of every page for the same edition seems a ridiculous waste of labor, but the proofs of this double labor are unmistakable.
