GOTHENBURG, Sweden—Unexpected discoveries are made every now and then, even in libraries. In the Swedish city of Sundsvall, a local librarian recently found a priceless book collecting dust in the library’s storage area.
When Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing of books in the 15th century, artful decorations and red or blue illustrations of the initial letter of each section were made by hand. These early printed books are called incunables.
Librarian Görel Dahlin found one such early printed book while she was clearing out a storage area of the Sundsvall’s city library. According to the local newspaper Sundsvalls Tidning, the library personnel had no idea that they possessed such a rare find.
The incunable in question is a book of Saxon law from the 13th century. It was originally handwritten by the nobleman Eike von Repgau. The text was then edited and printed in the 15th century, with the title of “Eike von Repgow [Sachsenspiegel] Hie vahet an das register des ersten buchs über den sachsenspiegel [ Bearb.] Theodericus von Bockstorf, Augsburg, Anton Sorg, 1481.”
How this almost 530-year-old book ended up in Sweden is unknown. According to Sundsvalls Tidning, it might have been looted in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th century. In 1906, it was donated to a school library by the estate of physician A. F. Christiernin and eventually ended up in Sundsvall’s city library.
The incunable has now been donated to the Royal Library in Stockholm for safekeeping.
The estate of A. F. Christiernin was also discovered to contain a second incunable, titled “Bernardus, Sermones de tempore et sanctis Speyer,” which is currently being searched for.
Sundsvall is a coastal city in central Sweden with a population of about 50,000 people.
When Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing of books in the 15th century, artful decorations and red or blue illustrations of the initial letter of each section were made by hand. These early printed books are called incunables.
Librarian Görel Dahlin found one such early printed book while she was clearing out a storage area of the Sundsvall’s city library. According to the local newspaper Sundsvalls Tidning, the library personnel had no idea that they possessed such a rare find.
The incunable in question is a book of Saxon law from the 13th century. It was originally handwritten by the nobleman Eike von Repgau. The text was then edited and printed in the 15th century, with the title of “Eike von Repgow [Sachsenspiegel] Hie vahet an das register des ersten buchs über den sachsenspiegel [ Bearb.] Theodericus von Bockstorf, Augsburg, Anton Sorg, 1481.”
How this almost 530-year-old book ended up in Sweden is unknown. According to Sundsvalls Tidning, it might have been looted in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th century. In 1906, it was donated to a school library by the estate of physician A. F. Christiernin and eventually ended up in Sundsvall’s city library.
The incunable has now been donated to the Royal Library in Stockholm for safekeeping.
The estate of A. F. Christiernin was also discovered to contain a second incunable, titled “Bernardus, Sermones de tempore et sanctis Speyer,” which is currently being searched for.
Sundsvall is a coastal city in central Sweden with a population of about 50,000 people.
