»Als die Lettern laufen lernten«

The invention of printing with movable letters is frequently described as a »media revolution« and compared with the effects of the »electronic revolution« of the past decades. While both events had far-reaching consequences on the production and distribution of texts, this companion volume to an exhibition intends to demonstrate that a gradual transition rather than a sudden turn-over took place in the second half of the 15th century. Increasingly, printing techniques were employed for the production of books, but the oldest printed books, traditionally referred to as incunabula, still included many individual features created by hand. Thus, innovation and tradition overlap in many respects: the modern printing techniques only gradually superseded handwriting, and for a long time, printed books continued to be decorated and corrected by hand. Aus den reichen Inkunabelbeständen der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek zeigt diese Ausstellung die bedeutendsten Stücke: die Gutenberg-Bibel, den Türkenkalender von 1454 oder Hartmann Schedels persönliches Exemplar seiner Weltchronik. Sie geben Einblick in die Drucktechniken im 15. Jahrhundert und zeigen, wie der Buchdruck allmählich die Handschriften verdrängte.