British Library digitises Gutenberg Bible

Digitised copies of the 550-year-old Gutenberg Bible have been placed on the British Library website. Two copies of the bible, the oldest surviving printed book in the western world, are held by the British Library, but few scholars have had access to the rare and fragile book.

In a joint project with Keio University in Japan, a high-speed digital camera was used to photograph the Bible fragments, producing a fine resolution with minimum stress on the volume.