Printer''s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History

A funny and entertaining history of printed books as told through absurd moments in the lives of authors and printers, collected by televisions favorite rare-book expert from HISTORYs hit series Pawn Stars.

Since the Gutenberg Bible first went on sale in 1455, printing has been viewed as one of the highest achievements of human innovation. But the march of progress hasnt been smooth; downright bizarre is more like it. Printers Error chronicles some of the strangest and most humorous episodes in the history of Western printing, and makes clear that weve succeeded despite ourselves. Rare-book expert Rebecca Romney and author J. P. Romney take us from monasteries and museums to auction houses and libraries to introduce curious episodes in the history of print that have had a profound impact on our world.

Take, for example, the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is regarded as the first printed work in the Western world, Gutenbergs name doesnt appear anywhere on it. Today, Johannes Gutenberg is recognized as the father of Western printing. But for the first few hundred years after the invention of the printing press, no one knew who printed the first book. This long-standing mystery took researchers down a labyrinth of ancient archives and libraries, and unearthed surprising details, such as the fact that Gutenbergs financier sued him, repossessed his printing equipment, and started his own printing business afterward. Eventually the first printed book was tracked to the library of Cardinal Mazarin in France, and Gutenbergs forty-two-line Bible was finally credited to him, thus ensuring Gutenbergs name would be remembered by middle-school students worldwide.

Like the works of Sarah Vowell, John Hodgman, and Ken Jennings, Printers Error is a rollicking ride through the annals of time and the printed word.