Print Matters

Incunabula and broadsides from Tübingen University Library

The invention of printing with movable type in the mid-15th century meant that books on a wide range of subjects and areas were disseminated and made available in a previously unknown way. Such early prints, produced up to 1500, are known as incunabula. The potential of the images, which were printed as woodcuts and often coloured afterwards, was soon recognised, so that the books had and still have considerable visual value. Tübingen University Library has a varied and valuable collection of such 'printed matter' which, as new media, illustrate the knowledge and interests of their time in impressive abundance and make them tangible. The exhibition presents them to a wider public for the first time. The exhibits range from large-format Bibles to books on astronomy and botany, as well as legal texts and printed prayers, letters of indulgence and pamphlets. 

Vernissage

June 13th, 2024 at 6 pm MUT | Ancient Cultures | Hohentübingen CastleBurgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen 

Program

Greeting
Andrea Worm / Sandra Linden / Kristina Stöbener

Greeting

Annette Gerok-Reiter (Speaker SFB 1391 „Andere Ästhetik“)

Regine Tobias (Director of the University Library)

Ceremonial lecture

Falk Eisermann (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin): Manuscript and book printing in the 15th century – Aspects of a medial convergence

Opening of the exhibition

Reception

Publication

Andrea Worm, Sandra Linden and Kristina Stöbener (ed.), Drucksachen. Inkunabeln und Einblattdrucke der Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen, Tübingen 2024 (Print Matters. Incunabula and single-sheet prints of the Tübingen University Library)
ISBN: 978-3-949680-09-0
Price: 39,90 EUR

available in the museum shop and the MUT online shop