In the middle of the 15th century, the whole of Europe discovered a technique for reproducing books that would revolutionise their distribution and change access to knowledge: printing. In this exhibition, the BnF looks back at this innovation, one of the most significant in human history, by tracing the history of the development of printing and the keys to its success. On this occasion, exceptional pieces from the BnF collections will be presented simultaneously for the first time: the oldest known Western woodcut, the Bois Protat (late 14th or early 15th century), the oldest preserved book in the world printed using metal type, Jikji (Korea, 1377), and the first major European book printed using letterpress: the Gutenberg Bible (Germany, circa 1455).
From 12 April to 16 July 2023