Detail map of Roma, Lazio, Italy,Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain,São Miguel do Rio Torto, Santarém District, Portugal,İstanbul, Turkey

A: Roma, Lazio, Italy, B: Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, C: São Miguel do Rio Torto, Santarém District, Portugal, D: İstanbul, Turkey

Early Printing in Hebrew Was Relatively Limited

1500

Fewer than 150 editions of Hebrew incunabula (15th century books) were produced— less than half a percent of the total production of printed books during the 15th century.

By the end of the 20th century only about 2000 copies of all these editions combined were preserved in institutional libraries. The editions were printed in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and one edition was published in the Ottoman Empire. Many of these editions are very rare, with one-third of them known in only one, two or three copies.

Timeline Themes