Jeremy Norman’sHistoryofInformation.com Exploring the History of Information and Media through Timelines
Jeremy Norman’s
Detail of page from Mentelin's edition of the Opera of Virgil at Rome. (Please click on the image to view the entire page.)
Detail of page from Sweynheym and Pannartz's edition of the Opera of Virgil at Rome. (Please click on image to view the entire page.)
In 1469 and 1470 printers Sweynheym and Pannartz issued an edition of the Opera of Virgil at Rome (ISTC no. iv00149000); printer Johannes Mentelin issued another edition at Strassburg (ISTC no. iv00151000).
These were the first printed editions of Virgil, and the ISTC estimates that the Mentelin edition appeared the year after the Sweynheym and Pannartz edition.
One of the most widely copied and read authors during the Middle Ages, Virgil was also one of the most frequently printed authors in the 15th century, with about 100 editions issued.
♦♦ In November 2013 a digital facsimile of the copy of the Rome edition in the Bibliothèque de Saint Geneviève was available from the Internet Archive at this link. Also in November 2013 a digital facsimile of the Strassburg edition was available from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek at this link.