Although some people are proclaiming today as the anniversary of the printing of the Gutenberg Bible, this is unlikely. It is very difficult to pin down the exact date for the printing with two of the dates commonly suggested being the 25th of August and the 23rd of February.

That said the Gutenberg Bible is one of the most important books in the world. Although it wasn’t the world’s first printed book, it introduced printing to the West. The Bible is named after the man who printed it in the early 1450’s Johannes Gutenberg. Scholars estimate that approximately 180 of the Bibles were printed by Gutenberg, of which approximately 49 survive. Of the surviving volumes less than half are complete. The last complete Gutenberg Bible was sold in 1978 for 2.2 million dollars a complete copy could fetch 35 million dollars today.

The British Library contains two copies of the Gutenberg Bible and has made electronic copies available for viewing and comparison online.

Further reading:

Martin Davis, The Gutenberg Bible.
James Thorpe, The Gutenberg Bible: Landmark in Learning.